macOS 26: meaningful new features and improvements

macOS 26 Tahoe was released on September 15, 2025. It is the 22nd major iteration of Apple's Mac operating system (the numbering was recently changed to mirror the release year, so, macOS 26 and not 22). This version brings a lot of new things, from the Liquid Glass look through new apps like Phone and Apple Games to an array of well-thought-through improvements of Spotlight and Shortcut automation.

As of this writing, Apple has already released macOS 26.1 developer beta. That iteration, as usual, will likely be a patching deal and won’t change anything in the OS drastically, so it’s high time to sum up what the Cupertino company has given us this time that’s really useful and important.

Liquid Glass

The promise of the Liquid Glass design introduced by Apple throughout the ecosystem is enhanced visual clarity and workspace efficiency, which, ultimately, should translate into a productivity boost. The key features of the design that are supposed to deliver on the promise are as follows:

More screen real estate and clarity. The surfaces of the UI elements (the Dock, sidebars, toolbars, menus) are transparent, which visually expands the visible space, reduces clutter and distractions.
Visual hierarchy. In addition to the transparency, there are reflections, and their interplay brings active zones of the screen forward and pushes inactive ones somewhat to the background, enhancing focus on the task at hand.
Consistency and cleanliness. Overall, the new Liquid Glass design gives the entire user interface a consistent look, which simplifies navigation, making it more intuitive. There is also less visual noise, ergo, fewer distractions.

If you care to look around, you will find negative reviews about Liquid Glass. Our suggestion would be to lean into it. You will quickly find your way around and see the benefits of the new design.

The Phone app

Basically, now you have pretty much everything feasible your iPhone can do about calls on your Mac. Here is the roundup of the new app’s features:

Call and voicemail management. You can make and receive calls, access the log, contacts, favorites without having to change the screen you look at. Voicemail comes with AI-powered live transcription (you read what’s being said in real time).
Call screening. Same as on the iPhone, this new Apple Intelligence-powered feature asks unknown callers to introduce themselves and tell why they are calling; relayed to the user, this information allows them to make an educated decision on whether to pick up or not.
General interface and continuity. Mac’s Phone app seeks to mirror the interface of the handheld device, down to Contact Posters; plus, everything is synced seamlessly, i.e., the calls you made on your Mac are supposed to land in the phone’s history instantly. A truly barrierless pairing.

To make use of all the functions of the new Phone app you would need an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later) and an iPhone running iOS 26 or newer, both signed into the same Apple ID and connected to the same Wi-Fi hotspot.

Live Translation with Apple Intelligence

This is another big functionality introduced by Apple in the 26th set of its operating systems, macOS included. Basically, it aims at tearing down the proverbial language barrier in a seamless, you-won’t-notice manner.

Real-time translation throughout the system. The tool works in Messages and FaceTime, Phone and texts and documents regardless of where you open them.
Privacy-first. The translation itself is done on-device, which means the information remains private and safe.
All the popular languages. At launch, Live Translation could help you with English, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish (Spain); Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (Simplified) are supposed to be added before this year runs out. The pool will grow further, obviously.
Natural interface integration. In a FaceTime call, Live Translation can display captions of what’s being said in your language. In Messages and Phone, you can see both the original and translated text, and the translations are copyable and reusable.

Apple Translation is basically reserved for Macs powered by Apple Silicon, as the functionality leans on Apple Intelligence.

Folder and app icons customization

This one may not feel as major as the new and shiny things described above, but, considered through the lens of productivity, it is actually a big deal.

Folder colors customization. You can now color your folders anything you like, and even use tags for the purpose. The function is available in the context menu; it lets you make the heaps of folders recognizable instantly.
Icons and emojis. The new Customize Folder menu also has a selection of emojis that take visual cues to the next level, streamlining navigation even further.
App icons. App icons can be clear glass, tinted, light, or dark in the Dock and Launchpad, with the selected theme applied system-wide.

If your work involves storing materials in more than a couple dozen folders, and you also have to juggle multiple projects simultaneously, this new feature will positively be to your liking.

Vehicle motion cues

This one’s rather simple, but truly indispensable for those who have to work on the go often. The feature that counters motion sickness has been around on iOS for some time now, but macOS only received it in the 26th version.

Switched on in Accessibility → Motion, Vehicle Motion Cues puts animated dots or circular visual cues on the edges of the device's screen. These cues move a bit in response to the vehicle’s movements, thus helping the brain to mitigate the conflicting motion signals it receives when you’re working in a moving car, bus, plane, or train.

Stay tuned for further coverage of the new and truly meaningful features and improvements in macOS 26!