The macOS Tahoe public beta is right here, and meaning you may get your arms on the most recent macOS replace and all its thrilling new options while not having a developer account. And in the event you do select to go down that path, there’s loads of great things ready for you.
I’ve been utilizing the macOS Tahoe beta for a number of weeks now, and there’s so much 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 below are 5 of my favourite macOS Tahoe options that you simply’ll need to attempt as quickly as you obtain the general public beta.
If you need extra details about the subsequent main improve of macOS, try 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 a whole 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 simple to seek out individuals who deem it to be both the very best or the worst factor that Apple has ever carried out. However many of the controversy appears to stem from its implementation in iOS 26, the place overlapping components can usually make it onerous 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 probably the most pure house for Liquid Glass. With a extra expansive show, there are fewer overlapping components that smash the expertise. As a substitute, you get all of the enticing glassiness–with gentle shining by means of apps and refractive components in all places you look–in a way more comfy setting.
With macOS Tahoe, you’ll be able to regulate the transparency of icons to your liking.
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Certainly one of my favourite elements of Liquid Glass is the Dock. I’ve opted to maintain my Dock icons of their common strong colours as a result of the clear possibility feels prefer it’s pushing the glass just a little too far. That provides me a variety of colourful icons resting on prime of a sheet of frosted glass, and the impact is beautiful. It’s a refined distinction in comparison with macOS Sequoia, however my Mac feels all the higher for it.
The subtlety is maybe what makes Liquid Glass really feel a lot better on macOS than on iOS. On my iPhone, it’s onerous 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 Heart, 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. Truthfully, I really like this small change to the Mac interface. older variations of macOS, a strong menu bar now feels just a little clunky in comparison with a transparent one. However in the event you like a menu bar with a background, you’ll be able to convey it again within the System Settings app. The selection is yours.
There are additional menu bar choices in macOS Tahoe that you simply’re going to need to attempt. 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 Heart objects can now seem as icons within the menu bar.
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However maybe the very best change is linked to the Management Heart. As a substitute of leaving widgets and buttons solely within the Management Heart, it’s also possible to drag them into your menu bar. Every thing from a button to start out your display saver to a fast management to tile home windows can now stay on the prime of your display, placing them only a click on away.
Extra clever shortcuts
The Shortcuts app has lengthy been probably the most underrated elements 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’ll be able to 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 the event you’re caught on the right way to phrase one thing–or simply need some extra concepts that you simply may not have considered your self–you’ll be able to 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 in control with its iOS equal. I’ve waited an absolute age for this, and it offers 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 collection of actions once 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 largest 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 grow to be much more helpful. In consequence, you usually don’t have to launch one other app in any respect.
You’ll be able to carry out duties inside Highlight as a substitute of opening an app. For instance, you’ll be able to create a calendar occasion with out opening Calendar.
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As an example, to jot down an electronic mail, you usually have to open your electronic mail shopper and click on round a bunch of menus to ship your message. With the brand new Highlight, you’ll be able to merely punch in an electronic mail title, recipient and contents, then hearth off your missive with out ever having to load the Mail app.
Certainly 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 function, doing all that requires even much less effort. With Fast Keys, you’ll be able to assign a shortcut to any motion you’ll be able to 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 helps you to spotlight some textual content, convey up Highlight to seek out the shortcut, then run it from inside your app. There’s no have to launch the Shortcuts app and even take your arms off the keyboard.
The Reside Actions that you simply’re used to seeing on the iPhone at the moment are accessible on the Mac.
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Reside Actions
The Reside Actions function has been an amazing addition to iOS, letting you keep in control with sports activities scores, deliveries, and extra out of your iPhone’s Lock display. In macOS Tahoe, Reside 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 may sound like a small function, however I’ve really 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 preserving monitor of with a Reside Exercise widget, it’s a ache to maintain switching between my gadgets, 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 dropping monitor of the exercise. It’s a good way to chop out distractions and disruptions and aptly demonstrates Apple’s skill to tie its {hardware}, software program, and disparate gadgets collectively into one seamless expertise.
