Notable User Interface Changes to Expect in macOS 26

ByMichael Tilleman

macOS 26 Tahoe is a larger visual leap than any recent upgrade. Although we don’t yet recommend that everyone upgrade, we want to show you some of the user interface changes that will impact your everyday experience of using the Mac.

Liquid Glass Changes

Many of these changes stem from Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language, which we’ve previously covered in more detail. Familiar macOS interface elements with a new Liquid Glass appearance include:

  • Rounded corners: You may be surprised by the more rounded corners in many interface elements, including windows. There’s no option to adjust the corner radius.
  • Menu bar: Tahoe’s menu bar is now transparent, allowing app windows or desktop wallpapers to show through, which can make it less visually prominent at the top of the screen. To make it opaque, go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Reduce Transparency. This setting also affects many other transparent interface elements.
  • Icon style: Many developers are updating their icons to conform to Apple’s Liquid Glass guidelines. A more notable change is that users can now switch to dark mode icons, clear icons, or tinted icons in any color. Make these changes in System Settings > Appearance > Icon & Widget Style.
  • Widget style: Desktop widgets are now mostly transparent when any window is open on the desktop, and they become solid only when the last window is closed or hidden. You can adjust this setting in System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Dim widgets on desktop. Widgets also adopt the same clear or tinted style used by icons.
  • Customized folders: Folders start out blank, but you can Control-click one, choose Customize Folder, and pick an icon (monochrome) or emoji (colored) to brand the folder.
  • Sidebars: Although they’re less transparent than other items, sidebars become subtly tinted based on what’s under them. That occasionally results in some awkward overlays, such as in System Settings > Wallpaper, where the thumbnails can scroll underneath the sidebar.

Safari

With Safari, Apple’s Liquid Glass interface causes the toolbar controls and the tab bar at the top to float over the page content underneath. On some sites, this can be distracting or make tab titles hard to read (below, top). If that bothers you, turning on System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Reduce Transparency separates the controls from the content more clearly, but also gives them a gray background (below, bottom).

Control Center

In Tahoe, Control Center not only receives a Liquid Glass makeover but also gains notable new features. Similar to iOS and iPadOS, you can now fully customize the buttons, sliders, and other interface shortcuts in Control Center, removing those you don’t need and adding others. To get started with personalization, click Edit Controls at the bottom of Control Center.

The selection of commands is impressive enough on its own, but Apple also promises that independent developers will be able to offer controls for their apps. Clicking the + button in the menu bar provides the equivalent of additional Control Center pages from iOS: another menu bar icon that displays a different set of Control Center items. You can have as many of these extra Control Center pages as you want.

Lastly, note that you can add many items from Control Center directly to the menu bar, where they can function as toggles or quick access shortcuts.

Spotlight

Apple revamped Spotlight in Tahoe, adjusting its interface (yes, it’s transparent by default, too) and introducing clipboard history. When you activate Spotlight with Command-Space and move the pointer, four buttons appear to filter your search by apps, files, shortcut actions, and clipboard history—Command-1 through 4 serve the same purpose.

Previously, Spotlight separated different result types vertically; now you can click buttons just below the search box to filter results by category. Spotlight also remembers past searches, allowing you to use the arrow keys to browse backward and forward through your search history.

Spotlight’s new Apps view, which gets its own icon on the Dock, also replaces the longstanding but little-used Launchpad. If you want a full-screen grid of app icons, similar to Launchpad, consider Launchie, AppHub, or AppGrid Launcher.

Terminal

Although many people never open the Terminal app, which gives access to the Unix command line hidden in macOS, Apple has finally updated it to allow for more customization. Fortunately, Terminal still features completely opaque windows—transparency won’t make reading command-line output any easier. Each profile offers various customization options beyond appearance, so those who frequently use Terminal can tailor it to their preferences.

While we don’t want to downplay the impact these visual changes may have on your Mac experience, we’ve also found they’re easy to get used to or turn off. After using Tahoe for a few weeks, most of these changes will become the new normal. Apple will undoubtedly continue to polish Liquid Glass over the next year, refining its smoothness and eliminating awkward bits.

(Featured image by Apple)

Social Media: From transparent menu bars to customized folders, macOS 26 Tahoe introduces the most significant visual update in years. Discover the key interface changes that will influence your daily Mac use… and which you can turn off.

Similar Posts

  • Get yourself some Dux

    What is a Dux you ask? Dux is a really great product line from STM and one that we are really excited to begin carrying here at Small Dog. This product line up has cases for your iPad and your computer and for the last week or so I have been testing out the Dux case for Macbook Air.

    My first impression is that it gives my computer a sharp new look. I feel as though my computer is highlighted more in this case. It features a primarily clear case and then a border that comes in an assortment of colors. The one I am using is black and it really looks sharp and sleek on the computer.

