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Hands on with macOS Tahoe 26: Liquid Glass, new theme options, and Spotlight

Hands on with macOS Tahoe 26: Liquid Glass, new theme options, and Spotlight

  • The new macOS Tahoe 26 developer beta features a “Liquid Glass” design language that brings a glassy transparency to various elements, including the Dock and widgets.
  • The Dock now has a frosted background with more translucency than its previous Sequoia design, while widgets like the calendar and weather also adopt this aesthetic.
  • Drop-down menus have been updated with a hazy, frozen glass look, but with higher opacity levels.
  • The pop-up volume and brightness controls now use the distorted glass look, but are located in the top-right corner of the screen instead of being centered above the dock.
  • Overall, the new design elements are seen as both sleek and slightly overwrought, with some users expressing mixed opinions on their effectiveness.

A MacBook on a desk running macOS 26.

Spotlight and themes are in the limelight. | Screenshot: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

At WWDC, Apple announced its new Liquid Glass design language, which is coming to all of its devices, including Macs. I’ve been tinkering with the macOS Tahoe 26 developer beta on the M4 MacBook Air for about a day. So far, the aesthetic changes range from slick to slightly overwrought, but the new Spotlight search features are nifty and useful.

There are new touches of glassy transparency all over macOS 26, including the Dock, Finder, widgets, and built-in apps. It’s more subtle than on the iPhone, mostly because the Mac’s much larger screen real estate makes the Liquid Glass elements more like accents than whatever this mess is supposed to be. I’m not very fond of it just yet, but maybe it will grow on me, like UI changes tend to.

The Dock now has a frosted background that’s more translucent than Sequoia’s flatter design. The hazy, frozen glass aesthetic also extends to widgets, like the calendar and weather, and drop-down menus – though the latter have much higher opacity. The pop-ups for volume and brightness now use this distorted glass look as well, though they’ve moved to the top-right corner of the screen instead of being centered above the dock. Frankly, they’re ugly, …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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Q. What is Liquid Glass design language announced by Apple at WWDC?
A. Liquid Glass is a new design language coming to all Apple devices, including Macs.

Q. How does the Liquid Glass design language manifest in macOS Tahoe 26?
A. The aesthetic changes include slick and subtle touches of glassy transparency in various elements such as the Dock, Finder, widgets, and built-in apps.

Q. What is the new look of the Dock in macOS Tahoe 26?
A. The Dock now has a frosted background that’s more translucent than Sequoia’s design.

Q. How does the Liquid Glass design language affect widgets in macOS Tahoe 26?
A. Widgets, such as the calendar and weather, have a hazy, frozen glass aesthetic.

Q. What is the new location of volume and brightness pop-ups in macOS Tahoe 26?
A. The pop-ups for volume and brightness now use the distorted glass look and are located at the top-right corner of the screen.

Q. Are you fond of the Liquid Glass design language in macOS Tahoe 26?
A. No, the author is not very fond of it yet, but may grow on them over time.

Q. How does the Liquid Glass design language differ from Sequoia’s design?
A. The frosted background of the Dock is more translucent than Sequoia’s flatter design.

Q. What new features are introduced in Spotlight search in macOS Tahoe 26?
A. The author finds the new Spotlight search features to be nifty and useful.

Q. Is the Liquid Glass design language available on all Apple devices?
A. Yes, it is coming to all Apple devices, including Macs.

Q. How does the larger screen real estate of Macs affect the Liquid Glass elements?
A. The Liquid Glass elements are more like accents than prominent features due to the Mac’s larger screen real estate.

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