The macOS 27 or macOS Golden Gate developer beta is now live, and I’ve begun testing out some of the available features that this upcoming (and unfinished) operating system has to offer.

We don’t get a substantial update as we did with last year’s macOS 26. Instead, this year’s update is mostly focused on Siri AI and Apple Intelligence. While I’ve yet to try the former, the latter offers nifty tricks for Mac users to try out.

Keeping in mind that this is a developer beta and features are subject to change, here are my early thoughts on macOS Golden Gate and some features that stand out.

Spatial Reframing

The new Reframe tool stole the show at WWDC, and it’s a lot of fun to use. The feature is self-explanatory: you can take existing photos and adjust the perspective to your liking. Basically, if you’re not happy with a photo’s angle, you can change that.

After selecting Reframe in the new Tools option in Photos’ editing mode, the AI scans your photo. When that’s done, you can pull your finger across the touchpad to change the perspective. There are also sliders on the side if you prefer more precise control over the angle, orientation, or size. Once you’re happy with the result, the AI shifts things around to fill in any blanks.

While you can argue that you’re not seeing the real image after you’ve effectively doctored it, the result isn’t radically different from the original. If you don’t worry about getting a perfect picture the first time around, Reframe can definitely remove that stress since you can always come back to your photo later.

Liquid Glass slider

I didn’t mind the Liquid Glass UI as much as others, but it has certainly been a controversial element introduced to iPhones, iPads, and Macs with their respective updates last year. Now, Apple has updated Liquid Glass so you can tailor it to your liking.

For example, there’s a new preference slider that lets you dial in the exact intensity of the Liquid Glass effect. You can go from highly transparent to more opaque. More complex background visuals are more diffuse, increasing text readability. The edges of icons are more pronounced, so they stand out from the background, and all app windows now have a uniform corner radius.

As before, I don’t mind Liquid Glass, but the relatively subtle updates do help windows, icons, and text pop out more.

Siri AI on Mac

This feature isn’t available in the developer beta yet for me, but Siri AI on macOS 27 should be a pretty big deal. This is especially true if you’re used to using chatbots like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, as Siri AI now functions like them.

As Mark Spoonauer said when he saw the new Siri AI in action on a Mac, you can access it by simply pulling up Spotlight. When you begin typing, Spotlight knows which questions should go to Siri rather than launching apps. Siri will bring up answers in a new window, where you can continue the conversation if you need more in-depth information.

It can even go beyond simple conversations. For example, if you’re looking at a schedule, an “add to calendar” button will appear, letting you do just that. With AI agents being all the rage these days, it makes sense for Siri to function more like one.

If what Apple showed us is anything to go by, Siri AI could be used for more than just asking questions. Of course, I’d have to go hands-on to see whether Siri AI works with other apps outside the Apple ecosystem, since Mark noted it doesn’t work with Gmail at the moment.

Outlook

We should get a better sense of what macOS Golden Gate and the other Apple operating systems can truly do once Siri AI begins rolling out to those who signed up for it.

Beyond that, I like the refinements being made to Liquid Glass, and Spatial Reframing should be a game-changer for folks who love taking photos. These aren't monumental changes, but I like them for what they provide right now.

Again, keep in mind that I’m testing a developer beta of macOS 27, and things are likely to change between now and the full release this fall. I’m going to keep using it and will update you all on any new features it introduces. Stay tuned!

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Apple announced macOS Golden Gate at WWDC 2026, which means developers are already working hard to update their apps for the upcoming operating system. The developer beta is now live, but it’s open to anyone who signs up for Apple’s Beta program and is willing to deal with potential headaches associated with in-development code.

This year, Apple has placed most of its focus on updating Apple Intelligence and Siri, which it now calls Siri AI. macOS 27 doesn’t include many new features, so the development team focused on improving performance, which should make this OS run more smoothly. Improvements have also been made to the Liquid Glass UI, making it more customizable (and readable).

A word of warning: macOS Golden Gate is unfinished, so it might be buggy and could cause issues for your Mac. If you’re willing to take the chance (most of these betas are relatively safe in my experience), then read on to find out how to download the macOS Golden Gate developer beta.

How to download the macOS Golden Gate developer beta

Downloading the macOS Golden Gate developer beta is a relatively simple process. First, enroll your Apple ID in Apple's Beta Program and make sure your Mac is compatible. Here's the full list of Macs that can install and run macOS Golden Gate:

• MacBook Neo (2026)
• MacBook Air with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• iMac with Apple silicon (2021 and later)
• Mac mini with Apple silicon (2020 and later)
• Mac Studio with Apple silicon (2022 and later)
• Mac Pro with Apple silicon (2023 and later)

And that’s how you download the macOS Golden Gate developer beta. After the download finishes, your Mac will restart, and you’ll get your first taste of the upcoming OS. Depending on your connection speed, the download might take a few minutes, so be patient. Enjoy the new features!

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At WWDC 2026, Apple announced a slew of updates coming to macOS 27, now called macOS Golden Gate. This OS update officially sees the end of the Intel era, but is more future-focused thanks to better AI and smoother performance.

Apple Intelligence and Siri are getting big upgrades for macOS 27, iPadOS 27, and iOS 27. Powered by Google Gemini, Apple's AI is now on par with competitors and is specifically designed to work with the Apple ecosystem.

While most of the updates for macOS Golden Gate are part of the company's greater AI efforts, features like on-device editing and a more conversational Siri should make using Macs more seamless and intuitive.

Here is everything announced for macOS 27 at WWDC.

macOS 27: Quick news

• macOS Golden Gate is the name for macOS 27
• Under-the-hood performance upgrades
• Smarter Siri and better Apple Intelligence
• Liquid Glass UI is more customizable

Siri AI and Apple Intelligence

Powered by Google Gemini, the new AI-infused Siri acts like a proper chatbot. It has features such as contextual awareness, conversational capabilities, improved natural-language support, and more.

You can use Siri AI through Spotlight to easily find files or messages you need. For example, you can ask or type to find a PDF invoice in one of your emails and add its contents to your Numbers budget spreadsheet. This should make Siri a true assistant rather than just an AI that helps you with recipes.

For writers, Siri AI can help you generate drafts from scratch and help proofread your work. And since it's powered by AI, it can learn how you respond to specific people, and even give you suggestions as you write. This should make it a better writing assistant, whether you're working on a big project or just checking in with friends.

Visual Intelligence with Siri is arriving on Macs for the first time. This feature lets you search visually, ask questions, and take actions on your screen. There is a dedicated keyboard shortcut that lets you select something on your Mac's display and type directly to Siri to get answers.

Liquid Glass

Liquid Glass was introduced last year as the big design overhaul for Apple's operating systems, but it didn't go over well with many Mac users. While Liquid Glass isn't going anywhere, it has been fine-tuned for better readability on Macs.

For instance, you now have finer control over its opacity and color. The edges of apps are also more defined, so they stand out more from the background. These updates should alleviate some of the issues users have had since macOS 26.

Smoother performance

Since macOS Golden Gate doesn't introduce major changes from macOS 26, the team was able to make more under-the-hood updates to help everything run more smoothly.

On iPhones, performance has apparently increased by 30%. We don't have exact numbers for macOS, but it should be in that range. This should also lead to better battery life, which would be interesting given how M-series MacBooks already have astonishing battery life.

macOS Golden Gate: Outlook

macOS Golden Gate primarily focuses on the latest updates to Apple Intelligence and Siri. While we didn't hear about any macOS-specific updates, what we're getting should create a more unified ecosystem across Apple's devices. Beyond all the AI updates, the claimed performance boost for Macs and other devices should be especially beneficial.

We'll update this post with the latest macOS Golden Gate news as we hear it, so stay tuned for more.

With WWDC 2026 kicking off on June 8, we’ll soon learn about all the latest updates coming to macOS 27. According to rumors, the Mac-based operating system should receive iterative updates rather than substantial ones. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to look forward to, however.

The biggest thing happening for operating systems like iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 is an upgrade for Apple Intelligence and Siri. Apple launched its AI back in 2024, but it’s lagged behind competitors. Ironically enough, Apple Intelligence should now be more useful since Google Gemini will power it.

The other big thing is the end of support for Intel-based Macs. We knew this was coming since last year, but it’s now happening. Other than that, we expect fixes for Liquid Glass so it works better on Macs, built-in app updates, and perhaps a glimpse (or full reveal) of the first touch-screen MacBook.

Here are some of the macOS announcements we expect to see at WWDC 2026.

End of the Intel era

Apple already announced that macOS 26 would be the last macOS for Intel Macs, so this one doesn’t come as a big surprise. Still, if you’re rocking an older Intel Mac, you won’t be able to run the new operating system. That said, you won’t be completely left adrift.

Apple has confirmed that macOS 26 will continue receiving critical security updates for about the next three years. If you’re not ready to upgrade yet, this is certainly good news. Just keep in mind that while you are getting security updates, you won’t get the fancy new features coming to macOS 27.

Here are the Intel-based Macs that can run macOS 26 but won’t support macOS 27:

• MacBook Pro 13-inch (2020)
• MacBook Pro 16-inch (2019)
• iMac 27-inch (2020)
• Mac Pro (2019)

A smarter Siri (for real this time)

Powered by Google Gemini, the new AI-infused Siri will reportedly be a proper AI chatbot. That means it should include features such as contextual awareness, conversational capabilities, improved natural-language support, and more. Expect Google’s multimodal capabilities and agentic AI to come to Siri as well. In short, Siri should behave much more like ChatGPT or Claude.

Apple will reportedly let you integrate third-party models (such as Claude or ChatGPT) into Siri via a new “Extensions” marketplace in the App Store. You might be able to choose distinct voices for these third-party AI responses so you know which one is answering.

Agentic AI is the latest buzz term, and Siri may have deeper system-level context to execute multi-step tasks across apps. For example, you can ask it to find a PDF invoice in one of your emails and add its contents to your Numbers budget spreadsheet. This would make Siri a true assistant.

Liquid Glass fixes

Liquid Glass was the major design overhaul introduced last year, but some users weren’t exactly happy with it, as it drew criticism for its lack of contrast, harsh transparency, and poor sidebar readability.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, macOS 27 will have a visual tune-up to address these complaints. If true, we could see the sleek, polished look that Apple’s design team originally intended. There are also reports of a Mac-adapted version of the iPhone’s Dynamic Island coming to the menu bar.

Built-in app upgrades

A feature that’s also expected for iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 will bring three AI-powered tools to Photos. This includes Extend, Enhance, and Reframe. The first two are self-explanatory, while Reframe is designed to change the perspective in spatial photos seen in 3D.

For fans of the Safari browser, a new AI feature is rumored to automatically categorize and organize browser tabs into clean, contextual groups. If you frequently have dozens of tabs open, this should be a major win.

Since macOS 27 isn’t a huge overhaul from last year, the team has reportedly focused on fixing bugs and improving performance. As with OS X Snow Leopard, a chunk of code is being optimized for raw efficiency, stability, and better battery life. The latter would be especially interesting given that MacBooks with M-series chips already have epic battery life.

Preparing for touchscreen Macs

WWDC usually focuses on software, but we have seen hardware announcements, such as the M2 MacBook Air at WWDC 2022. Rumors suggest that Apple is working on the first touchscreen MacBook, so it’s possible it could debut at WWDC 2026 — or at least be teased.

To take advantage of a touchscreen, macOS 27 will reportedly have a dynamic user interface that adjusts on the fly. For instance, if you click on an item with the mouse cursor, the UI remains compact. If you tap the screen, menus and controls will automatically expand to be touch-friendly. It should also incorporate iPad-style gestures like fast scrolling and pinch-to-zoom.

