Apple's MacBook and iPhone wallpapers are hiding tons of secret messages (and some are easier to spot than others)

Call me odd (actually, please don't) but one of my favourite things about any new Apple product launch is the advent of new wallpapers. Apple usually (but not always) uses the announcement of new hardware as an opportunity to hand us some fresh colourful (and often weirdly calming) blobs. But in recent years, they've actually been so much more than blobs.

Yes, Apple has been hiding secret words and messages in its wallpapers for the last few years – and while some are easy to spot from a distance, others are so subtle that they could even be worthy of our roundup of the best optical illusions.

One of the first Apple products to feature a hidden word in the wallpaper was the M2 MacBook Air. Look closely at the abstract fanning shapes above, and you might, at a push, be able to make out the word 'Air'.

And the latest MacBook, the budget MacBook Neo, is no different – the word 'Mac' can be seen hiding (not so subtly) in those colourful rounded pills.

The product marked the start of a trend of Apple hiding the product name in its wallpapers. And in a new video exploring the phenomenon (below), Byte Review's Tom Hitchens shows how some are brilliantly hidden. Interestingly it seems to be the 'Pro' products that Apple has chosen to go truly stealthy with.

Indeed, the wallpapers are yet another sign of a company rediscovering its sense of fun. From its bizarre TikTok videos to its adventurous new ads, Apple has been on a roll lately when it comes to playful design.