The macOS Tahoe public beta is right here, and meaning you may get your fingers on the newest macOS replace and all its thrilling new options with no need a developer account. And if you happen to do select to go down that path, there’s numerous good things ready for you.
I’ve been utilizing the macOS Tahoe beta for a number of weeks now, and there’s rather a lot I’ve come to like about it. From the Liquid Glass redesign to the completely revamped Highlight, I’ve discovered it to be a significant improve over macOS Sequoia. Listed here are 5 of my favourite macOS Tahoe options that you just’ll need to strive as quickly as you obtain the general public beta.
If you’d like extra details about the following main improve of macOS, take a look at our macOS Tahoe superguide.
Liquid Glass
The Liquid Glass redesign has been on everybody’s lips since Apple lifted the lid on it on the firm’s Worldwide Builders Convention in June. It’s an entire reimagining of the feel and appear of macOS–gone is the flat design, changed by a slew of clear components that carry greater than a touch of skeuomorphism.
Liquid Glass has been pretty divisive to this point, and it’s straightforward to search out individuals who deem it to be both the perfect or the worst factor that Apple has ever carried out. However a lot of the controversy appears to stem from its implementation in iOS 26, the place overlapping components can typically make it exhausting to learn textual content and buttons. In macOS, although, that’s far much less of an issue.
I’ve been utilizing the betas of iOS 26, watchOS 26, and macOS Tahoe, and I’ve discovered that macOS is by far essentially the most pure residence for Liquid Glass. With a extra expansive show, there are fewer overlapping components that destroy the expertise. As a substitute, you get all of the enticing glassiness–with mild shining by way of apps and refractive components in all places you look–in a way more comfy setting.
With macOS Tahoe, you may modify the transparency of icons to your liking.
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Considered one of my favourite facets of Liquid Glass is the Dock. I’ve opted to maintain my Dock icons of their common stable colours as a result of the clear possibility feels prefer it’s pushing the glass somewhat too far. That offers me a variety of colourful icons resting on prime of a sheet of frosted glass, and the impact is beautiful. It’s a delicate distinction in comparison with macOS Sequoia, however my Mac feels all the higher for it.
The subtlety is probably what makes Liquid Glass really feel a lot better on macOS than on iOS. On my iPhone, it’s exhausting to disregard the glass components. They’re in all places. On the Mac, although, they’re much extra restrained. You see them when transferring a slider, or when opening the Management Middle, nevertheless it’s not so in your face as it’s with iOS. That makes it a lot simpler to understand.
By default, the macOS Tahoe menu bar is clear. Actually, I really like this small change to the Mac interface. Taking a look at older variations of macOS, a stable menu bar now feels somewhat clunky in comparison with a transparent one. However if you happen to like a menu bar with a background, you may deliver it again within the System Settings app. The selection is yours.
There are additional menu bar choices in macOS Tahoe that you just’re going to need to strive. Now you can determine which third-party apps can seem within the menu bar on a person foundation, providing you with extra management over how stacked up this space will get.
In macOS Tahoe, Management Middle gadgets can now seem as icons within the menu bar.
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However maybe the perfect change is linked to the Management Middle. As a substitute of leaving widgets and buttons solely within the Management Middle, you can too drag them into your menu bar. All the pieces from a button to start out your display saver to a fast management to tile home windows can now dwell on the prime of your display, placing them only a click on away.
Extra clever shortcuts
The Shortcuts app has lengthy been one of the crucial underrated facets of macOS. With macOS Tahoe, it’s gotten some much-needed love with the addition of Apple Intelligence options.
Shortcuts now helps Apple Intelligence options.
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This opens the door to a heap of highly effective and attention-grabbing workflows powered by synthetic intelligence (AI). For instance, you may ask Apple Intelligence to check an audio recording with notes you took from a gathering, then get it to fill in any lacking blanks.
The most effective implementations of that is with Apple Intelligence’s rewriting capabilities. In case you’re caught on the best way to phrase one thing–or simply need some extra concepts that you just won’t have considered your self–you may construct a shortcut that takes your textual content and rephrases it into one thing a lot snappier.
The Shortcuts app has additionally gained automation performance, lastly bringing it on top of things with its iOS equal. I’ve waited an absolute age for this, and it provides you every kind of highly effective choices, like making a folder that robotically converts file codecs for something you drop into it, or setting off a sequence of actions if you open a delegated app. It’s taken a very long time to get right here, nevertheless it’s higher late than by no means.
All-new Highlight
One of many greatest revamps in macOS Tahoe has come to Highlight. The search-bar-cum-app-launcher has been granted a brand new set of superpowers and has change into much more helpful. Because of this, you typically don’t have to launch one other app in any respect.
You’ll be able to carry out duties inside Highlight as an alternative of opening an app. For instance, you may create a calendar occasion with out opening Calendar.
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For example, to write down an electronic mail, you usually have to open your electronic mail consumer and click on round a bunch of menus to ship your message. With the brand new Highlight, you may merely punch in an electronic mail title, recipient and contents, then hearth off your missive with out ever having to load the Mail app.
Considered one of my favourite makes use of for this performance is to rapidly create new calendar occasions. That helps me handle my day and add new work assignments to my weekly plans, all from inside Highlight.
With the addition of the Fast Keys characteristic, doing all that requires even much less effort. With Fast Keys, you may assign a shortcut to any motion you may carry out in Highlight. For instance, with my calendar, I’ve set “ne” as my shortcut to creating a brand new occasion. Then I simply must launch Highlight, enter my new shortcut, then kind in my new occasion particulars and press Return.
Talking of shortcuts, these at the moment are built-in into Highlight as nicely. Going again to my rephrasing instance above, macOS Tahoe allows you to spotlight some textual content, deliver up Highlight to search out the shortcut, then run it from inside your app. There’s no have to launch the Shortcuts app and even take your fingers off the keyboard.
The Dwell Actions that you just’re used to seeing on the iPhone at the moment are accessible on the Mac.
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Dwell Actions
The Dwell Actions characteristic has been an ideal addition to iOS, letting you keep on top of things with sports activities scores, deliveries, and extra out of your iPhone’s Lock display. In macOS Tahoe, Dwell Actions out of your iPhone at the moment are mirrored in your Mac. Simply click on the menu bar icon to see a widget of your chosen exercise.
This would possibly sound like a small characteristic, however I’ve truly discovered it to be extraordinarily helpful whereas engaged on my Mac. My iPhone is commonly in my pocket or on one other desk away from the place I’m working. If I’ve received one thing essential that I’m retaining observe of with a Dwell Exercise widget, it’s a ache to maintain switching between my units, particularly when my iPhone is out of attain.
In macOS Tahoe, that data is only a click on away on my Mac’s desktop. It means fewer interruptions to my work, with out my shedding observe of the exercise. It’s a good way to chop out distractions and disruptions and aptly demonstrates Apple’s means to tie its {hardware}, software program, and disparate units collectively into one seamless expertise.