Apple has officially previewed macOS Tahoe 26, bringing a modernized design, powerful improvements to Spotlight, deeper integration of Apple Intelligence, and expanded continuity with the iPhone — including the arrival of the Phone app on Mac for the first time.
macOS Redesign
macOS Tahoe 26 introduces Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language to the Mac, featuring translucent materials that reflect and refract their surroundings. Key interface elements like the desktop, Dock, sidebars, toolbars, and in-app navigation have been reimagined to elevate content while maintaining the familiarity Mac users expect.
Image: Apple
The menu bar is now fully transparent, creating a more immersive desktop experience, and users can customize what appears in the menu bar and Control Center — including layout and controls. A new personalization system also allows users to adjust app icon styles in light or dark mode, choose colorful new tints, and even change folder colors or add symbols and emoji for quick identification.
New Phone App
With enhanced Continuity, the Phone app arrives on Mac, letting users make and receive cellular calls using their nearby iPhone. It includes familiar features from iOS 26 — like Recents, Favorites, and Voicemails — as well as the latest Apple Intelligence tools like Call Screening and Hold Assist.
Call Screening automatically answers unknown numbers, gathers information from the caller, and provides a preview to help users decide whether to answer. Hold Assist keeps users in the queue while waiting for a live agent, allowing them to continue working on their Mac without losing their place in line.
Image: Apple
Additionally, Live Activities from a user’s iPhone now appear in the Mac’s menu bar — offering real-time updates on things like ride shares, flights, or sports scores. Clicking on a Live Activity opens the app via iPhone Mirroring, allowing users to act on the information instantly from their Mac.
Spotlight Improvements
Spotlight sees one of its biggest upgrades yet. Search results — including apps, files, folders, calendar events, messages, and more — are now unified and intelligently ranked based on relevance. New filters allow users to narrow results quickly, such as limiting a search to PDFs or emails. Spotlight also supports searching third-party cloud storage services.
For broader discovery, Spotlight introduces Browse Views, helping users explore their system across categories like installed apps, clipboard history, and recently opened documents — even when they don’t know exactly what they’re looking for.
Image: Apple
Users can now perform hundreds of actions directly from Spotlight — such as sending a message, creating a note, starting a timer, or playing a podcast — without opening another app. Thanks to the App Intents API, third-party developers can add their own custom actions to Spotlight as well.
Safari and Messages Updates
Safari gets a refreshed interface with rounded, floating tabs and a redesigned sidebar that makes it easier to locate saved content like iCloud Tabs and Saved items. The browser remains fast, private, and deeply integrated with the system.
Messages on Mac now supports Backgrounds, Polls, and an overhauled Details View that surfaces shared links, photos, and files more clearly. Typing indicators in group chats show exactly who’s responding, and users can add new participants or search messages with more natural language queries.
Journal Comes to Mac
The Journal app makes its debut on Mac, allowing users to reflect and write in a more expansive format. Whether it’s documenting daily moments or special events, Journal on Mac offers features like location tagging, multiple journals, and map views — all synced seamlessly across devices.