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Apple Releases First macOS Tahoe 26.4 Public Beta

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Apple today provided public beta testers with the first release of an upcoming macOS Tahoe 26.4 update for testing purposes. The public beta comes a day after Apple provided the beta to developers.

macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb
After signing up for beta testing on Apple's beta site, public beta testers can download the updates using the Software Update section in the System Settings app.

‌macOS Tahoe‌ 26.4 includes several new features. The Compact tab layout has been reimplemented in Safari for those who missed having the option in earlier versions of ‌macOS Tahoe‌, and there is a new Charge Limit feature that lets Mac users select a maximum charge level that ranges from 80 percent to 100 percent.

Apple silicon Mac users will see now see warnings about apps that are still using Rosetta 2, because Apple is phasing out Rosetta after macOS 27. ‌macOS Tahoe‌ is also the final version of macOS that will run on Intel-based Macs, and Apple is working to remove all lingering Intel features.

We could see additional features in upcoming versions of ‌macOS Tahoe‌ 26.4, such as new emoji characters. Apple is expected to test the update for the next several weeks, with a launch planned for the spring.

Related Roundup: macOS Tahoe
Related Forum: macOS Tahoe

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Top Rated Comments

V
vantelimus
3 weeks ago
Be careful with this public beta. The developer beta corrupted two external drives on my test system. I haven't lost data, but it made the volumes read only and unfixable by Disk Utility.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jtfolden Avatar
jtfolden
3 weeks ago

Btw, my further analysis of the problem is that you are right; it is not a corruption. It looks like a bug with a daemon holding the volume open and not letting the system unmount it to do an integrity check with fsck. Since the integrity can't be checked, the volume gets mounted read-only as a precautionary measure. Sucks for me for a week or two. But it is better than losing data.
Worse than that, fsck_hfs is broken in this beta. If you even try running it from the command line it will produce a nasty error.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
avtoportret
3 weeks ago

Worse than that, fsck_hfs is broken in this beta. If you even try running it from the command line it will produce a nasty error.
Yep, same.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
tywebb13
3 weeks ago
build the the same as the developer beta 1: 25E5207k

presumably this still has the hfs and dmg bugs.

watch out for those
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
T
tywebb13
3 weeks ago

Be careful with this public beta. The developer beta corrupted two external drives on my test system. I haven't lost data, but it made the volumes read only and unfixable by Disk Utility.
yeah others have reported similar problems however it is likely there is nothing wrong with your drives. try putting into a computer that doesn’t have the tahoe beta and you may discover there is nothing wrong with them.

it appears fsck_hfs is broken in this beta
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
V
vantelimus
3 weeks ago

yeah others have reported similar problems however it is likely there is nothing wrong with your drives. try putting into a computer that doesn’t have the tahoe beta and you may discover there is nothing wrong with them.

it appears fsck_hfs is broken in this beta
I accept these sorts of risks for my development machine. It seems an unreasonable bug for Apple to release as a public beta.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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