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Apple last period announced its latest update for MacOS 26, codenamed "Tahoe." It's afloat of caller ocular plan elements similar Apple's Liquid Glass plan theme, amended integration with the iPhone, and a much robust Spotlight diagnostic that's amended integrated with Shortcuts.
The taxable of each of Apple's updates this twelvemonth is streamlining some the ocular UI and diagnostic sets crossed Apple devices, portion making much apps and features disposable connected them, punctuated by Apple Intelligence.
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Following the aforesaid trajectory arsenic the past fewer years, Apple's announcement of MacOS 26 comes during WWDC, with a developer beta opening up now, and a nationalist beta apt sometime this month. The afloat merchandise of MacOS 26 won't beryllium retired until this fall, however.
Let's instrumentality a look astatine the biggest announcements Apple made for MacOS.
1. The Phone app connected Mac
The Phone app has yet arrived connected MacOS, allowing for a much streamlined idiosyncratic acquisition betwixt your iPhone and computer. Users tin present entree caller calls and contacts synced from your iPhone, and marque calls with a azygous click successful the aforesaid way. What's more, the Phone app volition see the caller features added successful iOS 26, including Hold Assist and Call Screening.
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In summation to calls and contacts, unrecorded activities from the iPhone volition beryllium disposable connected your Mac, specified arsenic tracking an Uber oregon a transportation from Seamless. Clicking connected the unrecorded enactment volition unfastened up iPhone Mirroring, which volition let you to instrumentality enactment straight from your Mac.
2. Liquid Glass and ocular consistency
Apple dropped a large ocular overhaul for iOS with its Liquid Glass plan theme, and galore of those updates are filtering implicit to MacOS, streamlining the idiosyncratic acquisition crossed devices.
The dock, sidebars, and toolbars person been redesigned successful the aforesaid translucent aesthetic that's intended to amusement much contented connected surface without UI clutter. In addition, the rounded elements and added dimensionality look a batch much similar what you'd spot connected the iPhone. Customization besides allows you to set the power halfway successful the aforesaid mode arsenic the iPhone
Also: What is Liquid Glass? Here's everything we cognize astir Apple's large UI overhaul astatine WWDC
Just similar the iPhone, Macs volition enactment further personalization options, including acheronian oregon airy mode, an all-clear icon, and dock theme, arsenic good arsenic customized colour tones. This customization extends to folder icons themselves, with colors, themes, and adjacent emojis.
3. Shortcuts and Spotlight get smarter
MacOS 26 adds a fistful of astute integrations for the Spotlight feature. Instead of conscionable being a elemental hunt bar, Apple's updates to Spotlight marque it into a much almighty power sheet that works with Shortcuts and tin instrumentality app-specific actions, portion powered by Apple Intelligence.
For example, during the WWDC keynote, we saw a demo successful a photograph editing app, with the idiosyncratic adjusting the colour code by searching for that relation successful the Spotlight. In a analyzable app similar Photoshop, for example, if you can't find a circumstantial function, Spotlight could measurement successful to enactment arsenic a top-level hunt function.
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In supporting further productivity features, Spotlight volition besides incorporate clipboard past and let you to make automations successful conjunction with Apple Intelligence to marque analyzable actions similar summarizing substance oregon creating images. You tin entree Apple Intelligence models connected your instrumentality oregon ChatGPT.
Spotlight volition besides enactment a fistful of shortcut Quick keys, specified arsenic "sm" for "send message," for example. That opens a thread wherever you tin nonstop a connection straight from the Spotlight app itself, without swapping to Messages.
4. Apple Intelligence, of course
Some of the Apple Intelligence features that debuted connected the iPhone volition present beryllium disposable successful MacOS, including a much robust, personalized Siri, and a smarter Shortcuts app.
Apple is besides opening up MacOS 26 truthful third-party developers tin commencement creating apps that really integrate with Apple Intelligence. It's a astute move, allowing immoderate breathing country to further innovate connected its ain AI features (which immoderate accidental person fallen down competitors') portion allowing outer developers to bring utile AI functions to the Mac.
5. Apple Games
Coinciding with the motorboat of the Games app connected the iPhone, we're besides seeing Games travel to MacOS 26 arsenic a dedicated store, launcher, and leaderboard. The Games app besides brings an overlay showing strategy settings similar debased powerfulness mode, arsenic good arsenic online friends and communications.
Metal 4 comes to MacOS 26 arsenic well, offering higher prime graphics with MetalFX Frame Interpolation and MetalFX Denoising for smoother visuals and faster framework rates.
Let's speech compatibility
All of these updates dependable great, but not each Mac volition beryllium compatible with MacOS 26 Tahoe. Older Macs with Intel processors, unfortunately, volition not enactment the caller OS version. This means immoderate Mac with an M1 processor oregon aboriginal volition tally MacOS 26, but astir devices from earlier the 2020 people volition not.
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This determination each but seals the woody connected phasing retired older Intel-based models, thing we've been expecting from Apple for a while. If you bash person a Mac machine with an Intel processor, you tin inactive tally the erstwhile MacOS, Sequoia, oregon its predecessor, Sonoma, depending connected however aged your instrumentality is.
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