Rewind 2025: Wallpapers
Part II of my fifth annual Rewind Series is a look back at the year and my three favourite wallpapers from 2025.
To put a bow on 2025, my final two entries of the year reflect on my three favourite articles of the year, along with my three favourite wallpapers. This second part looks at my three favourite wallpapers of 2025.
2025 By the Numbers
Let’s look at some of the numbers that defined 2025:
3 million people visited the site, representing a slight uptick from this time last year. I have never taken that number for granted. With so many things competing for our attention, having people find the site and continue to come back is something I consider a real privilege.
48 percent of site traffic came from iOS devices, 34 percent from the Mac, with approximately 10 percent from PCs and 7 percent from Android devices.
I published 50 articles to the main blog, 30 of which were written pieces. These included my usual Bingo Boards for WWDC and Apple’s September event, alongside new entries chronicling the history of iOS and macOS icons, highlighting some of my favourite apps (April, July), reviewing products, and reflecting on milestones like the Apple Watch turning 10, as well as my frustrations with the AirPods Pro 3.
Another 20 articles focused on wallpapers, including new series such as Skyline I & II and Gradients of April and September.
An additional 26 new posted were added to the Haberdashery, with a particular focus on building out a back catalogue of wallpapers Apple releases around new store openings. A new Apple Retail Wallpaper Archive section was also added to the blog, and both new and older wallpapers will continue to be added and live there for posterity.
The blog now reaches approximately 100,000 RSS subscribers, a significant increase from the roughly 50,000 subscribers throughout most of 2024.
The top three wallpapers by number of views were:
The top three articles by number of views were:
But it’s time to share my top three articles of 2025. These are not necessarily my most popular pieces, but the three that stood out from the rest and felt worthy of a three-star shoutout to end the year.
iPhone 17 Pro Internals Wallpapers
Wallpaper | Posted: November 12, 2025
My most ambitious and time-consuming wallpaper project of the year was the iPhone Internals. This year, not only was I traveling in the first few weeks following the release of the iPhone 17 lineup, but I was also, at various points, sick, teaching, working, and sometimes doing all of the above at once. Suffice it to say, getting these out the door this year was no easy feat.
Each wallpaper consists of nearly 3,000 unique layers, all carefully pieced together and placed by hand, or rather, by mouse, to form the final product. The work that went into these was met with a great deal of anticipation and, later, genuine appreciation, which truly helped push me over the finish line.
While I had previously mentioned a late-2025 deadline, I fully intend to release the iPhone Air schematics early in the new year.
Fluted Gradients
Wallpaper | Posted: January 13, 2025
Fluted Gradients was my first wallpaper pack of 2025 and, much to my surprise, one of my most popular of the year. Taking custom-made gradients and applying a fluted, glass-like overlay resulted in a fun, minimal wallpaper that I continued to use across several of my own devices throughout the year.
It is also one of the collections I plan to revisit in early 2026, so keep an eye out for that.
Skyline I & II
Skyline I | Skyline II | Posted: May 28 & June 24, 2025
Maybe it is the Windows 95 homeboy in me, but a good cloud wallpaper will always have a place in my heart. Cue Skyline I and II, a collection of wallpapers featuring soft, billowing clouds set against a variety of gradient backgrounds.
THANK YOU
Finally, thank you. Thank you for reading, supporting my work, connecting with me, and for every tip and purchase. I am beyond grateful. Wishing everyone a safe, successful, peaceful, and fulfilling 2026.