Of all the rumors we’ve heard, this one is arguably the most exciting and would bring something substantially new to Macs. I’m curious to see if these touch features will be exclusive to the rumored MacBook Ultra.

macOS 27: Outlook

If rumors are correct, then we shouldn’t see a massive overhaul of macOS 27. That said, an improved Siri could actually be a game-changer if it’s as helpful as intended. The same is true if MacBooks with touchscreens get announced.

Nothing is set in stone, so let’s look forward to WWDC giving us some concrete answers. June 8 is almost here, so it won’t be long. We’ll be live on the ground covering the event as it happens, so keep it locked here for the latest!

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Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, returns on June 8, 2026. While Tom’s Guide will be covering the event live, there’s nothing quite like a good wishlist.

I’ve been a fan of Apple for decades, and since I moved into writing as a career, I’ve gone from a hand-me-down iMac to writing on the iPad Pro M5 and covering Apple events for plenty of outlets in the meantime.

With that in mind, here are the three things I’m most excited about at WWDC 26.

iPadOS

For years, I’ve owned an iPad Pro and not really known why, because I basically use it for movies while travelling and reading books and digital magazines.

That all changed with the recent improvements to iPadOS, and while there’s still a way to go, last year’s iPadOS 26 felt like it ticked plenty of boxes for me.

Multitasking got a huge boost (and without Stage Manager, too!), apps got Menu Bar-like interfaces, the Journal app finally arrived, and we got Preview on an iPad at long last. Then there were background tasks and more, all of which coalesced into making the iPad feel fresh again. I loved it so much I picked up the M5 model.

As a result, I’m curious to know what Apple brings this year. Will we finally get multi-user support? Clamshell mode with an external monitor? The addition of small, utility apps? Time will tell.

A new Mac Mini?

Sure, it’s not likely. Apple traditionally goes all-in on software for WWDC, but 2023 was a big year for hardware between M2 chips and Apple Vision Pro.

We’re expecting Apple Watch and iPhone around the usual September slot, but I can’t think of a better place to debut a new Mac Mini model than at WWDC with the devs who will have fallen in love with the prior versions.

Apple’s diminutive desktop is tough to get hold of, partially due to people getting particularly inventive with its AI potential, but it’s also a very capable family or work computer in its own right. With MacBook Neo turning Windows users into Mac newcomers, this could be a great time to showcase the desktop side of the product lineup.

Siri and Gemini

This is the big one, isn’t it? Apple Intelligence and Siri should go hand-in-hand, but it’s been anything but smooth sailing so far. In fact, I’d wager no one would have predicted Apple would be this far behind its peers.

I use Siri less than ever, leaning on just about anything else to get an answer for something, be that a Google Search or Claude, but if Apple can successfully work out a way to power its assistant with Google’s Gemini (which it sounds like it will) it could be like the ChatGPT connection taken to a whole new level.

What kind of additions can we expect? Well, we may be some way off of the screen-reading, context-aware Siri that was infamously confirmed to be vaporware a couple of years back, but we’re getting some big improvements worth the money Apple will have to siphon off to Google.

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The Mac mini is a great computer, and we love it here at Tom's Guide, but that doesn't mean we won't criticise Apple's design choices. In fact, in my colleague Anthony's review of the Mac mini M4, he said that, "if only Apple hadn’t put the power button on the bottom of the device, this would be a near perfect upgrade over the Mac mini M2."

Well, there's some good news to share today because with the release of macOS 26.5 Tahoe, Apple has finally delivered a software solution to this hardware headache.

The latest update introduces a new 'Power Control' section within the Energy settings, specifically designed for Mac desktops like the Mac mini, Mac Studio, and iMac. The standout feature as far as a lot of users (and Anthony) are concerned? Support for external switches.

That means you'll be able to use compatible accessories to power off or restart the Mac mini without ever needing to access the physical button on the underside of the chassis. What's more, according to Apple's support document, the new update will also give users the choice to have their Mac mini, Mac Studio, or iMac automatically turn on when connected to power. Nice!

Despite Apple categorizing this as an accessibility feature, I'd argue the addition of switch support is a big quality-of-life upgrade for all users. Especially if you like to tinker with your desk setup. For example, you could mount a compatible third-party switch to the side of your keyboard and have it always within reach.

Apple itself seems to quietly acknowledge the design misstep, noting this new feature is particularly helpful, “when you don't have easy access to the computer's power button.”

How to enable Power Control

If you’ve updated to macOS 26.5, you can find these new options by navigating to System Settings > Energy. From there, a new Power Control menu allows you to pair your external switches.

Additionally, the update includes a toggle to have your Mac automatically boot up as soon as it’s connected to power — a feature previously reserved for server-grade hardware but now available to the Mac mini M4, iMac M4, and the 2025 Mac Studio.

Bottom line

The macOS 26.5 is a relatively small update for Mac, but this particular addition does seem like it'll make a meaningful difference.

Hopefully, this small change means Apple is taking on board feedback that users and reviewers are pointing out — even if it's through software solutions rather than hardware revamps.

Of course, whether or not the next iteration of the Mac mini keeps the power button on the underside remains to be seen. Maybe that's a question for John Ternus to answer when he takes the reins at Apple in September.

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For all the things I (and many others) are wary about in the AI future, there are certainly some obvious uses for the technology.

Running huge calculations in a fraction of the time, translating text, and other “donkey work” is what it should be used for, rather than an excuse to overwrite humankind’s propensity for creativity.

As a writer, one of the most frustrating parts of interviews has long been transcribing voice to text. It’s got much better in recent years, but it’s often required expensive, sometimes demanding software tools.

I stumbled upon TypeWhisper, and it’s a fantastic AI tool for transcription - and it runs locally.

Talking to myself

TypeWhisper is free to use for non-commercial purposes, but you can pay for additional models. I’ve been testing the app with the WhisperKit LLM, installed locally on my MacBook Air.

This means there are multiple sizes to choose from, and I’ve settled on the Large v3 model at 1.5GB - but some models are as small as 40MB.

Out of the box, though, it’s pretty fantastic. I use a hotkey (tied to HyperKey, which I wrote about recently) to trigger voice-to-text, and that allows me to speak and see live transcription at the top of my screen within the Mac’s ‘notch’ - almost like an iPhone’s Dynamic Island.

In my testing, I’ve found it’s a great way to get ideas down so I can copy them into my writing app of choice (usually Drafts or Google Docs). It’s not perfect, but when pointing it at an American Dad episode playing in the room, it did a great job of transcribing its absurdist humor to text.

I can add phrases to the dictionary so that “Eggs Box” becomes “Xbox” more consistently, and more besides.

You talking to me?

That brings us to the real draw, though - file transcription. The majority of interviews I’ve conducted are recorded on messaging platforms and sent over as audio or video files.

What once involved slowly working through with headphones on now needs to be dragged, dropped, and transcribed by TypeWhisper. Naturally, larger models will have more consistent results (particularly if you’re plugging in cloud models like Chat-GPT), but in wanting to keep my environmental footprint to a minimum, I’ve been very pleased with the local model. It can even export to subtitle files with timestamps - ideal for content creation.

There’s a Workflow function to take transcriptions and run automations on them, like dropping them into a specific application.

All in all, what began as a curiosity in my own workflows has become something I can see myself using more and more often.

TypeWhisper is stable in macOS right now, and it’s in beta for Windows and alpha for iOS.

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WWDC 2026 is just around the corner, and so is macOS 27. Will Apple get rid of Liquid Glass? No, but according to the latest Mark Gurman report, the company looks set to address some of the key frustrations about it — all while adding some nifty new features and optimizations to the OS too.

With it being quite the make-or-break year for Apple’s AI ambitions, Safari looks set to get awesome new tech to automate tab grouping (alongside the revamped Gemini-infused Siri), and there is even talk about prepping the desktop OS for touch.

A ‘slight redesign’ to tackle Liquid Glass problems

In his newsletter, Gurman has reported that a “slight redesign” is coming to help address the readability problems that Liquid Glass has caused — namely the “shadows and transparency quirks.”

It’s been one of my biggest pet peeves with macOS over the past few months, but also one I’ve been conflicted about because I do actually like the transparency of Liquid Glass giving me subtle context clues of where my windows are. So if we could get better text visibility, improved scroll bar placement and less shadow effects taking over the screen, that would be a damn good place to start.

Thoughtful AI usage in Safari

Same as what Gurman has been told about test versions of iOS 27, a new “Organize Tabs” button is set to be added to Safari for AI-infused automatic tab grouping in Apple’s Safari.

Taking the manual process out of figuring out all your browser tabs (and catching up with other browsers that have been doing this for a while), Apple is dealing with the groups for you and “you can choose whether you want the grouping to occur automatically or not.”

Touch-ready for MacBook Ultra

This is the big question mark. All rumors are pointing to a touchscreen MacBook Ultra launching later this year — it’s gotten us so excited that we got impatient and created our own touch iMac.

So it stands to reason that with new hardware, the software needs to catch up. macOS may look rather touch-friendly with its iOS stylings, but it’s certainly a bit awkward to use in this way. In another Gurman report, it sounds like this is finally the year where we’ll see it happen.

However, don’t expect it to be out in the wild for you to test in betas. Given it’s potentially connected to new devices, you can expect the Cupertino Crew to keep this one hidden until the Ultra reportedly breaks cover towards the end of this year/beginning of next year.

This needs to be a ‘Snow Leopard’ moment

Remember Snow Leopard? This came after a particularly massive feature-rich version of macOS Leopard — bringing a lot of stuff to the table while introducing some bloat to say the least.

Snow Leopard is easily my favorite version of the OS that Apple has ever launched because it focused simply on everything under the hood. It was a night-and-day difference in speeds and feeds, and everything just felt much more “put together.”

And it’s this feeling that I’ll be looking for in macOS 27. An improved Siri looks ready to potentially bring some agentic capabilities, Liquid Glass needs a tune-up, and while macOS is in a much more power-optimized place now with Apple Silicon, there are still plenty of stability improvements to be made.

If we get this version of Craig Federighi (and his magnificent hair) on stage in June, then you’ll know Apple’s been cooking.

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All things considered, the Mac does a pretty great job of keeping you focused on any given task. Stage Manager isn’t for everyone, but there are a multitude of window management options, Spaces, and those wonderful Focus Modes to help keep you on target.

Still, it’s not always enough, and that’s where Monocle comes in. The app was built with AI, but don’t let that put you off. It essentially locks down your Mac to your specific window of choice, but does so in a way that doesn’t feel overbearing. In fact, it’s so tastefully done that it feels less like you’re being blinkered and more like you’re approaching something close to a flow state.

“What if your screen could stop shouting?”

That’s the question posed by Monocle, and actually, it’s not something I’d necessarily considered before. In my day job, I’m bouncing between Microsoft 365 apps, almost always finding something else to add to my to-do list.

As you flit between windows, it’s so easy to get caught up in the ones in the gaps between what you’re working on. Maybe it’s a notification from your messaging platform of choice, or a tab open with social media. Maybe it’s something as simple as the Spotify window drawing your attention to more playlists to check out.

Monocle essentially blurs out a chunk of your screen behind your active app, letting you focus on what it is you’re actually doing. I’m working on a book right now, and having Drafts open and my research material on the side of it is doing a great job of making me stick to the task at hand.

Stop the world

You can adjust how your background windows are blurred, but the one thing that remains true whether you blur, tint, or even add grain to them, is that it looks great.

Maybe that’s an unexpected byproduct of Apple’s Liquid Glass interface bringing more of its own ‘frosted glass’ ideals to macOS Tahoe, but it feels almost native as a result – as if Apple baked it right into the latest operating system. Even the menu looks like a sort of mini Control Center interface.

