Apple Adds New 'Hello' Screen Saver in macOS Big Sur 11.3

Wednesday April 21, 2021 5:39 pm PDT

Juli Clover

macOS Big Sur

11.3 includes a hidden "Hello" screen saver that appears to be designed for the new

iMac

models, but which can also be installed on any Mac that's running the 11.3 update.

As outlined by

9to5Mac

, the new screen saver is not available by default, but with a simple set of instructions, can be accessed on even non-M1 ‌iMac‌ machines.

On a Mac running ‌macOS Big Sur‌ 11.3, follow these instructions:

Open the System folder.

Click on Library.

Click on Screen Savers.

Drag the "Hello.saver" file to the desktop.

Rename the "Hello" file to something else.

Double click the file.

Follow the instructions to install it.

From there, you should see the "Hello" screen saver added as an option in the list of Mac screen savers available in System Preferences > Desktop > Screen Saver > Screen Saver.

The Hello screen saver cycles through various colors, and there are several themes to choose from including "Soft Tones," "Spectrum," and "Minimal." Soft Tones uses the pastel colors introduced with the new iMacs and matching colored text, while Spectrum uses more saturated shades with lighter text. "Minimal" shows the "Hello" wording in black, white, and gray.

By default, the screen saver will display "Hello" in multiple languages, but you can force it to use only your native language by toggling off "Show 'hello' in all languages in the Screen Saver Options.

A "match system appearance" toggle is also available for use to match light and dark mode preferences.

Related Roundup:

macOS Big Sur

Related Forum:

macOS Big Sur

[

84 comments

]

Top Rated Comments

beanbaguk

16 weeks ago

The comments on here are hilarious! What a bunch of miserable people you are sometimes!!!* Uses too much energy* Not needed with modern VESA standards* Too hard to find* Too much disk space (1.1MB ROFL)* Screensavers should be removedHonestly people....lighten up. I thought it was pretty cool and what's more, I enjoy my aerial screen saver that probably uses up several GB's in videos but it brightens my day. Also, in the hope that it makes you quiver, I have it running across 3 displays on my M1 MBP and it's glorious!Eventually, however, after about 30 minutes, my system will go to sleep but I'm a big screensaver fan.Have a lovely day!

Score:

20 Votes (

Disagree

)

ErikGrim

16 weeks ago

Cheers. We haven't had a new screen saver in a while so this is a nice addition.

Score:

15 Votes (

Disagree

)

adib

16 weeks ago

Nice. Too bad people will have to go through unnecessary complexities to activate this screen saver (which is already taking disk space anyway).In any case, "screen savers" are really "screen killers" now ever since the CPU has the ability to turn off the monitor (VESA Energy Star standard). Ever since then, the best screen saver is "Put Display to Sleep".

Score:

13 Votes (

Disagree

)

Biro

16 weeks ago

Now THIS is the kind of innovation we want from Apple! ;)

Score:

7 Votes (

Disagree

)

diego.caraballo