Apple Seeds First macOS Tahoe Public Beta - MacRumors
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Apple Seeds First macOS Tahoe Public Beta

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Apple today provided public beta testers with the opportunity to test the newest version of macOS, macOS Tahoe, ahead of its launch this fall. If you want to sign up for the ‌macOS Tahoe‌ public beta, you can do so on Apple's beta website. The first Tahoe public beta is identical to the fourth developer beta that was released on Tuesday.

macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb 2
Public beta testers can download ‌macOS Tahoe‌ from the Software Update section of the Settings app after signing up for the betas.

‌macOS Tahoe‌ has the same Liquid Glass design as iOS 26, and it extends to app icons, folders, the Dock, in-app navigation, menus, the Control Center, and the Menu Bar. The Control Center and the Menu Bar are both customizable, and you're also able to customize folders, app icons, and widgets.

macos tahoe design
Safari has an updated tab design and a redesigned sidebar, and Apple has brought the Phone app to the Mac for making phone calls through Wi-Fi Calling. The Phone app supports the new Call Screening and Hold Assist features.

Spotlight has been overhauled with improved search and the ability to execute hundreds of actions without opening up an app. There's a new Games app with a Game Overlay feature, and developers have access to Metal 4.

More on what's new can be found in our macOS Tahoe roundup.

Related Roundup: macOS Tahoe
Related Forum: macOS Tahoe

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Top Rated Comments

T
Tig_one
15 months ago

It's quite bad, not gonna lie. Tabs are readable, but the design there is far from ideal.
I wish it was readable at least.


Unbelievable they won't bring back compact tabs too.
The level of design they are putting out these days is absolutely soulless & decadent.

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Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bradman83 Avatar
bradman83
15 months ago
Liquid Glass is fine, it's used so sparingly across the OS that it's not that intrusive. But the whole OS just feels... ugly. When I heard Apple was adopting the glassy look from visionOS I was excited because I was hoping they'd be taking the gray, smoked glass look. I think the fundamental problem with this redesign is that they're trying to do everything white on white using only faint shadows and gradients to provide depth and differentiation.

My biggest issue is the sidebars. Since Yosemite sidebars have had a visual differentiation from the main window by using a soft, blurred translucency. Now they're a slab of Liquid Glass that floats above the window contents. For apps like Maps or Home it provides a neat effect because the contents slide under the sidebar, but for the majority of windows there's nothing underneath, it's just plain white with a tiny hint of color refraction from the desktop or window contents.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G
GrumpyOldGuy52
15 months ago
It is ugly. Reducing transparency helps, but it's still unnecessarily ugly.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B
bobbyjack
15 months ago
"MacOS Tahoe is out, it has liquid glass design, updated safari tabs and the phone app. Also spotlight."

Guys, the revolution is underway.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
AUGUSTU5
15 months ago

Has anyone tried Safari on MacOS yet? Are tabs readable now?
If it’s the same build as yesterday’s Beta 4, then the answer is Nope. Safari is hot garbage in macOS26. They will need so much time to fix that / rollback some of those changes to make it atleast “usable”…
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
mgymnop
15 months ago
Played around with the beta a bit more. Dark mode is even more atrocious. Totally deactivated it. My thoughts:
Trillion dollar company developed a skin that looks like a 10 year old 3rd party theme for Android phones. Whoever designed this should be fired.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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