Naturally, you can opt to ignore certain apps to keep them visible, but this isn’t a replacement for Focus Modes. In fact, this will, in many ways, be perfect to work in tandem with setting up your notification settings, depending on how you’re working.

I also have my Mac’s dock on the bottom of my screen, and I definitely feel I get more joy out of Monocle when that’s hidden by default. Maybe it’s the kind of thing where I’d prefer it on the side of the screen, but that’s some deep programming I can’t quite unravel just yet. Thankfully, Monocle has an option to hide both the dock and the menu bar.

For now, though, I’m getting a lot more done with Monocle in my corner. The app is free to try for a week, and then it’s $9. If you need it on more than one machine, you can buy three seats for $20.

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Mac users have felt safe behind Gatekeeper — the macOS digital security guard that only lets verified, trusted apps onto your machine. But now, that gate has just developed a massive crack, as hackers have found a way to get around it undetected.

On April 22, the research team at Mosyle Security discovered two forms of malware named “Phoenix Worm” and “ShadeStager.” With them, hackers are now successfully stealing developer keys, which act like a digital passport, and by hijacking them, cybercriminals can disguise malware as Apple-approved apps.

To your MacBook, these viruses don’t look like a threat; they look like trusted guests. And with over 100 million Mac users worldwide, this blind spot means that even the most cautious users could be downloading a disaster in disguise.

How it works

The attack doesn’t start with you, but with the people who make your favorite apps. Hackers target the developers with a tag-team effort between these two new threats. First, the Phoenix Worm is snuck onto a developers system through a range of social engineering attacks — think recruiters with fake job offers or urgent coding tasks from clients.

Once it's there, Phoenix Worm is the inside man, which gives your Mac a secret ID number, waits for instructions, and even keeps watch for security software to hide further away from it.

When the coast is clear, the Phoenix Worm calls in the heavy hitter: ShadeStager. This specialist comes in and takes over developer keys, cloud credentials and secret dev tools. And while this digital heist happens behind the scenes, the fallout lands squarely on your desktop.

With these master keys, hackers can forge Apple’s verified seal of approval on any malicious file they want. By compromising the tools used to build apps, hackers are essentially poisoning the well in the Mac’s walled garden — turning a trusted developer’s reputation into a backdoor onto your private machine.

How to avoid this attack

First off, given Apple’s real focus on security, I would not be surprised if a hotfix update is deployed in the next few days to strengthen its verification process. But ultimately, while these two exploits in tandem are sophisticated, they’re not magic — they still need people to let them in.

So from a developer perspective, it’s going to be all about being extra careful of the emails being received. In fact, Apple added a warning into macOS 26.4 when you’re about to paste potentially malicious code into the Terminal app. Stop immediately if you see it.

As for most of you reading this, if you’re downloading apps outside the Mac App store, it’s about exercising some extra caution and asking yourself a couple of questions:

• Do I really know this company?
• If it’s something I’ve never heard of before, is it worth the risk?

And of course, while the Terminal warning above is more to developers, it’s good general advice for you too. If ever you see a website asking you to open the Terminal at all, that’s an automatic “close tab” moment.

Like any computer, your Mac is only as safe as the things you allow it to do, and by staying vigilant and skeptical, you can keep yourself invisible to even the most sophisticated attacks like this one.

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One of the best things about macOS is the huge array of subtle utility apps that you can use to personalize the experience.

Every now and then, an app arrives that makes you sit back and wonder how nobody had thought of it before, and that’s certainly the case with Hyperkey. This small, totally free app has opened up a whole new world of keyboard shortcuts, and I’m here to recommend it to just about anyone using a Mac in 2026 and beyond.

Feeling the Hype

Hyperkey, by Ryan Hanson, is a lightweight app that allows you to map a series of the Mac’s existing modifiers to a single key. Essentially, it combines Shift, Option, Command, and Control into a single key so that you can set modifiers that would otherwise require some finger gymnastics to reach.

If you’re juggling a number of apps at once that rely on similar keyboard shortcuts, then it can be tough to keep track of what pressing each will do. Swapping these to include all four Mac modifier keys, it makes things a little simpler.

As an example, many apps within macOS support some type of dictation, but I’ve set a shortcut for CMD, Option, Shift, Ctrl, and Space bar to begin recording. That would be super uncomfortable to hit, but Hyperkey means I just hold a single key and press Space to get started.

To Caps Lock or not to Caps Lock

Many Hyperkey users (and the developer) suggest remapping the Caps Lock key to be your Hyperkey. This works, unless you’re super attached to your Caps Lock as I am.

Being a writer, I’ve grown so accustomed to using that specific key that I struggled to integrate Hyperkey into my workflow on earlier attempts, but it’s worth noting that you can delegate whichever key you need. You can even use Caps Lock for your Hyperkey while assigning your Caps Lock to something like Esc.

If you’re happy to use Shift for upper case lettering, then Caps Lock is an ideal candidate, but I’ve begun using the right-sided Command key instead. I very rarely venture to that area of the keyboard, and this gives it a purpose that’s not too easy to hit while in full flow.

So, what to use it for? The possibilities are essentially endless, but I’ve been having a lot of joy using it in tandem with Alfred (my launcher of choice). Alfred gets me to files and apps, but Hyperkey + P opens my password manager, Hyperkey + D takes me to the desktop, and I’ve tied a few handy folders in there, too.

Take it to the next level

Ready to take things up a notch? Here's where things get really interesting, because when you plug Hyperkey into Raycast, you can unlock a whole lot more. Again, this is a free-to-use app (there is a paid Pro version that seems to give you AI features, but you can skip those).

What Raycast does is essentially give you a version of Spotlight search on steroids with a bunch of mappable keyboard shortcuts to not only open apps, but use functions within apps. And in the settings, you'll find an option to map things to the Hyperkey!

And in my time using this combo, it's been a dream. Created a macOS shortcut you want to open with a simple keyboard press? Caps Lock + P gives me my Pomodoro timer. Need to search between all 50+ Chrome tabs? The Google Chrome extension gives you an easy to scroll list of everything you've got open.

Now, I know I've barely scratched the surface here. There are even ways to use Hyperkey + Raycast to execute multiple functions at once, or even individual toolsets in creative apps like Final Cut Pro. But for speeding up the day-to-day, this saves crucial minutes!

Free productivity hack

So I ask you to be honest with yourself — how much do you actually use the Caps Lock key? Most of us have gotten used to holding Shift while angrily typing out an all caps message, and that's a rarity.

It's precious real estate that could be used for something better, and Hyperkey is that something. Truly a breakthrough for my productivity and given its ease of setup with Raycast or Alfred, a bridging gap between following Apple's paths of getting stuff done to unlocking peak performance.

And given the app is absolutely free, I’d recommend giving it a try in macOS Tahoe and beyond.

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Although you certainly can leave your Mac on for days at a time without any issues, a newly discovered macOS bug will certainly make you think twice about doing so.

As reported by Tom’s Hardware, the AI infrastructure and developer tools startup Photon recently discovered a “ticking time bomb” that affects every Mac. Fortunately, though, this isn’t a security bug that can be exploited by hackers. Instead, it’s the kind of bug that could leave you scratching your head if you use one of the best MacBooks and leave your laptop on for over a month at a time.

According to a blog post from Photon, “every Mac has a hidden expiration date.” No, your Mac won’t become unusable, and you won’t have to upgrade to a new machine. However, “after exactly 49 days, 17 hours, 2 minutes and 47 seconds of continuous uptime,” macOS experiences an “integer overflow” that “freezes the internal TCP timestamp clock.”

But what does this mean for the average Mac user? Well, once your machine has been running for exactly this long, existing TCP network connections won’t expire as they normally should. Essentially, this means that your Mac won’t be able to connect to the internet, which is why many of us get a computer in the first place.

Photon likely let Apple know once it discovered this issue, and the firm is currently working on its own solution. However, there’s an easy fix that won’t require an update or bringing your Mac to an Apple Store.

A simple workaround

If you’re worried about your Mac losing internet connectivity, don’t be. The issue itself stems from integer overflow, where your Mac’s TCP timestamp clock keeps counting until it reaches a max value of 4,294,967,295 seconds or 49.7 days.

To get around this, all you have to do is reboot your Mac before the 49-day mark, and everything will be fine. Just like on one of the best iPhones, you should reboot your Mac every week. To make things easier, you can even schedule your Mac to turn off and on.

Besides fixing this specific macOS bug, a reboot also flushes memory leaks, clears system caches and temp files, cools down the machine and resets peripheral controllers, which can help rectify other odd glitches with Bluetooth and USB-C docks.

Apple isn’t alone here either, as Windows 98 also crashed after 49.7 days of uptime. Likewise, when it comes to running out of digits while counting, this same issue is why we were all so worried about Y2K back in 1999, and it’s also why the year 2038 could lead to similar concerns when Unix is no longer able to measure time for the same reason. But that’s a problem for another day.

I’m sure that Apple is aware of this issue and is taking steps to address it, hopefully in the next big macOS update. In the meantime, though, just remember to give your Mac a reboot every seven days, and you’ll be perfectly fine.

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The Mac can be a wonderful platform, as many of its users will tell you. Developers constantly release apps that take on the first-party selection in macOS Tahoe, and it's easy to get lost in the noise. Chief amongst them is the frustrating Mail app.

So when I saw that a former Apple software engineer, who worked on Mail, had srtuck out on his own, I was immediately curious about how they would go it alone. Turns out Neil Jhaveri’s Mimestream might just be the slickest, swiftest email app on Mac, and you owe it to yourself to give it a try — especially if you use Gmail.

The Inbox In The Room

To Apple's credit, Mail has grown to become much more useful in recent years, and if it’s working for you, then it’s right there for you. But if you’re using Gmail, you’ll want to take a look at Mimestream. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can give the app is that it feels like using an app that Apple itself built, which is perhaps unsurprising given Jhaveri’s history.

I’ve simply never used an email app that’s this quick, because it leans on the Gmail API. That means as you get an email to your Gmail account, you’re not waiting for it to appear in Mimestream - it’s just there. It’s been a godsend for running my business out of, because it’s so reliable - no sync issues, no deep diving into settings, and no forced downloads of messages eating up valuable storage.

Gmail’s API already offers inbox Categories and the option to add labels, and those instantly transfer across to Mimestream, too. Social emails go to the relevant inbox, and you can filter by label. Server-side Gmail filters can be managed within the app, too, meaning it’s rare you’ll need to go to the web version of the app.

I’ve long used email apps like Spark, but Mimestream is just so sleek that it removes all friction. My favorite feature? Gmail’s own search functionality is a cut above the likes of Outlook and others, and it’s replicated here beautifully.

Mimestream is only getting better, too. As an example, the upcoming Snooze functionality will be a big win for night owls like myself who love to work when the family is asleep, saving the inbox from looking cuttered until I’m ready to deal with it.

It’s Great On iPhone, Too

There’s already a well-stacked roadmap for Mimestream, but I’ve been lucky enough to test the iPhone version early.

Not only does it somehow feel more useful than Apple Mail, Spark, Notion Mail and more on mobile, but it’s still got things like search baked in, even at this early stage.

There’s still a long way to go, though - the development team has said it’s considering support for IMAP accounts from the likes of iCloud or Yahoo, but for now it’s essentially just a Gmail app.

Downloading emails is tricky, too, because of the way the Gmail API works, and since Gmail doesn’t include features like scheduled send, these aren’t coming anytime soon.

Still, if you’re looking for an email app for the Mac, the $50 per year for an individual (on up to 5 devices) is well worth it for me.