    I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge fan of hardshell cases for computers. They do add weight to your computer and they can be hard to put on and take off. However, this case did stand out to me as soon as I saw it and I immediately asked for a sample so that I could test it out. It’s the reinforced border that caught my eye. The plastic is slightly different from that of the clear case and really gives you a feeling of protection for your computer.

    Customers ask me all the time why someone might want a hard shell case, it’s a combination of accessorizing and protection. Hard shell cases are great for those who might like to sticker their computers. You can sticker all you want on a removable case and not damage your computer. For people who bring their computers everywhere it’s a great way to protect them from the dings and scratches that can happen just by pulling your computer in and out, especially those whom might fly a lot. One piece of advice I will give users of hardshell cases is that you still need to remove them! The idea and concept of hard shell cases is to provide added protection to your computer, to keep it looking like new under the case. However, if you don’t remove the case from time to time and clean the case and computer from dust and debris your computer will still get scratches. I have seen countless computers get just as scratched up with these kinds of cases than those without and the cause is always the same: dirt build up. This particular case comes on and off much easier than some others on the market making my recommended occasional cleanings much easier to perform. After all you’ve probably purchased a hard shell case to keep your computer looking new.

    Overall I am very happy with this case, but the biggest test is yet to come. I am flying to Arizona next week for an event with one of our vendors, and I’ll be keeping this case on my computer for my travels. The real test will be if I notice the added weight while making my way through airports, so far I haven’t really noticed the increased weight in my daily travels.

    P.S. Hadley, even if it means burpees and laps in an airport terminal I plan to maintain my lead in our competition. It’s ON!

  • Apple Podcasts Adds Transcripts

    In iOS 17.4, iPadOS 17.4, and macOS 14.4 Sonoma, Apple enhanced its Podcasts app to include transcripts of all podcasts in the Apple…

  • Back up for the Holidays

    The Holidays are here and I am sure many of your are busy making memories, thinking about others and capturing as many picture-perfect moments that you can. While you’re busy bustling around, are you taking the time to think about these memories? What would happen if you couldn’t go back and look up those moments? Perhaps now is the time to think about a gift for yourself and taking the time to ensure that all of the perfect moments you are capturing on video and in pictures are being safely stored on your computer.

    I know we talk about this all the time, but it’s surprising how many of us out there keep putting this important step of backing up to the side! The Holidays are the time with some of the best memories, and so many of us are capturing once in a lifetime moments. The last thing anyone wants is to have something happen to those photos. There are so many options for backing up your computer and your important files it can be a little overwhelming. There is iCloud, cloud-based storage solutions from countless companies, traditional external hard drives for back up and more! My preferred backup solutions are a combination of cloud backup and physical hard drives. It might seem a little redundant, but better to be safe than sorry when it comes to important documents and memories.

    For me, iCloud and an external hard drive are my preferred options for backing up. I use my iCloud account to keep my daily life in order, contacts and calendars most importantly. I also use iCloud for storing some of my most important memories and files, select baby photos of my kids and some important documents. The kind of things that should the worst case happen and I lost my computer or drives due to theft or fire I still have copies in the cloud. My preference for my backups is using Time Machine and my “**Seagate**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/85305/seagate-backup-plus-slim-portable-drive-usb-3-0-2tb-blue hard drives. I keep a different drive for each of my computers and perform fairly regular backups, I am not perfect, so sometimes they are not as regular as I would like. But utilizing these drives allows me to ensure that I have entire backups of my files and data readily available. Before I started to use iCloud I would also have back ups drives of my Time Machine back up, yes, I was and am that paranoid about loosing photos of my kids. I still have a small 20gb drive that contains my oldest daughter’s first year of photos, even though I know all the photos are on my computer and backed up I still won’t delete that drive.

    In the last year we have seen a rise in alternative cloud storage and mobile storage solutions. Many companies like “*Seagate*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/?mmfg%5B0%5D=Seagate and “*LaCie*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/?mmfg%5B0%5D=LaCie have portable drives that allow users to access information wirelessly while on the go. This is a great solution for families with large media libraries for movies. The “**Lacie Fuel**”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/85520/lacie-fuel-wireless-battery-powered-mobile-hd-wifi-usb-3-0-1tb is great for just this. Have a long road trip? Load up the drive and the family can access the files from their iPhones or iPads quickly and easily without taking up storage on their devices. Another and perhaps more practical solution is the “**Seagate Personal Cloud**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900002041/mac-the-halls-save-20-on-seagate-personal-cloud-home-media-storage-3tb. This drive allows you to back up everything on your computer and access it from anywhere! No need to carry that back up drive along with you, and with tons of storage options little worry about not having enough space. So this holiday season remember, backing up is just as important as capturing those memories.