macOS 26 Tahoe

macOS 26 Tahoe is the newest version of macOS, set to launch this fall. macOS 26 follows macOS 16, with Apple streamlining the numbering for all of its operating system updates. Everything coming out this year uses "26," which reflects the 2025-2026 release season for the new software.

Apple always gives macOS an extra name that's based on a California landmark, and this year, it's Tahoe. Tahoe is a popular lake and ski destination in California, and now the name for the 2025/2026 macOS release.

macOS Tahoe, like iOS 26, adopts Apple's new Liquid Glass material design. Liquid Glass is translucent and it behaves like glass would in the real world, reflecting light and the color that's behind it.

Liquid Glass extends to desktop icons, folders, the Dock, in-app navigation, menus, toolbars, and the Control Center. The menu bar is translucent, revealing more of the display so it feels larger.

The Control Center is customizable, as is the menu bar, and users can adjust the layout and choose what apps and controls appear in both places.

There are options to set colors for folders, app icons and widgets. App icons support light and dark tints, and the same clear look that's available on iOS. Folders can get colors and emoji characters, making them more recognizable at a glance.

Safari has an updated tab design that's rounded and floating in the toolbar, with a new look for tabs and favorites. The sidebar has been redesigned to make it easier to find saved content like iCloud Tabs. Apple also made Safari faster, and it is 50 percent quicker at loading frequently visited websites than Chrome. It's more secure, too, with Apple adding advanced fingerprinting protection in all browsing by default.

Apple overhauled the Photos app with Liquid Glass design elements and made the sidebar more like the iPad sidebar. There are also enhancements for customization and workflow efficiency, with the addition of Pinned Collections and new buttons for filtering and sorting options in all views. Collection tile sizes can be customized, too.

The FaceTime app supports Contact Posters for recent callers and Liquid Glass controls are available in the bottom right of the display and fade away when not in use to allow for more screen space.

Apple brought the Phone app to the Mac, letting users make phone calls through Wi-Fi calling and a connected iPhone. The app supports Recents, Contacts, and Voicemail, along with new Call Screening and Hold Assist features. Call Screening asks callers for their name and reason for calling so you can decide whether to answer, while Hold Assist stays on the line for you and lets you know when a live agent is available.

Live Activities now sync over from the iPhone and appear in the menu bar on Mac, so you can track Uber ride arrivals, flights, and live sports games. If you click a Live Activity, it opens in the iPhone Mirroring app for more information.

Spotlight got a huge update, and it can now be used to execute hundreds of actions, plus search has been improved. Search results include files, folders, events, apps (from Mac and iPhone), messages, documents from third-party cloud services, and more, all listed together and ranked based on relevance. Filtering options allow for more targeted searches, and a browse view can be used to search for apps, files, and the clipboard history that features what you've copied and pasted.

Spotlight can do more than before, and it can be used for quickly completing actions without opening an app. Spotlight can send emails, create a note, play podcasts, send messages, create Calendar events, add reminders to a list, make calls, and activate any Shortcuts you've created. Spotlight actions work with third-party apps that have adopted App Intents, and items from the menu bar of the app you're using are searchable in Spotlight, so it can be used for swapping tools. Spotlight is able to learn from your routines to surface personalized actions. Actions can be launched using new quick keys, or short strings of characters.

Shortcuts supports Apple Intelligence for automating complex tasks. Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools and Image Playground are available as actions, plus there are options to use Apple Intelligence models or ChatGPT to make shortcuts more robust. Shortcuts can also run automatically on Mac, at a certain time of day or when an action like connecting a display is taken.

The Messages app on Mac supports Live Translation, has an option for polls, and allows for customizable backgrounds for conversations. Group texts now have typing indicators and support Apple Cash payments, plus you can search using natural language. FaceTime and Phone also work with Live Translation.

Apple Intelligence now integrates with the Reminders app, and the feature is able to review emails, websites, notes, and more to find relevant action items. There's also an option to categorize Reminders into sections to make them easier to manage.

Image Playground now supports additional art styles from ChatGPT, and Genmoji has been updated with the option to combine two or more emoji or add to an existing emoji as a starting place.

The new Games app is available on the Mac for accessing Mac App Store and Apple Arcade titles, and it has a Game Overlay option. With Game Overlay, players can adjust their system settings, chat with friends, and invite friends to play without leaving the game. Apple added Low Power Mode, which can be used during game sessions to maximize playtime when on battery.

For developers, there's Metal 4 with more advanced graphics, smoother visuals, faster frame rates, and next-generation rendering technologies for games.

Apple brought the Journal app to the Mac, so you can write journal entries and view them on a map. Everything is synced between iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The Notes app supports exporting in Markdown and recording conversations in the Phone app on Mac, and the Passwords app saves previous versions of passwords and dates of when they were changed.

The macOS Tahoe beta is limited to developers right now, but Apple plans to provide public beta testers with access in July. macOS Tahoe will see an official launch in the fall.

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macOS Tahoe has a number of new Accessibility features, ranging from an option to use an iPhone as a magnifying glass to features for cutting down on motion sickness when a Mac is used in a moving vehicle.

Magnifier on Mac

Magnifier on Mac uses the iPhone camera's zoom feature, beaming the feed to a Mac through Continuity Camera. There are options for creating multiple live session windows for tracking a presentation while also zooming in on a textbook, and each view can be customized with different brightness levels and color and contrast filters to suit individual needs. Magnifier on Mac is an extension of the existing Magnifier option on the iPhone, which allows the iPhone to be used to zoom in on text and detect objects.

Vehicle Motion Cues

Apple is bringing Vehicle Motion Cues, a feature designed to cut down on motion sickness, to the Mac. Vehicle Motion Cues use dots on the side of the display to match the feeling of movement with what the eyes are seeing. It's previously been available on iPhone, but is expanding to the Mac.

Braille Access

Braille Access turns a Mac into a braille note taking device integrated in the Apple ecosystem. Users can open any app with Braille Screen Input or a connected braille device, for quick note taking in braille format. Braille Ready Format files can be opened from Braille Access, and an integrated form of Live Captions is supported.

Accessibility Reader

Accessibility Reader is a systemwide reading mode that will make text easier to read for users with a range of disabilities. It includes multiple text customization features with options for adjusting font, color, spacing, and more. Accessibility Reader can be launched from any app and is built into the Magnifier app.

macOS Tahoe could drop support for the 2018 MacBook Pro, 2019 iMac, 2017 iMac Pro, 2018 Mac mini, and the Intel-based 2020 MacBook Air. It's expected to be compatible with these Macs:

• MacBook Pro (2019 and later)
• iMac (2020 and later)
• Mac Pro (2019 and later)
• Mac mini (M1 and later)
• Mac Studio (all models)
• MacBook Air (M1 and later)

macOS Tahoe was previewed at the WWDC 2025 keynote event, and he first beta was provided to developers on that same day. A public beta will be available in July.

Apple will officially launch macOS 26 sometime in the fall, likely alongside iOS 26 and new iPhones.