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Instead of waiting for you to download a bad app or a malicious file, hackers have spent the last two years tricking unsuspecting users into infecting their own computers with malware. Known as ClickFix, this tactic is now widely used by both hackers and scammers but with its new macOS Tahoe 26.4 update, Apple has implemented a way to warn potential victims before it’s too late.

Although it was first used to target Windows devices, this social engineering technique was later tweaked to go after Macs too. Just like with other attacks, it starts with lure and in this case, that’s a fix to a common computer problem. Whether it be a microphone that isn’t working before a video call or a connection error that’s slowing down your internet, everyone wants a quick fix to their problems and that’s exactly what the hackers leveraging this technique gave them, albeit with a twist.

On the fake websites used in ClickFix attacks, a pop-up tells you there is a problem with your computer. A 'Fix It' button magically appears, promising an instant solution. Clicking on it copies a command to your clipboard and from there, you just have to paste it into Terminal (or a Command Prompt on Windows), hit Enter and then everything should be fixed. Right? Well that couldn’t be further from the truth.

You see, that command you copied over is actually malicious and as BleepingComputer points out, once you paste it, any existing security measures on your computer are bypassed. From there, the hackers behind these ClickFix attacks can then infect your Mac or Windows PC with malware.

Fortunately though, Apple has added a new warning to macOS which appears when you try to paste potentially harmful commands in Terminal. To see if this really works, I decided to give it a try on one of the best MacBooks. Here’s what happened.

Putting Apple’s new warning to the test

Since I’m currently testing out the MacBook Pro 16-inch M5 Pro we recently reviewed, I wanted to see if I could get one of Apple’s new warning messages to appear for myself. It took a bit of extra work but I finally managed to see one for myself.

To do so, I first took a look at a blog post from Sophos on how ClickFix attacks have evolved over the past year. From fake sites using OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas browser as a lure to a malvertising campaign that leveraged sponsored links tied to ChatGPT searches to impersonating legitimate Apple sites, hackers continue to come up with new ways to trick Mac users into infecting their own computers with malware.

Since I wanted to try out Apple’s new ClickFix warning for myself, I went to the middle of that blog post where Sophos has a table with all of the malicious domains used in one of these campaigns. I tried putting a few of them into my browser’s address bar but fortunately, they have all since been taken down. What was good news for potential victims was bad news for me since I wanted to find a malicious command to copy and try to paste into Terminal.

From there, I had to get a bit creative and employed the help of Google Gemini. I asked the search giant’s chatbot about whether or not it could come up with a command I could use to trick macOS Tahoe into showing its new warning. It came up with this suspicious looking but harmless string: echo "SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ=" | base64 --decode.

Much to my surprise, when I copied that string and tried to paste it into Terminal on my Mac, the warning message instantly appeared, saying:“Possible malware, Paste blocked. Your Mac has not been harmed. Scammers often encourage pasting text into Terminal to try and harm your Mac or compromise your privacy. These instructions are commonly offered via websites, chat agents, apps, files, or a phone call.”

Even though the string Gemini came up with was harmless, I still clicked “Don’t Paste” anyway out of an abundance of caution. And with that, my little test was complete.

While this new warning message will likely keep Mac users safe from falling for ClickFix attacks, oddly enough, Apple doesn’t even mention it in its own macOS Tahoe 26.4 release notes. Still, it’s good to know it’s there keeping you safe from infecting your own computer with Mac malware in the background.

When it comes to Windows, Microsoft has had a multi-line paste warning in Windows Terminal for years now. However, unlike with Apple's new warning, it isn't context-aware. So instead of seeing the warning when copying code from a suspicious website, Windows users see it whenever they try to paste multiple lines of code at the same time.

How to stay safe from ClickFix attacks

Although Apple will now warn you when you try to copy something from your browser and paste it into Terminal, you won’t see this new warning message unless you’re running the latest version of macOS. As such, just like with phishing attacks, you still want to know how to spot a ClickFix attack so that you can avoid them entirely.

Since hackers often try to instill a sense of urgency to get potential victims to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t like copying something and pasting it into a Terminal window or a Command Prompt, you want to slow down and think things over first. You want to be extra cautious whenever a website or app asks you to do something you normally wouldn’t.

At the same time, you should also avoid running code or commands that you’ve copied from a website, email or a message. Since most people won’t be able to make heads or tails of what that line of code or command actually does, it’s best to just avoid copying and pasting anything that doesn’t come from a trusted source. If you do have to enter commands, it’s always better to write them out yourself than to just copy and paste them.

While your Mac comes with built-in security protections in the form of Gatekeeper and XProtect, you can never be too careful. That’s why I recommend running the best Mac antivirus software alongside Apple’s own security software. That way, you’re protected with an extra layer of security.

Likewise, you also want to take some extra time and make sure you’re acquainted with all of the latest malware campaigns and tactics currently being used by hackers and other cybercriminals. Given how rapidly ClickFix attacks have evolved and how successful they’ve been in just two short years, I don’t see them going away anytime soon. That’s why it’s up to you to practice good cyber hygiene and to always be careful where you click or in this case, what you copy and paste.

At least for those running macOS 26.4, Apple has finally provided a 'stop-and-think' moment. It’s a silent guardian that acts as a final safety net if you slip up and try to paste a command that isn’t what it seems."

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The MacBook Neo’s 8GB of unified memory has been a major topic of conversation since Apple announced this new budget-friendly $599 laptop. And that makes sense, given how resource-heavy web pages have become, along with Chrome’s infamous high memory usage. If you’re the kind of student or digital nomad this laptop is aimed at, it’s natural to wonder if the Neo can handle your average workflow.

To that end, we decided to put the MacBook Neo through a stress test that simulates a typical day of use. While you might not ever have so many open tabs and apps running on the Neo, it’s interesting to see what Apple’s entry-level MacBook can and can’t handle. At what point will you hit a bottleneck?

Here, we opened Chrome tabs one by one, loading lighter and more demanding websites, and kept going until we started noticing slowdown. To make the test more demanding, we disabled Chrome’s memory saver feature. This is a RAM-saving feature I recommend enabling when using Chrome on the best laptops and best computers, but for this test, we wanted to see how well the Neo would perform without it.

Without spoiling the results, the MacBook Neo is more capable than you would expect from a machine with 8GB of RAM. You need to have a lot going on before you’ll feel the laptop buckling under the workload. Though capable, it’s important to remember that this is a budget machine, so don’t expect to render 4K videos or run other demanding apps without hitting constraints.

Are you worried about the 8GB RAM limit, or do you think it’s enough for the light work the MacBook Neo was designed for? Share your thoughts in the video and in the comments section below. Also, don’t forget to check out our separate gaming test featuring Cyberpunk 2077 and Resident Evil 4 Remake on the Neo.

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If you’ve been considering upgrading to one of the best MacBooks, you’re in luck: Apple just released the MacBook Neo. Starting at $599 (or $499 for education), this is Cupertino’s most affordable laptop yet and a fantastic entry point into the Mac ecosystem.

Up until now, you had to choose between the $1,099 MacBook Air for portability or the $599 Mac mini M4 if you were willing to stay tethered to a desk. In our MacBook Neo review, we praised the new device as the best budget laptop yet, but there is still another option worth considering.

First launched back in late 2020, the MacBook Air M1 surprisingly still holds up today. Though it initially launched at $999, the release of the M2, M3, M4, and now the MacBook Air M5 has driven the price of the original Air with Apple Silicon down significantly. In fact, you can often find the M1 on sale for $599, putting it in direct competition with the brand-new Neo.

Now that we’ve fully tested the MacBook Neo, we can see how it stacks up against the legend. If you’re deciding between the two, read this before you rush out to buy Apple’s most colorful MacBook yet.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Specs

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Design

The MacBook Neo and the MacBook Air M1 are both 13-inch laptops, though the Air sports a slightly larger 13.3-inch display. This also gives it a minor edge in resolution, but the real difference is in the look: the Air M1 keeps its "classic" square corners and thicker bottom chin, while the Neo adopts modern, rounded corners.

The biggest design departure is the color. In addition to Silver, the Neo comes in three vibrant shades: Blush (pink), Indigo (deep blue), and Citrus (yellow). We tried out the Citrus model, and its bright greenish-yellow hue definitely pops the most. Another nice touch is that the Neo's keys are color-matched to its shell, making the whole machine feel cohesive.

However, that keyboard comes with a compromise. While you get the same reliable scissor-switches and 1mm of travel found on the Air M1, the Neo doesn't have a backlit keyboard. You also lose out on standard biometric security; while Touch ID is included on every Air M1, getting it on the Neo requires an optional $100 upgrade.

Apple simplified the trackpad to cut costs, too. While the Air M1 features a Force Touch trackpad that uses haptics to mimic a click, the Neo’s trackpad is mechanical. It still feels great, but it’s a physical "diving board" click rather than the high-tech feedback found on more expensive MacBooks.

Physically, these two are close but not identical. The Neo is smaller overall, but the Air M1 still feels like the "sharper" device thanks to its iconic tapered wedge that thins out at the front. The Neo is also the new lightweight champ at 2.7 pounds, beating the Air M1 by a hair.

Port layout is another area where "budget" becomes a factor. Both have two USB-C ports on the left, but only the Air M1 gives you high-speed Thunderbolt 3 on both. On the Neo, the rear port is a faster USB 3, while the front one is a slow USB 2 port mostly meant for charging. The Neo also moves the headphone jack to the left, whereas it sits on the right on the Air M1.

Where the Neo finally pulls ahead is the webcam. Its 1080p camera is a massive upgrade over the Air M1’s grainy 720p sensor, even if both laptops still lack Center Stage.

Finally, the audio vibes are different. The Air M1 hides its speakers under the keyboard for a fuller soundstage, while the Neo uses side-firing speakers. While the Neo supports Dolby Atmos, the Air M1’s three-mic array still gives it the edge for sounding your best on video calls compared to the Neo’s dual-mic setup.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Performance

The most debated part of the MacBook Neo is its brain. While the Air M1 uses a true M-series computer chip, the Neo runs on the A18 Pro — a powerhouse originally designed for the iPhone 16 Pro.

In our testing, the Neo’s "phone chip" proved it has some serious speed, especially in single-core tasks where it feels much snappier for day-to-day browsing and app-launching. However, it still falls slightly behind the M1 in sustained tasks like our Handbrake video transcoding test. It’s also worth noting that we tested the Neo with the newer Geekbench 6, while our older Air M1 results come from Geekbench 5.

As a daily driver, the Neo held its own with a couple dozen Chrome tabs open while juggling Slack and photo edits in Pixelmator Pro. It’s a responsive machine for the most part, though we did notice some lag when jumping into the Display settings right from Finder while connected to a Studio Display — likely a reminder that this mobile architecture has its limits.

The Air M1, by contrast, feels like it has a bit more "breathing room" during heavy multitasking. Part of that is thanks to its faster SSD, and part is because our review unit was configured with 16GB of RAM, whereas the Neo is strictly capped at 8GB.

Ultimately, both chips are designed for different missions. The M1 was built from the ground up to handle the "heavy lifting" of macOS, while the A18 Pro was optimized for the efficiency of iOS. For web browsing and schoolwork, the Neo is a delight; but if your workload is on the heavier side, the M1’s desktop-class architecture is still the better choice.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Display

Although the Neo and the Air M1 appear to have almost identical screens at first glance, there are some key differences between the two. They both feature 13-inch LED-backlit panels with Apple’s “Retina” branding but deciding on the better laptop display will come down to your workflow.

