Apple releases macOS 26 with Liquid Glass and new Continuity features

Apple's big design overhaul has arrived on your Mac as well. As promised last week, the company has started rolling out macOS 26 Tahoe to all supported MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Studio, Mac mini, and Mac Pro models worldwide.

The new operating system update for Mac is called macOS 26, not macOS 16, as many expected until earlier this year when Apple renamed all of its operating systems to include version "26." It is being pushed alongside iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26, which you can download on your respective Apple devices.

macOS 26 comes with a platter of new features and changes, including the Liquid Glass design language Apple has introduced across its OS lineup. It's the biggest visual overhaul from the company in years, with a visionOS-inspired glass-like user interface "that reflects and refracts its surroundings."

You will see a touch of Liquid Glass in the updated app icons, Spotlight, transparent menu bar, and refreshed apps with reflective sidebars and toolbars. Apple says it's pushing its "biggest Spotlight update ever" that lets you perform hundreds of actions. For instance, you can send a message to someone directly from the Spotlight or easily browse your installed apps.

macOS 26 builds on Apple's Continuity features, offering support for Live Activities from iPhone and a new native app to make phone calls from your Mac. The Phone app lets you access your Recents, Contacts, and Voicemail.

While you might be waiting for an upgraded Siri, Apple Intelligence now powers more of the Shortcuts app. You can have shortcuts to summarize text or create images. It also fuels the Live Translation feature to translate texts in Messages and displays automatically live captions in FaceTime and the Phone app.

If you don't have automatic updates turned on, you can download and install macOS 26 on your supported Mac model by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Here, click on the "Check for Update" button to get started with the update process.

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Posted Tuesday 16 September 2025 at 6:47 pm AEST (my time).

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