Thanks to Aerial 3.0, you can use Apple TV screensavers on your Mac, and in HDR

Fly over Scotland with your Mac in HDR

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A macOS app called Aerial has been updated with new screensaver options, alongside featuringHDR, integration with Spotify andAppleMusic, and much more.

New screensavers from Apple have trickled out in recent years, with the latest one being the ‘hello’ logo that’s appeared on the redesignediMac 24-inch (2021)models. But while AppleTV has had attractive flyover screensavers that show a view of certain cities, they’ve never moved over to other Apple devices.

Thanks toAerial, you can now get similar screensavers for your Mac. It offers plenty of customization options, including the ability to create playlists and display certain overlays such as weather, battery status, timers, and more.

For version 3.0, the 16 screensavers fromtvOS 15can be used on your Mac, such as Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon, Torres del Paine in Chile, and others.

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Configuring Aerial in System Preferences > Desktop and Screen Saver is an easy affair, where you can tailor these to your location, the time of day, or to a certain order.

There are also custom flyover screensavers fromJetson Creative, all free to use, alongside picking other screensavers from tvOS 10 and above.

Using these on the recently-releasedMacBook Pro 14-inch (2021)inHDRmakes the screensavers look absolutely fantastic.

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Seeing landscapes from locations such as Scotland, Florida, and others really showcases the quality of the new MacBooks’ screens. Combine that with the customization options on offer, and it makes you wonder why Apple hasn’t officially brought these screensavers to macOS.

Screensavers have been a constant feature in computers since the first ever one, created by John Socha in 1983, with an app called ScrnSave.

There’s a good chance you’ll have seen a screensaver full of pipes, or one where you’re walking through a house. But with advances in display technology, from CRT to LCD monitors, they have diminished in use in recent years.

But with apps like Aerial and official features from Apple, there’s an opportunity for screensavers to return in a big way again. Not just for macOS, but forWindows 11as well. Perhaps remakes of the pipes and houses screensavers from the mid-nineties, alongside methods to download more screensavers from theMicrosoftStore.

But in the meantime, Aerial does a great job of showcasing how screensavers can thrive in 2022, and what Apple and Microsoft could do for future updates of macOS and Windows.

Daryl had been freelancing for 3 years before joining TechRadar, now reporting on everything software-related. In his spare time, he’s written a book, ‘The Making of Tomb Raider’. His second book, ‘50 Years of Boss Fights’, came out in 2024, with a third book coming in 2025. He also has a newsletter called ‘Springboard’. He’s usually found playing games old and new on his Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, and MacBook Pro. If you have a story about an updated app, one that’s about to launch, or just anything Software-related, drop him a line.

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