Given its more affordable price, the Neo lacks the color depth of the P3 Wide Color gamut found on the Air M1 and uses the sRGB color gamut instead. This is fine for writing emails, watching videos and doing schoolwork but you won’t get the same pop that you will with the Air M1’s screen. Likewise, you don’t get True Tone technology on the Neo which uses sensors to adjust the color temperature of the Air M1’s display to match a room’s ambient lighting.

There’s one last big difference between the two laptops as well and that comes down to brightness. Since it uses an older display, the Air M1 only managed to reach a max brightness of 365 nits in our lab tests. Meanwhile, the newer Neo hit 480 nits in the same tests. If you plan to use either Apple laptop outdoors for extended periods, the Neo will be much more visible in direct sunlight.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Graphics

You won’t be playing the latest AAA games on either of these more affordable MacBooks, but you will be able to do some light gaming. Given the A18 Pro chip inside the Neo, it naturally handles mobile games designed for iOS well, while the M1 chip in the Air is better suited for actual PC games — albeit older ones.

For instance, when we originally reviewed the Air M1, we were easily able to play older titles like Bioshock 2 Remastered at its native 2560 x 1600 resolution. Rise of the Tomb Raider and Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm were both playable too, though neither hit a steady 60 fps.

It’s worth noting that those were older Intel-based versions running via Rosetta 2; in the years since, many more games have been ported to run natively on Apple Silicon, meaning there is an even larger library of older titles you can enjoy on the Air M1 today.

With the Neo, we tested out Oceanhorn 3 via Apple Arcade for our review and then later, the Resident Evil 4 Remake. While the graphics looked smooth for the most part, we did notice some skipped frames here and there.

The Neo does have one graphical trick up its sleeve, however: hardware-accelerated ray tracing. This allows it to render more realistic lighting and reflections in modern, optimized titles — a feature the M1 lacks entirely. Still, neither MacBook is a gaming powerhouse.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Battery life

The MacBook Air M1 should technically have the advantage here with its larger 49.9-watt-hour battery, compared to the Neo’s smaller 36.5-watt-hour cell. However, since the Neo is powered by an extremely efficient 3nm chip, the A18 Pro helps this new MacBook come much closer to the Air M1 than you’d expect.

In our Tom’s Guide battery test, which involves continuous web surfing at 150 nits of screen brightness, the results were surprisingly close. As you can see in the table above, you’re essentially getting one hour less with the Neo compared to the Air M1. Still, 13.5 hours of continuous use is quite a lot for an affordable MacBook designed for students and office workers; you can easily make it through a full workday without having to reach for a charger.

The charging situation is where you'll find the biggest day-to-day difference. While the Air M1 can be charged via either of its identical USB-C ports, the Neo requires a bit more strategy. We recommend using the front port for charging, as its slower USB 2.0 speeds are perfect for power. This leaves the faster rear port free for a high-speed SSD or for connecting to an external monitor.

Finally, there’s the question of charging speed. The Neo ships with a compact 20W charger, while the Air M1 comes with a standard 30W adapter. If you’re in a hurry, the Air M1 has a distinct advantage: you can plug it into a higher-wattage 60W or 100W GaN charger and it will pull up to 45W, cutting your wait time significantly. Unfortunately, the Neo is capped at its lower speeds, so you'll be waiting a bit longer to get back to 100%.

MacBook Neo vs MacBook Air M1: Outlook

Choosing between the new MacBook Neo and the veteran MacBook Air M1 is surprisingly difficult, even with six years of tech evolution between them. While the Neo sports a much more modern design with vibrant colors and a sharper webcam, the Air M1 still feels like a "pro" machine in an older body.

If you want a laptop that feels current and will be supported by Apple for years to come, the Neo is the better choice. It’s snappy enough for daily tasks and serves as a fantastic upgrade for anyone coming from a Chromebook or a budget Windows laptop. For those who spend most of their time in a browser or on FaceTime, the Neo’s modern aesthetic and improved camera are hard to beat.

However, if you aren't willing to sacrifice the premium features Apple cut to hit the Neo’s $599 price point, the Air M1 is the better option. With its backlit keyboard, standard Touch ID, faster SSD, and dual Thunderbolt ports, it remains better suited for users who need to multitask or handle slightly more demanding workloads.

Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either, but longevity is the tie-breaker. The Neo is likely to receive macOS updates until the early 2030s, whereas the Air M1 is nearing the end of its software support cycle. If you want a machine that is "set and forget" for the next several years, the Neo is Apple’s colorful, affordable answer to the entry-level Mac.

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As with virtually all tech companies these days, Apple has jumped into the AI race with its own Apple Intelligence, with features like AI-powered summaries that can condense a lengthy block of text in seconds. But your Mac can already do that without AI.

With Summarize, an often forgotten 20-year-old tool that's built into your Mac, you can easily highlight long web articles, PDFs or huge chunks of text and get a quick summary of what's important. Get this: it's actually faster than AI, and you can even adjust the size of the summary in real time using a slider.

This nifty tool was around as far back as 2001 in the Mac OS X days, and it's still available to use right now on macOS Tahoe. All you have to do is turn it on. Now, don't get me wrong; AI is far smarter at summarizing articles into short, understandable briefs, but for those who prefer word-for-word summaries and don't want to rely on cloud-based AI tools from ChatGPT, Gemini or even Apple Intelligence itself, give this a try.

How to turn on Summarize on Mac

The built-in Summarize tool on Mac, whether it's a MacBook or Mac mini, is a great way to break down those huge walls of words in documents or articles into sentences or paragraphs, and it's even able to pick up the most relevant information.

Instead of generative AI-based summarization, it analyzes text and removes filler and non-essential info to shorten whatever is highlighted, prioritizing key sentences. This means you'll get a shortened version of exactly what is written, which is great if you're looking for key parts in a long passage of text.

It's been on Mac for years, but it's turned off by default. However, once you turn it on, you can get a quick summary of whatever length in just two clicks. Follow the steps below to get it set up.

How to use Summarize on Mac

Once you've got it working, you can choose whatever text you like to instantly get a shorter version and quickly get the key points. Even better, thanks to the Summary Size slider, you can choose just how long this summary will be.

For example, if I just wanted a "SparkNotes" of sorts version of an article or document, I can put the slider to 10% to get a couple of paragraphs on the most important parts of a piece. If I need more detail, I can simply slide it further up the scale, which will add more paragraphs to offer more context. It goes all the way to 100%, which defeats the purpose of Summarize, but whatever output you need, it offers the full scale.

There are also two options to choose from: Sentences and Paragraphs. I found the latter to be less effective, as it will remove whole chunks of paragraphs that may have relevant sentences within them. Stick with Sentences to get finer details.

As I touched on, you'll find word-for-word summaries of highlighted text, as opposed to newly formed information that AI summaries offer. That's good if you're looking for exactly what an article has stated, but it can also get confusing when whole sentences or paragraphs are skipped, as there's sometimes not enough meaning to fill in the gaps.

Look, AI summaries are still a handy tool to have, and they can do a great job at quickly nailing down important points in an email, document and more. But sometimes, they can be unreliable, and that's when the Summarize tool on Mac can come in handy. It's instant, can work offline and doesn't send any data to the cloud, since it's done locally.

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Apple began rolling out developer beta 1 for macOS Tahoe 26.4 yesterday, and it’s now available for public beta users. Some of these releases can be a bit lean, but this one actually has some useful features to check out.

As 9to5Mac reports, the beta is now available for anyone who’s enrolled in Apple’s free Beta Software Program. If you’ve been holding off on the developer build, this is a good time to dive in, so long as you’re comfortable with potential beta bugs.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s coming to your Mac with version 26.4.

Battery charge limit for MacBooks

This is the most notable update in this build. As you can currently do on iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe now lets you set a specific Battery Charge Limit. You can choose to cap your maximum charge anywhere between 80% and 100%.

If you’re like me and spend 90% of your time with your MacBook plugged into a wall outlet or dock, this is a good way to maintain long-term battery health. Keeping your battery at a constant 100% can degrade it faster over time, so being able to hard-cap it at 80% while you're at your desk is a feature that has been a long time coming.

The end of Rosetta apps

Apple has added new Rosetta warning popups that appear whenever you launch an app built for Intel processors. The pop-up serves as a reminder that macOS 27 (which will likely release later this year) will officially drop support for Rosetta and Intel-based apps.

As we’ve known for a while, macOS Tahoe is the final stop for Intel Macs. If you’re still using a legacy machine, this beta is essentially the beginning of the end. It’s a clear signal from Apple that it’s officially time to upgrade to a Mac with an M-series chip.

Small fixes and Safari tweaks

For Safari fans, the compact tab bar option has returned to System Settings. It was missing from the initial launch of Tahoe, but it's back for those who prefer a more streamlined browser UI.

Apple also claims to have finally squashed a persistent UI bug regarding window corner radii. Apparently, the window resize pointer wasn't correctly following the curved shape of the windows. That’s a small detail, but one that probably drove some folks crazy.

How to get the macOS Tahoe Public Beta

If you want to try these features yourself, you can head over to beta.apple.com to sign up. Once enrolled, just go to System Settings > General > Software Update and toggle on the Tahoe Public Beta.

Just a word of advice from someone who uses beta builds: Back up your data. While this 26.4 build feels relatively stable, you never want to risk your primary work machine on a beta without a Time Machine backup ready to go.

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• New report claims Apple won’t redesign the iPad Pro for years

We’ve heard for a while that Apple could be looking to move its MacBook lineup to a touchscreen setup, and short of seemingly spelling the end of some high-powered tablet alternatives like the iPad Pro M5, you only have to watch a newer generation prod at your Mac screen to know that it’s only a matter of time.

Fresh from my son poking my MacBook Air M3 with his digits, though, I was thinking: “How could Apple make using touch on the Mac a more pleasant experience?”

After all, the idea of navigating the macOS menu bar with your fingertips sounds, frankly, rough — but is the solution the Apple Pencil, a device that’s been staring us in the face for years?

Minimal fresh UI needed

To start with, I think Apple’s touchscreen laptops are a near certainty in the future. Whether it’ll be limited to a certain product line, like the rumored MacBook Pro M6 with OLED, or a new one entirely, remains to be seen — but I just can’t see Apple wanting to roll out two versions of macOS with different touch targets.

It would require an awful lot of work to adjust just about every part of the OS for a touchscreen, with Mac mainstays like the menu bar, the settings app and Finder likely to need major surgery.

What if, then, Apple leaned into the precision already available in its stylus? The Apple Pencil has been around the block enough times to have multiple hardware revisions, constantly improving and adding new features, culminating in the impressive (but inessential for many) Apple Pencil Pro.

If these touchscreen Macs end up having fresh designs, then we’d get yet another way for Apple to cram magnetic charging à la MagSafe into a device for charging the stylus. Moreover, while it would be a good decade and change since the Microsoft Surface Pen rollout, and other Apple Pen alternatives, Apple silicon could make these styluses much more desirable and capable.

Mac for creatives (again)

A few years ago, the Mac was positioned as the machine for creators, particularly the MacBook. Access to the likes of Final Cut and Logic, as well as being a great place to use Adobe apps, meant Apple laptops were exciting — the kind of machines great ideas sprung from.

In recent years, the move to Apple silicon has undoubtedly made Mac a stronger platform, but it’s lost some of that upstart energy for creatives.

With the reveal and release of its Apple Creator Studio software and services bundle, however, Apple has a chance to show it still has that spark. If it can roll out a touchscreen MacBook that uses the Apple Pencil, it could position the platform as the go-to for artists, note-takers and more, in a way that the iPad (despite its many positives) hasn’t quite achieved for many.

If Apple can bring back some of the creator audience that shifted to alternative platforms in recent years, with Apple Pencil support in Pixelmator and even third-party options like Adobe, it could be onto a winner.

