macOS Tahoe 26: Smarter, More Intuitive, Powered by Apple Intelligence
Apple today previewed macOS Tahoe 26, the latest major release of its desktop operating system, promising to make the Mac more capable, productive, and intelligent than ever before. The announcement highlights a stunning new design, expanded Continuity experiences including the introduction of the Phone app and Live Activities, the most significant update to Spotlight to date, and enhanced Apple Intelligence capabilities.
A Redefined Aesthetic with Liquid Glass
macOS Tahoe 26 introduces a beautiful new design crafted with “Liquid Glass,” a translucent material that reflects and refracts its surroundings, creating a more expressive and personal feel while retaining the familiar macOS identity. Key elements like the desktop, Dock, in-app navigation, and toolbars have been refined. Furthermore, users will enjoy greater personalisation options with an updated Control Center and new colour choices for folders, app icons, and widgets, thereby allowing for seamless integration with personalised wallpapers and theme colours.
Seamless Interconnectivity with Enhanced Continuity
The Phone app is coming to Mac, bringing familiar iPhone features like Recents, Contacts, and Voicemails, alongside new functionalities such as Call Screening and Hold Assist. Call Screening automatically screens unknown numbers, and Hold Assist lets users stay in a hold queue without keeping their phones in hand. Furthermore, Live Activities from a user’s iPhone will now appear directly in the Mac’s menu bar, providing real-time updates on events like flights or ride-shares. Clicking a Live Activity will open the associated app in iPhone Mirroring for more detailed information.
Spotlight Reimagined for Unprecedented Action
Spotlight receives its biggest update ever, transforming it into a powerful action hub. The system now intelligently ranks and lists search results together, adding new filtering options for rapid content discovery, including documents on third-party cloud drives. Crucially, users can now directly execute hundreds of actions from Spotlight – from sending an email to creating a note or playing a podcast – without needing to switch between apps. Spotlight also introduces “quick keys” for instant access to desired actions and learns user routines to surface personalised suggestions.
Apple Intelligence: More Powerful and Private
Apple Intelligence expands its capabilities in macOS Tahoe 26, prioritising privacy. Live Translation enables seamless communication across languages in Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app, with translations occurring on-device. Shortcuts become more intelligent, allowing users to leverage Apple Intelligence models (both on-device and via Private Cloud Compute) for complex tasks like summarising text or comparing lecture notes. Genmoji and Image Playground gain new creative options, including modifying existing emoji and accessing brand-new styles with ChatGPT integration. Reminders also benefit from Apple Intelligence, automatically categorising entries and identifying action items from various content.
A Dedicated Gaming Hub and Advanced Graphics
macOS Tahoe 26 introduces the Apple Games app, a dedicated platform for all games, making it easier to discover new titles and connect with friends. The new Game Overlay allows players to adjust settings, chat, and invite friends without leaving their game. Low Power Mode extends gaming sessions on battery. For developers, Metal 4 brings advanced graphics and next-generation rendering technologies like MetalFX Frame Interpolation and MetalFX Denoising, promising smoother visuals and faster frame rates for upcoming titles such as Crimson Desert, Cyberpunk 2077, and more.
Additional Enhancements Across the System:
- Safari features a refreshed design with rounded tabs, a reorganised sidebar, and improved performance, being 50% faster than Chrome and offering extended battery life for video streaming.
Advanced fingerprinting protection is now enabled by default. - Messages introduce Backgrounds, Polls, a redesigned details view, typing indicators in groups, and easier contact addition.
- Journal comes to Mac, offering a dedicated space for capturing thoughts and experiences, with syncing across Apple devices.
- Photos receive a design update with Liquid Glass elements, enhanced customisation, and consistency with iPadOS.
- FaceTime boasts a reimagined landing page, Liquid Glass controls, and quick access to SharePlay and Live Translation.
- Notes gain markdown import/export and the ability to capture Phone app conversations as audio recordings with transcriptions.
- Accessibility features include Magnifier on Mac, Accessibility Reader, an all-new Braille Access experience, and Vehicle Motion Cues.
- Passwords now allow users to easily reference and check previous versions of saved passwords.
Availability
macOS Tahoe 26 is available for testing today through the Apple Developer Program, with a public beta set to launch next month via the Apple Beta Software Program. The full release will be available as a free software update this fall. Apple Intelligence features will require supported devices, including all iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPad mini (A17 Pro), and iPad and Mac models with M1 and later, with Siri and device language set to a supported language. More languages will be added by the end of the year.
