Here's Everything New in macOS Tahoe Beta 2

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The second developer beta of macOS Tahoe is now available for testing, and it includes a handful of smaller new features and changes on the Mac.

macos tahoe
Below, we recap everything new that has been found in macOS Tahoe beta 2 so far.

Redesigned Finder App Icon

Fi vs Fi
Crisis averted: Apple has restored the Finder icon's design to its former glory on the second beta.

On the first macOS Tahoe developer beta, the app icon's colors were inverted, with blue appearing on the right side and white appearing on the left side. That change disappointed some people, and Apple has evidently listened to that feedback.

Redesigned Migration Assistant App Icon

Migration Assistant Feature
The second beta also gives a fresh coat of paint to the Migration Assistant app icon.

Menu Bar Background Option

Frosted vs Unfrosted Menu Bar
Apple removed the frosted background from the menu bar by default on macOS Tahoe, as part of the Liquid Glass redesign. If you miss it, though, the second beta adds a "Show menu bar background" option to the System Settings app under Menu Bar.

AirPods Beta Firmware

AirPods Beta Updates Feature
As spotted by Federico Trevisani, the second macOS Tahoe beta lets you enroll in beta testing of AirPods firmware updates directly on a Mac.

First, connect your AirPods to your Mac. Next, open the System Settings app and click on the Bluetooth menu. Then, select the (i) symbol next to your AirPods. On the ensuing page, scroll down to the bottom and click on "AirPods Beta Updates. Finally, there is a toggle to enable beta firmware updates on your AirPods. Firmware updates will be installed when your AirPods are in their charging case and near the Мас.

Apple currently offers AirPods beta firmware updates to developers only. However, that will soon change. Apple plans to start offering public betas of AirPods firmware updates in July for the first time, beginning with the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2.

The latest firmware beta for the ‌AirPods 4‌ and AirPods Pro 2 adds support for improved audio quality for phone calls and video calls, plus studio-quality audio recording for interviews, podcasts, and videos. There is also an option to use AirPods as a camera remote with the Camera app to take photos or start a video recording, and these AirPods models can automatically pause audio if it is detected that you fell asleep.

Other Changes

The first macOS Tahoe public beta will be available in July, and the update will likely be released to the general public in September.

Related Roundup: macOS Tahoe
Related Forum: macOS Tahoe

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Top Rated Comments

TheDailyApple Avatar
TheDailyApple
8 months ago
Reverting the colors back to the original ones was a good move for the finder icon, but I think the border they added is still way too large. I'd prefer it if it looked more like this:



Attachment Image
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HighwaySnowman Avatar
HighwaySnowman
8 months ago

Reverting the colors back to the original ones was a good move for the finder icon, but I think the border they added is still way too large. I'd prefer it if it looked more like this:


There's already a much nicer version they could use:



Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JohnC4 Avatar
JohnC4
8 months ago
Sad, the biggest thing to talk about on Apple OS’s is the design language.

Least Apple could do is recognize the existence of ultra wide monitors. The top menu bar for apps is annoying on 49” monitor, always having to look to the top left. Same with ultra wide in Vision Pro. Do they actually use their own software? At a minimum the menu should have an option to center vs pin left. Better, put it on the top bar of the running app, so you don’t have to look away from what you’re doing to select a menu option.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iMattPro Avatar
iMattPro
8 months ago

I’m unclear what the problem was with their new Finder icon. I liked it. I think it looked cleaner.


Attachment Image
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
orbital~debris
8 months ago
Did Apple say anything during WWDC about why app corners are more rounded on macOS (e.g. look at Settings in the screenshots above)?
I know they did for iOS/iPadOS but they have corresponding hardware rounded corners with their Liquid Retina displays. On Mac, there's still a mix of square edged corners and rounded corners.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dark_Omen Avatar
Dark_Omen
8 months ago

Sad, the biggest thing to talk about on Apple OS’s is the design language.

Least Apple could do is recognize the existence of ultra wide monitors. The top menu bar for apps is annoying on 49” monitor, always having to look to the top left. Same with ultra wide in Vision Pro. Do they actually use their own software? At a minimum the menu should have an option to center vs pin left. Better, put it on the top bar of the running app, so you don’t have to look away from what you’re doing to select a menu option.
Tim should just tell the board that he's out of ideas (not that any were his anyways) -- maybe I should just say "his C-suite team" is out of ideas, so they can terminate him and move on to someone that knows what they're doing.

He's over his head now that Steve's inventions have matured. The cow has run out of milk.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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