The iPad Pro M2 also introduced "Hover," a way to see what action you’ll take before the Pencil even touches the page. If the company gets that feature on board, it could be a huge boon and way to show how its offering can be just as precise (or even moreso) than its rivals.

Moot point?

Of course, this could all be for nothing. Apple’s next big MacBook refresh could be a while off, and by the time it arrives, it may have put some version of macOS on iPad instead.

In any case, it feels like having an Apple Pencil-centric interface for macOS (while potentially more expensive) could be a great way to foster a second coming of a creator-based community for Apple.

And, judging by Apple's dev relations in recent years, it could probably do with getting more of them on board again.

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I've been a MacBook owner for nearly a decade and an iPhone user for more than five years, and it was only recently that I realized I had not been using either one properly.

Everywhere I go, whether it's my home, a friend's place, a party, or even a hotel while traveling, I'm always looking for a better way to play music or mirror content from my iPhone. Before, I took my own Bluetooth speakers along or, when I wanted to play content on a bigger screen, I would even pack my Apple TV. But the perfect solution had been sitting right in front of me the whole time.

You can AirPlay content directly from your iPhone to your Mac

Apple lets you AirPlay music, videos, photos, and even your iPhone's screen directly to your Mac, without any workarounds or third-party apps. That means the AirPlay device you have been looking for all along has been with you the entire time.

Sure, you can stream audio from services like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify, but it also works with video streaming apps such as Netflix, HBO Max, and others. And the best part is that none of this requires cables. Everything works wirelessly.

This is especially useful for live sports. You might begin watching a game on your iPhone and then switch to your Mac when you want a larger display. The feature also works for AirPlaying photos and even screen sharing your entire iPhone display to your Mac. I personally use this feature quite often to mirror my iPhone screen to my Mac when I'm recording videos and need to double-check framing.

Your MacBook already has some of the best speakers you'll find on a laptop, and if you use a desktop Mac like a Mac mini or Mac Studio, it's likely connected to a solid set of external speakers. The setup is already there, just waiting to be used, and it's surprisingly easy to get started.

How to prepare your Mac for AirPlay streaming

How to AirPlay from your iPhone to your Mac

Alternatively, you can open Control Center and select your Mac as the output device by tapping the small AirPlay icon inside the playback widget.

Once the content is AirPlaying on your Mac, you can control playback from either your iPhone or your Mac. To stop streaming, tap the AirPlay icon again and switch the output back to your iPhone.

How to send photos from iPhone to Mac with AirPlay

How to mirror your iPhone on Mac with AirPlay

Pro tip: if you want to cast to a TV that does not support AirPlay, you can connect your Mac to the TV using an HDMI cable and then AirPlay content to your Mac. Whatever shows up on your Mac will show up on your TV too, and it works surprisingly well.

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Most people unbox a new Mac, breeze through the setup steps, and start using it exactly as Apple intended. The Magic Mouse stays. The built-in display is enough. Default settings remain untouched. That approach works fine for basic tasks, but it leaves a lot of capability on the table.

Power users do things differently. They upgrade their peripherals and expand storage before it becomes a problem. These aren't complicated modifications that require technical know-how — they're straightforward upgrades that make your daily work faster and more comfortable.

The gap between a stock Mac and a power user setup isn't as wide as you'd think. Three key changes cover the crux of it.

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Moving from one operating system to another can be a daunting task. The different ways to simply find and open files, work out keyboard shortcuts, download apps — the list goes on. None says that more than shifting from Windows to macOS.

I know because I've made the transition myself, and it was jarring to even start using "Command" as the usual "Ctrl" I'd gotten used to after years of copying and pasting on my Windows machine. What's worse, if it doesn't gel well, that's a lot of money down the sink after grabbing one of the best MacBooks, or even a Mac mini.

It's the little things that make working on a Mac a comfortable, seamless experience to whizz through, and if you're a Windows user, you may be missing that feel. Fortunately, I've found a few small ways to make the transition easier.

If you think your Mac is missing a few features that only Windows has, not to worry; they're actually hidden in Apple's OS. Here's how to use them.

The 'Cut and Paste' fix

You'd think the incredibly simple action of "Cut and Paste" in File Explorer on Windows would carry over to Mac in Finder, but sadly, that hasn't been the case. Sure, CMD + C for "Copy and Paste" works just fine, but trying to use CMD + X to "Cut" isn't an option.

That means having to copy and paste a file and then having to go back to the original folder to delete the original, and that can be tedious and, what's more, take up more storage. However, there is a simple way to cut and paste instead.

If the lack of "Cut and Paste" is driving you crazy, then you can just use another shortcut to make it happen in macOS' Finder.

• Simply copy (CMD + C) a file as normal
• Head over to the folder you want to paste in
• Press CMD + Option + V

This will perform a "Move" action, rather than just copying the file and pasting it. That means no duplicates, and it mimics the "Cut and Paste" command on Windows.

Window Snapping

Being able to multitask is crucial while working, especially on a machine that's more than capable of juggling several apps at once (looking at you, MacBook Air M4 and MacBook Pro M5). You can spend your hard-earned cash to link up a secondary monitor, or use a feature like the Windows Snap tool.

With Snap Layouts, you can customize the way your windows, apps and folders are shown on your screen, whether that be side-by-side, in quarters, in a set of three and more. For a while, Mac was missing out on this feature, but macOS Sequoia made this available. Now, you can simply drag a window to a corner or edge of your screen and snap it to a layout of your liking.

However, there's another controlled way of doing this. By hovering over the green Traffic Light button in the top-left corner of a window, you can move, resize, fill and arrange the window to a layout of your liking.

From taking up half the screen to laying it out to four corners, the window will "snap" into place. That green button does a whole lot more than just turn your window into a full-sized screen!

Snipping tool in all but name

One of my favorite tools on Windows 11 is the Snipping Tool, as it lets you easily and freely screenshot or record anything shown on your screen. For a long time with macOS, I thought the only way to grab a shot was capturing the whole screen with CMD + Shift + 3.

That's fine, as it's simple to edit, crop or draw on the screenshot after it's taken, but it's not quite as immediately flexible as Windows. That was until I learned I'd been pressing the wrong number on my MacBook's keyboard.

When first getting to grips with my MacBook Air, I searched "how to take a screenshot on my Mac," with the top result stating the usual CMD + Shift + 3. If you're not in the know, you can also use CMD + Shift + 4 to get more options to drag just the shot you want.

However, you can also press CMD + Shift + 5 to get the full screenshot app, allowing you to set timers, screen grab a precise section or window and even screen record. It's incredibly helpful, and acts as smoothly as the Snipping Tool on Windows would.

More like File Explorer

File Explorer on Windows 11 has its problems, but once you get used to how it works and where to look for files, it becomes second nature to use. So, using Finder in macOS can be frustrating to navigate around.

With that in mind, why not give it a "File Explorer" touch? If Finder is looking a tad too simplistic, you can add more options to offer more information and make it easier to navigate around. To do this, you'll want to enable the "Path Bar" and "Status Bar."

While Finder is open, click on the View menu in the top right corner of your screen. From there, select Show Path Bar and Show Status Bar, and you'll find another two small bars at the bottom of Finder.

Most importantly, you'll see the Path Bar showing a directory of where files are stored like a breadcrumb trail, which is hugely handy to know where exactly a file is. What's more, you can simply pick up a file and drop it in one of the parent folders that's shown along the path bar.

Plus, the Status Bar will finally show you the number of items you've selected, and just how much space you have left on your Mac. That last one was enlightening, as I actually had no idea the amount of storage I had left.

More Wi-Fi details

There's a lot you can find out about your Wi-Fi network on a Windows 11 PC, just by selecting Properties and checking out its settings and the like. On a Mac? Well, clicking on the Wi-Fi icon will show you a list of networks to connect to and...that's it.

The good news is there's a way to get a ton of information on your Wi-Fi network, and it's as easy as pressing a key. Quite literally, as all you need to do is hold Option while clicking on the Wi-Fi icon on the top-right corner of your screen along the menu bar.

From there, you can find out your Wi-Fi network's hardware address, IP address, security protocol and even the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) that's measured in dBm — with that last one being especially handy so you can check how good your connection is (anywhere from -30 to -60 dBm is good).

You can even enable Wi-Fi logging and create a diagnostics report, giving you far more options to get to know your Wi-Fi network better. That's definitely handier than just seeing what else you can connect to.

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Today, there are several reasons you should avoid Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot, from explicit, degrading content to a new strain of malware that infects Apple computers.

A new macOS malware has been identified by Mosyle, an Apple device management and security firm. The company shared details of the SimpleStealth campaign with 9to5Mac.

Simply, the SimpleStealth attack poses as a fake version of xAI's Grok chatbot and tricks users into downloading an infected macOS installer. The installer is hosted on a look-alike website and not the Mac App Store.

According to the Mosyle security research team, the bad actors used the domain xaill.com to mimic the Grok AI app and prompt people to install Grok.dmg.

AI built crypto miner

Mosyle said that the malware went undetected by antivirus programs and appears legitimate while running hidden background processes.

What makes this fake Grok unique is that it may be the first malware built, in part, using generative AI code. Apparently, the code script includes a mixture of English and Brazilian Portuguese, rambling explanations and repetitive logic, common to AI-generated code.

AI or not, the malware stealth deploys a Monero cryptocurrency miner built to hide in the system. Its activity only begins if the Mac has been idle for at least a minute and stops when user activity is detected.

As reported by 9to5Mac, the finding raises concerns that generative AI is speeding up malware development, accelerating the rate at which new threats are deployed.

How to stay safe

As always, when it comes to software, avoid downloading from third-party sites. If it's not in the Mac App Store, it could be a vector for infection.

Stick to the official app store or download directly from reputable companies (currently, not Grok). Even then, make sure to double-check URLs and try to avoid filling out any forms.

While the current antivirus programs were unable to detect the new malware, it's still a good idea to invest in one of the best Mac antivirus software solutions for all of the malicious code it can catch. Plus, Mac comes with built-in security software called XProtect.

Given how quickly malware can be created and deployed, it's a good idea to improve your cyber hygiene and stay up to date on the latest threats. This way, you'll be better prepared to avoid the tricks hackers use to gain access to your devices and your information.

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If you just received a new MacBook I have some quick tips on what you should do first to make the most of it. I've been reviewing MacBooks for years here at Tom's Guide so I have a pretty good sense of how to quickly set one up to be an effective laptop that's well-suited to your unique needs.

So whether you inherited an old MacBook Pro from an older sibling or just unwrapped a brand-new MacBook Air M4 for Christmas, I have some advice about how you can make the most of it.

I also wrote our macOS Tahoe review and the last few macOS reviews before that, so I'll quickly highlight the coolest new features of your MacBook's operating system and link you to more guides you can follow when you're ready to master more advanced features.

1. Personalize your desktop

One of the first (and in my opinion, most enjoyable) things you should do upon starting your new MacBook is to customize the desktop so it's just the way you like it.

Modern macOS gives you a lot of options to fine-tune your Mac's desktop to your liking, letting you choose between dozens of dynamic or static wallpapers (you can also upload your own photos) and giving you lots of options to color-code file types and organize them the way you like.

It's all pretty simple to access, too. To customize your wallpaper, screen saver and more just click the Apple button in the top-left corner of your screen and open System Settings, then navigate down to the Wallpaper section.

With macOS Tahoe you can also customize the colors of specific folders on your desktop (or anywhere on your Mac) and even apply individual emoji to specific folders so you can personalize them to your needs.

I really love this feature, and it's easy to play around with: simply hold Ctrl + Click on a folder and select "Customize this folder" to access a menu of colors, icons and emoji you can put on the folder to make it easy to recognize at a glance.

