macOS Tahoe
All new features in macOS 26
Liquid Glass UI
macOS Tahoe brings the new translucent Liquid Glass design. The menu bar, sidebars, toolbars, and dock all feature a frosted glass aesthetic. Windows become more transparent and adapt to the desktop wallpaper behind them.
Apple Intelligence on Mac
Writing Tools work across every text field — Mail, Pages, Notes, and third-party apps. Siri gains contextual awareness, on-screen understanding, and ChatGPT integration. Image Playground is built into the system.
iPhone Mirroring Enhanced
Control your iPhone directly from your Mac wirelessly. Drag and drop files between devices. Receive and interact with iPhone notifications. Your iPhone stays locked while mirroring.
Safari AI & Highlights
Safari Highlights automatically surfaces key information from web pages — addresses, phone numbers, summaries. AI-powered Reader generates article summaries. Viewer for videos extracts content into a minimal player.
Window Tiling
Native window tiling finally comes to macOS. Drag windows to screen edges to snap into halves, quarters, or thirds. Works with keyboard shortcuts too — no third-party apps needed anymore.
Passwords App
A dedicated Passwords app manages all your credentials, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes. Syncs across all devices via iCloud Keychain. Includes a Windows app for cross-platform access.
macOS Tahoe supports Macs from 2019 and later. Apple Intelligence features require M1 chip or newer.
Best Mac Apps 2026
Essential apps for every Mac user
🎨 Productivity
Raycast — Spotlight replacement with extensions, snippets, clipboard history. Notion — All-in-one workspace. Things 3 — Best to-do app. Fantastical — Calendar with natural language.
💻 Development
VS Code — Code editor with extensions. iTerm2 — Terminal replacement. TablePlus — Database management. Proxyman — HTTP debugging. Fork — Git client.
🎬 Creative
Pixelmator Pro — ML-powered photo editor. DaVinci Resolve — Professional video editing (free). Affinity Designer 2 — No subscription. Logic Pro — Music production.
✍️ Writing
iA Writer — Distraction-free Markdown. Bear — Beautiful notes with tags. Ulysses — Long-form writing. Grammarly — Grammar checker.
🛠 Utilities
CleanMyMac X — System cleanup. 1Password — Password manager. Bartender — Menu bar organizer. Alfred — Automation workflows.
🌐 Internet
Arc Browser — Reimagined browsing with Spaces. Spark Mail — Smart email. NordVPN — Privacy. Downie — Video downloader.
Speed Up Your Mac
Optimize performance and storage
Check Activity Monitor
Open Activity Monitor (Spotlight → "Activity Monitor"). Sort by CPU or Memory to find resource-heavy processes. Force quit apps consuming excessive resources.
Reduce Login Items
System Settings → General → Login Items. Remove apps you don't need at startup. This significantly improves boot time and frees up RAM.
Free Up Storage
Apple Menu → About This Mac → Storage → Manage. Enable "Optimize Storage". Empty Trash regularly. Move large files to external storage.
Clear System Cache
Finder: ⌘+⇧+G → type ~/Library/Caches. Delete contents of folders (not the folders). Restart. Can free 5-20 GB.
Reset for Fresh Start
Apple Silicon: Shut down → hold power until "Loading startup options" → Options → Reinstall macOS. Intel: boot to Recovery with ⌘+R.
Reduce Visual Effects
System Settings → Accessibility → Display → Reduce Motion and Reduce Transparency. On older Macs, this noticeably improves UI performance.
Keep at least 10-15% of your SSD free. macOS uses free space for virtual memory, caching, and updates. A nearly full SSD dramatically slows down your Mac.
100+ Keyboard Shortcuts
Work faster with key combinations
Essential
Screenshots
Windows & Navigation
Finder
Terminal Tips
Useful commands for power users
Show Hidden Files
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES && killall FinderDisable .DS_Store on Network Drives
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores trueSpeed Up Dock Animation
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 0 && killall DockAdd Spacer to Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="spacer-tile";}' && killall DockScreenshot Format to PNG/JPG
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg && killall SystemUIServerFlush DNS Cache
sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponderCheck macOS Version
sw_versShortcuts App
Automate your Mac workflows
Quick File Renamer
Create a Shortcut that batch renames files with date prefixes. Use "Get Selected Items in Finder" → "Rename Files" → pattern with date. Assign to a keyboard shortcut for instant access.
Morning Routine
Build a Shortcut that opens your work apps (Slack, Mail, Browser), plays your focus playlist, and sets your Mac to Do Not Disturb. Run it with one click from the menu bar.
Image Converter
Shortcut: Select images → Convert to JPEG/PNG/HEIF → Resize to specific dimensions → Save to folder. Add as Quick Action for right-click access in Finder.
Meeting Notes Template
Create a Shortcut that generates a new Note with today's date, attendees from your next Calendar event, and a structured template with headings for agenda, notes, and action items.
Focus Mode Switch
Build shortcuts for each work mode: "Code Mode" opens Terminal + VS Code + hides dock. "Design Mode" opens Figma + Pixelmator + enables large cursor. Assign each to a menu bar shortcut.
Add Shortcuts to the menu bar for quick access: Open Shortcuts app → right-click a shortcut → "Add to Menu Bar". You can also assign global keyboard shortcuts in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Services.