macOS has always been known for its balance of beauty and power. It is an operating system that is loved by students, creatives, developers, and anyone who wants a simple yet powerful digital experience. This year at WWDC25 on 9 June 2025, Apple lives up to that trust and love with a new version of macOS Tahoe. It is designed specifically for every kind of user.
Why Apple Gives macOS a New Name – Tahoe
Apple’s naming style has always been fun and unique. This time, their marketing team made a great discovery. However, Tahoe is the name of Lake Tahoe, a large freshwater lake straddling the California-Nevada border. It is a place where blue waters and snow-capped mountains meet. That’s the inspiration for macOS Tahoe. This new version takes the macOS experience you already love to the next level, but in a more beautiful, more personal, and more powerful way.
Top New Features in Apple macOS 26 Tahoe
Design
macOS Tahoe’s design is for anyone who wants a blend of beauty and functionality. Iconic Mac elements have been refined with Liquid Glass technology, making the Dock, Widgets, and App Icons look even more stunning. Toolbars and sidebars now show more depth, making work feel natural and stylish. However, it is still the same Mac.
Customization in the menu bar and Control Center
The new menu bar is now fully transparent, making the display appear larger. Users can now choose what controls appear in the menu bar and Control Center. Whether they are Mac apps like Zoom or iPhone apps. This gives every user the freedom to customize their Mac in their own way.
Personal touch and visual identity
You can now change the colors of your file folders and add emojis or symbols to them. This gives each project a unique identity. Also, you can customize your Mac with theme colors, personal wallpapers, and dark/light modes that match your work style.
Live Activities and Phone app
Continuity has been made even smarter in macOS Tahoe. Live activities running on the iPhone now appear in the Mac’s menu bar as well. And with the help of iPhone Mirroring, you can open those apps directly from your Mac. In addition, the Phone app is now available on the Mac, syncing everything from iPhone calls, voicemail, contacts, and more. It makes the calling experience even more seamless on the big screen.
Shortcuts and Apple Intelligence
macOS Tahoe brings features designed with the pro user in mind. Shortcuts are smarter, running automatically based on time or an action (like saving a file to a folder). Apple Intelligence lets you add actions like text summaries, image creation, etc., directly to shortcuts.
A new, powerful AI action also allows users to make shortcuts even more powerful by pulling data directly from Apple Intelligence models, like when a student can compare a lecture recording with their notes and add points they missed.
Spotlight’s biggest update
Spotlight gets its biggest update ever. It not only finds content on your device faster but also makes smart suggestions based on your routines and needs. Apps, documents, and system actions are now all in one place. Now you can send emails, create reminders, record audio, etc., directly from Spotlight. All without opening an app using the keyboard.
Spotlight now features Clipboard History, so you can easily access what you copied throughout the day. And quick keys like sm (send message) and ar (add reminder) help you get things done faster.
A new gaming experience
macOS Tahoe is also great for gamers. The new Games App brings all Mac games together in one place. While gaming, you can adjust system settings, chat with friends, or invite them to a game with Game Overlay.
New opportunities for developers
Developers can now make their apps accessible in Spotlight and Shortcuts with the App Intents API. This allows users to take intelligent actions directly from their favorite apps, increasing their productivity even more.
More updates
Safari now provides a sleek, rounded tab design, a refreshed sidebar, 50% faster website loading than Chrome, longer battery life during video streaming, and advanced fingerprinting protection by default.
- Messages introduces Backgrounds, Polls, a new details view, group typing indicators, quick contact adding, and smarter natural language search.
- Photos gets a refreshed Liquid Glass design, easier customization, Pinned Collections in the sidebar, and new options for filtering, sorting, and tile resizing.
- Journal is now available on Mac, letting users write entries, view them on a map, and manage multiple synced journals for different life moments.
- FaceTime features a reimagined landing page with Contact Posters, floating Liquid Glass controls, and a More button for quick access to SharePlay and Live Translation.
- Accessibility adds Magnifier with Continuity Camera support, image filters, a new Accessibility Reader mode, Braille Access interface, and Vehicle Motion Cues to reduce motion sickness.
- Notes now supports markdown file import/export and lets users capture phone conversations as transcribed audio recordings.
Overall review,
macOS Tahoe 2026 brings everything users want from macOS. A beautiful interface, smart controls, the power of AI, faster Spotlight, and an integrated experience. Whether you are a student, a creative artist, or a pro developer, Tahoe brings something new and great for everyone. It is not just an update but a whole new level of Mac experience. The stunning new macOS Tahoe 26 provides more good experience with the Phone app and Live Activities and expanded Apple Intelligence capabilities.