2. Secure your Mac (and make it yours) with Touch ID

Every new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air has come with a Touch ID sensor built right into the power button in the top-right corner of your keyboard. This sensor can read your fingerprint to identify you, and you can use it to ensure that anyone other than you will have an awful hard time accessing your Mac.

Enabling Touch ID on your MacBook is simple: just click the Apple button in the top-left corner of your desktop and navigate to System Settings > Touch ID. From there, click Add Fingerprint to add your fingerprint to your Mac's Touch ID database.

Be prepared: Touch ID requires you to register at least one fingerprint with Apple, and while the company claims your fingerprint data is securely stored on your device, never shared online and cannot be used to match against other prints in fingerprint databases, I understand if some folks are leery of giving their fingerprints to Apple.

But for my money Apple is one of the more trustworthy tech companies on the planet (at least when it comes to preserving user privacy to keep them buying Macs) and I haven't had any concerns about using Touch ID for years. And the bright side is that you don't need to fiddle with a password — you can just press your finger against the sensor and watch your MacBook welcome you back.

3. Fine-tune your Dock

If this is your first Mac, you might be a little surprised to see a big ribbon of icons at the bottom of your desktop. This is called the Dock, and it serves a similar function to the taskbar or Start menu in Windows 11 because you can add and remove programs to the Dock for easy access.

For my money it's a bit drab and busy by default. That's why I clear every app I don't regularly use off the Dock, including Apple apps like Keynote, Numbers and Pages. To remove an app from the Dock, simply right-click (or Control + click) an app and select Options > Remove from Dock.

I also like to add all my favorite apps I use regularly, like Google Chrome. Add an app to the Dock by opening the Launchpad (by either clicking its button on the Dock or opening Spotlight Search and typing Launchpad, then hitting Return) and click and drag the app you want down to where you want it on the Dock.

Personally I prefer a nice clean desktop without a lot of clutter, so I like to set the Dock to auto-hide itself whenever I'm not looking for it. To auto-hide the Dock menu, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen and navigate to System Settings > Desktop & Dock, then toggle on the Automatically hide and show the Dock option. There's a few other useful options for customizing your Dock in that menu, including options to change the size and magnification of icons on the Dock, move the Dock to either side of your screen and the like.

4. Use Desktop Widgets to make your Mac your own

I've always loved the concept of "desktop widgets," little panels on your desktop (like a calendar, a photo album or a clock) that auto-update with useful information. I first encountered them in Windows, but in my opinion the Widgets available on your Mac (starting with macOS Sonoma) are far more useful than anything Microsoft offers.

You also have a lot more options of what Widgets to add to your desktop, where to place them and what size they should be than you ever did on Windows.

Customizing the Widgets on your new MacBook is fairly simple: just Ctrl + Click anywhere on your Mac desktop to bring up the context menu, then click the "Edit Widgets" option. Note that you must be running macOS Sonoma or later.

Another way is to simply click on the Notification Center in the top-right corner of your Mac's screen and click "Edit Widgets" to open the Widgets menu as well.

5. Set up those Hot Corners

Another thing I prize about MacBooks over Windows laptops is the option to use Hot Corners, a macOS feature that allows you to set a custom shortcut that launches every time you move your mouse into a corner of your screen.

This can be a little frustrating if you're not prepared for it to happen and something pops up unexpectedly when you're mousing around in the corners of your screen. But once you get the hang of it, Hot Corners can make you feel a lot faster and more productive when you're working on your new MacBook.

To add, remove or change Hot Corner shortcuts navigate to System Settings > Desktop & Dock, scroll all the way down and click the Hot Corners button.

That will take you to the Hot Corners menu, where you can customize what program (if any) launches when you slide your pointer into each corner of your display. Personally I like to put Mission Control in one corner, the Launchpad in another corner and Google Chrome in a third corner for easy access. But play around with the feature and see what fits you best!

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I’m a Mac power user — surrounded by monitors that are compartmentalized by task so I can effectively multitask. But there’s a problem: I’m terrible at multitasking.

It’s so easy to get distracted by many different things, like emails or Slack chats in my peripheral vision, and before you know it, I’m splitting my attention between several different apps rather than actually locking in and completing one thing at a time.

So I did some research to find something to help me with my focus, and that’s when I came across Display Flow + Care: an app that turned out to be a breakthrough for my productivity (and for caring for my OLED displays to boot).

Cursor-based monitor dimming

It’s a simple utility on paper — dimming (or blurring) a monitor when you’re not using it. At first, it felt a little weird to get used to, because you feel blind to your comms.

However, it’s been a breakthrough for getting stuff done by making every action feel all the more intentional. Instead of being distracted by people trying to get my attention (sorry, boss), I can focus on actually getting stuff done (like this article).

On top of that, the two monitors that I use are OLED-based, which is rather susceptible to burn-in if there is static content. This is ultimately the purpose of Display Flow + Care, as dimming your panel will eliminate any risk of that.

But hidden in all the screen care benefits is a true combo breaker for maximizing your focus too. Or if you’re on-the-go, a privacy screen that you can turn on at any point. I’ve tried a whole lot of productivity tools, but this is one of the rare ones that actually feels useful.

Head tracking

Want to take it up to another level? Make sure you’re using one of the best webcams and you can take the mouse cursor out of the equation by enabling Display Flow + Care's head tracking feature. This lets you activate different monitors by turning your head in different directions.

I’ve got mine set to turn on the side monitor on the left when I turn my head to the left, and a swift head turn to the right will activate the main panel for my workload. It just feels so satisfyingly logical — just look at the panel and it springs to life.

I recommend speeding up the unblur time too, so you don't have to wait a couple of seconds before you can see everything you’re doing each time you move displays.

Outlook

I know that we talk a lot about upgrading your life with a beast of a desk setup, but one thing that always gets lost in the weeds of setting up a multi-monitor workstation is the tendency to get distracted by everything going on around you.

But I didn’t realize the fix would be so easy to get and so cheap too. This is easily the most useful app I’ve downloaded this year — both for preserving my monitors and keeping me focused on completing tasks too.

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• MacBook Pro M6 OLED rumors: Everything we know so far
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The iPhone 17 series is out in the wild and seemingly doing well. But over at Apple, change could be afoot, as new reports have emerged claiming that long-time CEO Tim Cook could step down as soon as next year.

There doesn't appear to be an internal issue with Cook's leadership, as the company has seen record-smashing profits under his tenure. However, according to a report from the Financial Times, the 66-year-old leader of Apple may be considering stepping down from his post atop one of the biggest companies in tech.

At Apple's helm for 14 years, Cook has seen his share of success. The company literally generated trillions of dollars in revenue during his time as CEO. Cook took over after Steve Jobs' passing, and he's maintained the role ever since.

However, with talk of Cook stepping down, rumors of who might step up start flooding the internet. There are big potential names who could take over Apple when the Cook era ends, ranging from hardware leads to marketing heads.

Potential Tim Cook Successors

While Apple has not officially announced a succession plan publicly, that hasn't stopped speculation and rumors from circulating. We've heard rumblings of several notable figures within the company.

One name is Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, whom we spoke with at WWDC. In fact, Federighi was long considered the front-runner to take over, but those plans appear to have changed recently (though with his accomplishments in the software and OS space, he could move to the front again).

Then again, not everyone loves iOS 26 and its Liquid Glass interface.

Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer, was also a potential CEO successor. However, he's retiring from his role, which takes him out of the running. At only three years younger than Cook, he may not have been the best fit if Apple is looking to get another long run out of its next CEO.

However, one name has now moved to the front of the list according to the Financial Times report: John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, who sat down with our own Mark Spoonauer for an interview.

Who is John Ternus, the current front-runner?

John Ternus taking the seat would seem to indicate a hardware and engineering innovation-focused direction for Apple, which would be smart, as many have accused the firm of moving toward more incremental upgrades in recent years.

Additionally, Ternus is the youngest top executive at the company at 50 years old, which could give him a long tenure (assuming things go well under his direction).

Ternus started at Apple 24 years ago and rose through the ranks of the company, entering a leadership position in 2013 and assuming his current senior vice president role in 2022.

He also unveiled the M1 chip, Apple's first in-house silicon in 2020, and the iPhone Air in 2025. Clearly, the company already sees Ternus as well-equipped to get on stage and show off Apple's new products — a pivotal part of being Apple's CEO.

In fact, a 2024 Bloomberg report claimed that Cook said Ternus could “give a good presentation.” The report said he's also "very mild-mannered, never puts anything into an email that is controversial and is a very reticent decision-maker."

Of course, this is all assuming that Cook steps down next year. If he decides to head the company for longer, these plans could shift as other executives move through the ranks and make their mark. It's almost like watching a season of "Succession" from the outside.

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I don't know about you, but I've been using Macs since the old Apple IIes we had in grade school, so I have some pretty strong feelings about the best Mac apps to install first on a new Apple PC.

If you'd asked me back in fifth grade I'd probably have said The Oregon Trail, but these days there are a few other Mac apps I value more highly when setting up a new MacBook for work and play.

While Apple's default apps (like Mail, Notes and Pages) are pretty good these days, especially if you're making good use of the Apple Intelligence upgrades in macOS Tahoe, I still find myself reliably heading to the same handful of websites every time I set up a new Mac for review.

Since I do that a few times every year, I grab all my favorite macOS apps in one fell swoop via macapps.link, a sort of one-stop shop for customizing and downloading packages of free Mac apps.

This is an optional time-saving step I like to take, but you can skip it if you like since you can also download most (good) Mac apps from Apple's App Store or the app makers' websites.

However, I like to use Macapps because you can quickly pick apps you want from one big list and the website will package them up for you into one a single installer that's easy to download.

Whether you choose to try Macapps for yourself or prefer to access them in your own way, these are the 5 apps I recommend you install first on your new Mac!

Discord

I didn't think much of Discord back when it launched in 2015, but nowadays it's become one of my most-used tools for staying in touch with old friends and colleagues around the world. For that reason, it's one of the first things I install on any new Mac.

Once upon a time it felt like Twitter was the best place to stay in touch with people, but these days I prefer the more comfortable intimacy of a Discord server with pals. The service has evolved significantly over the years, and now you can use it for cross-platform voice chat, so friends on Macs, PCs, and even a PS5 can all hop into the same channel to catch up after work.

While you can get by with the browser version of Discord, I like to download the app because I feel like the quality of my audio sounds better when I'm broadcasting using the app vs. the browser version — but that's entirely subjective, and your mileage may vary.

GIMP

As a working journalist I need to edit images on a regular basis, and the Photos app just doesn't cut it. I like to download GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) on every new MacBook I get my hands on because it's capable, quick to download and most importantly, free.

I've also spent years using it, so I know my way around this image editor in a way I'll never understand Photoshop. And while there are lots of great free image editors available out there, including lots you can access right in your browser, I prefer to have an app downloaded to my Mac hard drive so I can work with images even when I'm on the go and don't have a reliable Internet connection.

Sure, the name is a little silly and the interface could be better, but for the asking price you can't beat GIMP.

Google Chrome

Like I said up top, Safari is fine — in fact, it's better than ever thanks to the upgrades in macOS Sequoia — but I still prefer to use Chrome on my Macs.

Admittedly, partly that's just laziness and habit: I have Google accounts for both work and personal business, so it's convenient to have Chrome because I can stay on top of both with a browser logged into each account.

But I also love Chrome because while it's demanding, it feels faster and more responsive than Safari. I also like how it supports every website and web service I need to use. Plus, it has robust cross-platform support so I can open a link on my phone using Chrome for iOS, then hit a button to send it to my desktop Chrome instance running on my MacBook for easier reading when I'm back at my desk.

