macOS Tahoe (version 26) is the twenty-second major release ofApple'smacOS operating system. The successor tomacOS Sequoia, it was announced atWWDC 2025 on June 9, 2025, and its first developer beta was released the same day. It was released on September 15, 2025.
Tahoe is the final version of macOS that supports Macs withIntel processors; the 2020iMac, the 2019 16-inchMacBook Pro, the 2020 4-port 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the 2019Mac Pro models are supported. Future versions will work only on Macs withApple siliconsystems on a chip (SoCs).[5] It is the first version of macOS sinceMac OS X Snow Leopard that cannot be upgraded from an older version via theMac App Store; upgrading it is exclusively available through the System Settings software update preference pane, as is the case with iOS.
At the conference, Apple announced that it was unifying theversion numbers of its operating systems by designating them all with the year after their release, like vehiclemodel years. Federighi said thatmacOS versions will still primarily be marketed using release names, such as "Tahoe".[8][9]
The release is named afterLake Tahoe, alake that straddles the border ofCalifornia andNevada, continuing Apple's practice of naming macOS releases for locations in its home state.
The user interface has been substantially redesigned for the first time sincemacOS Big Sur in 2020, using theLiquid Glass design language. This aligns with Apple'siOS 26 andiPadOS 26.
Folder icons have been redesigned and can now have custom colors, emblems, andemojis, and can also abide by the accent color. They also now have animations.
App icons have been unified with iOS andiPadOS, and can have dark and tinted variants as introduced in iOS withiOS 18 andiPadOS 18, as well as a new clear variant.
The menu bar is now fully transparent by default, with a faint drop shadow. The option to show a background for the menu bar is retained.
TheControl Center has been redesigned, now functioning like and resembling the iOS version introduced in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18.
Volume and brightness sliders have been redesigned; the sliders are now fully integrated with the Control Center.
Some Lock Screen customization features on iOS and iPadOS have been brought over to the Mac, such as changing the color, font, and weight of the clock.
Spotlight Search has been redesigned and gains quick actions, "quick-key" shortcuts, third-party API support, a completely revamped indexer with AI support, menubar search, andApple Intelligence integration.
An Applications feature which is similar to the App Library, used on iOS sinceiOS 14 and iPadOS sinceiPadOS 15. It is integrated into the Spotlight interface. iPhone apps also appear in the Applications list through Continuity from the user's iPhone, and will launch through iPhone Mirroring.[11] This replacesLaunchpad from the previous versions of macOS.
App icons are now required to be squared-circles (squircles), a design recommended since macOS Big Sur; an icon that doesn't comply with the requirement is placed inside a greysquircle.
Areas such as the Control Center, app opening, and Spotlight Search now have increased animation.
Many iOS and iPadOS features have been brought over to the Mac, such as Live Activities and Collections in the Photos app.
The cursor has been redesigned, now having a more rounded appearance.
Some system sound effects are refined.
Vehicle Motion Cues, a system-wide Accessibility Reader, and support forBraille displays come as part of expanded accessibility features.
The Photos, Maps, and Apple Music apps now behave more similarly to their iOS and iPadOS counterparts.
Notifications for low battery and AirPods have been reduced to alerts in their menu bar items.
The power and restart windows are now shown in a pop-up window rather than an actual one.
Terminal gains support for 24-bit color and Powerline fonts.[12]
Passwords adds a password history feature to view previous passwords.[13]
The disc image format, formerly RAW, has been replaced by the new format Apple Sparse Image Format (ASIF), which Apple claims is significantly faster and more similar to a native SSD's performance.[14]
Apple Intelligence requires a Mac with Apple silicon.
During its Platforms State of the Union event at WWDC 2025, Apple announced that macOS Tahoe will be the last major version of macOS that supports Intel-based Macs.[24] The only remaining Intel-based Macs supported by Tahoe are the Mac Pro (2019), the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, four Thunderbolt 3 ports) and the iMac (2020), thus ending support for all Intel-based MacBook Air and Mac mini models.[22][23]