Steam

Macs are better gaming platforms than ever thanks to the work Apple's been doing to help developers get their games running well on the company's M-series chips, so Steam is a must-have.

You can get games off the Mac App Store, the Epic Games Store or a few other places, but Steam is the first (and often only) game storefront I download because it simply has more games than anywhere else. And with the power of Apple's top-tier chips in premium Macs like the MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 Max you can enjoy the best Mac games (including my fav, Baldur's Gate 3) at killer framerates.

It's not just about the games either. I also keep in touch with a few friends on my Steam friends list, so it's nice to have it installed and running on my PC to keep abreast of who's playing what.

VLC

Sometimes you need to watch a .wmv (Windows Media Video) on a Mac, and QuickTime Player isn't up to the task. For those moments, you want a capable alternative like VLC media player installed.

I put this media player on basically every laptop I review because I watch a lot of videos while testing display quality and conducting research, and I can't afford to be constrained by the limits of Apple's default software. I recommend VLC because it's lightweight and easy to download, yet supports a broad variety of file formats and codecs.

Plus, it's free!

Bottom line

Every Mac I get my hands on gets these apps installed as soon as possible, because navigating the web in Safari or editing images in Photos feels terrible. And when work is done, I'm ready to fire up Discord and Steam and have some fun with my friends.

I wish Ninite supported Mac because I already regularly use it all the time for Windows 11 PC software, but at least there's macapps.link. I've been using it with my new MacBooks for a while now, and as long as it stays as useful as it is, I think it's a great way to grab all of these apps in one fell swoop.

And of course, you don't have to stick to my suggestions. Macapps offers a wide variety of free software, so have a look around and try out some new finds!

If you’re tired of opening ChatGPT in Google Chrome or Safari, you’re in luck as OpenAI has just released its new Atlas browser and the best part, if you have a Mac, you can download and start testing it out right now.

While we’ve seen plenty of browser extensions for the best AI chatbots, this isn’t a mere plugin. Instead, ChatGPT Atlas is a full-blown browser you can use just like Chrome or Safari for online shopping, research, surfing the web and more.

The big thing that sets Atlas apart though is that you have full access to ChatGPT from within anywhere in your browser. Likewise, OpenAI’s chatbot can see everything you do, from the page you’re on to your open tabs and even your web history if you have that last feature enabled. Once installed, you can use natural language to talk to Atlas just like you would with ChatGPT to do things like clean up your tabs or reopen that recipe you were looking at yesterday.

For those with a paid subscription on ChatGPT’s Plus, Pro, and Business plans, there’s also a new feature currently in preview called agent mode that takes things a step further. With it, you can let ChatGPT take full control of Atlas so that it can complete more complex tasks for you like summarizing webpages, booking travel, planning projects and more.

Regardless of whether you’re a free or paid ChatGPT user (or even if you’re not) and have a Mac, you can try out Atlas right now. Here’s how to download and set up OpenAI’s new browser on your computer.

How to download ChatGPT Atlas on your Mac

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• ChatGPT Atlas browser is live — here's the top 7 features that make it different
• 7 prompts I use for every AI chatbot — and they work for just about everything
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Surfshark has announced it is removing support for legacy Apple operating systems (OS).

The provider, which sits at number two on our best VPN list, will no longer support older iOS and macOS releases. Surfshark users running these older versions will need to take action to ensure they can continue to use Surfshark VPN.

Surfshark said it has taken this decision because it wants "to encourage everyone to use the safest devices" – something not always possible with older devices and systems.

If you're still running an affected OS and currently using Surfshark's iPhone VPN or Mac VPN apps, there's no need to panic. There are steps you can take to stay protected, and we'll tell you all you need to know.

Older devices are vulnerable

Newer devices and systems receive the latest security updates, meaning they're safer. But it's not just security – newer devices and systems also get access to the latest Surfshark features.

Surfshark said by removing legacy support it can "focus on future updates." These include "new features and technologies" not supported by older systems.

It also means "better quality interface and app performance," plus "a smoother and faster update process."

According to Surfshark, it will only support iOS 15 and above, with iOS 14 and below no longer being officially supported.

For Mac, it will support macOS 12 (Monterey) and above. macOS 11 (Big Sur) and below are no longer officially supported.

Surfshark is now seemingly operating a "one-in, one-out" policy. It said "once a new macOS or iOS version is out, we will drop official support for the oldest and start supporting the freshly released one."

The newly released iOS 26 and macOS 26 (Tahoe) are already included in the support list. We can therefore assume that when the next OS is released, iOS 15 and macOS 12 (Monterey) will be the next to lose support.

What to do if you have an older device and system

If you can update your device to a supported OS, then this is all you need to do. Updating will ensure the best performance and protection possible.

If you can't update your device, Surfshark has shared ways of still using its app.

Legacy Mac users can download older versions of the Surfshark app from its website using these links:

• macOS 11 (Big Sur)
• macOS 10.15 (Catalina)
• macOS 10.14 (Mojave), macOS 10.13 (High Sierra), or macOS 10.12 (Sierra)

You can also connect via manual WireGuard configurations using a third-party app. You can download and connect OpenVPN configurations. Finally, you can try built-in manual IKEv2 connections.

Legacy iOS users can't download older applications from Surfshark's website, and only manual connections and configurations are available:

• Manual WireGuard connections
• Manual OpenVPN configurations
• Built-in IKEv2 connections

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Over 100 password managers and software solutions are being impersonated by a new malware campaign targeting macOS users to steal their personal information. As reported by Bleeping Computer, the popular password manager LastPass has already started warning users about this malicious software that is being spread through fake GitHub repositories.

Besides impersonating LastPass, this campaign is also pretending to be other password managers and software solutions including 1Password, Dropbox, Gemini, Audacity, Adobe After Effects, and SentinelOne, among more than 100 others. It's using these fake repositories to spread the Atomic macOS Stealer, also known as AMOS, which is an info-stealing malware often used in ClickFix style attacks. AMOS is a malware-as-a-service offering that can be bought by hackers and other cybercriminals for roughly $1,000/month on the dark web and typically targets the data stored on vulnerable computers.

The developers of this malware also recently added a backdoor component which gives them persistent and stealthy access to compromised systems. A large number of these deceptive GitHub repositories have been created from multiple accounts in order to optimize them to rank high in search results and to evade detection. LastPass has reported the fake repositories to GitHub but since it's easy to recreate new ones through automation from new accounts, even if they're taken down, new fraudulent ones could pop up just as quickly.

As ClickFix style attacks, the repositories feature a ‘download;' button that directs users to a secondary website where they are instructed to paste a command into the terminal to perform an installation of what seems to be legitimate software but is in actuality malware. The “ClickFix’ method takes advantage of a target not fully understanding what the commands are doing on their system; in this case the command is performing a curl request to a base64-encoded URL which then downloads an AMOS payload to the /tmp directory.

How to stay safe from ClickFix malware attacks

In order to stay safe from ClickFix style attacks, the most important thing you need to know is not to run commands on your system, especially when you don't understand them. Additionally, when looking for software online, its recommended to only trust official app stores like the Mac App Store or vendor websites while avoiding offshoots. If there isn’t a macOS version of a particular piece of software available on a company's official site, be extra wary when you find a third-party site or in this case, a GitHub page, suggesting there is one.

If you do come across a macOS port of a program you're interested in, you should ensure that it comes from a reputable source that has been vetted by the community first. Still, you are installing it at your own risk, so when in doubt, it's best to wait for an official port.

It also never hurts to have strong protections when online – one of the best antivirus software solutions can keep your Windows PCs protected while the best Mac antivirus software is specifically designed for your Apple computer. These paid solutions also provide you with plenty of extra useful features like web browsers that warn you about suspicious websites and downloads, ransomware rollback, a VPN, and more.

For those who are really worried about getting hacked or having their bank accounts drained by cybercriminals, you can't go wrong with the best identity theft protection services for even more protection. However, you'll need to sign up before a cyberattack or major security incident to take full advantage of the identity theft insurance and other protections these services offer.

ClickFix style attacks have been quite successful recently and until the general public learns to recognize and avoid them, hackers are going to keep using them in their malware campaigns. That's why it's up to you to practice good cyber hygiene and most importantly, to always be careful where you click and what you download.

More from Tom's Guide

• FBI warns hackers are impersonating crime reporting sites to steal your personal data — here’s how to tell
• Google will let you use passkeys automatically in Chrome - here's how you can switch
• Hackers are now using deepfakes in phishing scams to fool banking apps and steal your money - how to stay safe

Finding somewhere with reliable (and safe) Wi-Fi isn't always possible when you're out and about. This can be especially bad if you're trying to get work done while on the road.

Using your iPhone as a hotspot is a great option, but you might not want to fiddle around with settings every time you want to connect. Thankfully, macOS Tahoe has made it easy to use your iPhone as a personal hotspot.

If you’ve updated your iPhone and Mac to their latest operating systems (iOS 26 and macOS 26, respectively), here’s how you can enable automatic hotspot joining.

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Apple has officially launched its new macOS Tahoe operating system as a free update for all supported Macs, and after using it for months I'm pretty excited for the general public to start playing with the full version.

If your Mac supports it I recommend upgrading to macOS Tahoe for a few reasons, not least because it's free and adds fun new features like colorful folder customization options and fresh ways to generate art with Image Playground.

There's also the eye-catching new Liquid Glass design aesthetic and the new Games and Journal apps, as well as some incredibly useful upgrades to Spotlight Search that integrates Apple Intelligence in some powerful new ways.

I know because I've been testing pre-release versions of macOS Tahoe for months now in order to write our macOS Tahoe review, so I've had a front-row seat for the upgrade process (don't miss our guide to how to download macOS Tahoe). With that in mind, I wanted to run down some cool new features to try first so you can get to grips with macOS Tahoe and hit the ground running!

5 features to try first on macOS Tahoe

There are all sorts of small and subtle changes that macOS Tahoe makes to the way your Mac works, and it will take you a week or so to get up to speed. To give you a headstart, here's my top recommendations for new macOS Tahoe features to try first.

Liquid Glass & new customization options

Likely the first change you'll notice when you upgrade to macOS Tahoe is the glassy new look the "Liquid Glass" design language that the company has rolled out across iPhones, iPads, Macs and more this year, but on your Mac it also comes with new customization options.

So once you've finished scoping out how all the widgets and windows on your Mac have this new design aesthetic, check out how you can now change the colors of folders in Finder or add emojis to individual files.

If you Ctrl + Click on a folder you will notice some new options under the "Customize this folder" option, including controls to change the color of the folder and a new Emoji menu you can use to add any emoji you want to the folder. It might be the least impactful change in terms of performance, but the most meaningful in terms of giving you more creative control over how your Mac looks.

Plus, there are a slew of new controls for customizing what you see in the Mac Command Center menu. To customize it, simply click the Command Center icon in the top-right corner and click the "Edit Controls" button.

Spotlight Search

Easily my favorite upgrade that you get with macOS Tahoe is the new Spotlight Search, which has been redesigned and given a suite of new capabilities powered by Apple Intelligence.

I especially love how easy it is to type whatever you're looking to do into Spotlight Search and immediately get useful search results back. Much like the Windows Start menu, you can now fire up Spotlight Search (Cmd + Space), type whatever you're looking for (a file, an app, someone's name etc) and receive a well-sorted list of results that almost certainly has what you're looking for near the top.

Spotlight Search also has a lot more power in macOS Tahoe, since it can now search through other apps (think Mail and Messages) and do all sorts of things right from the search box.

To that end it now has multiple submenus, including a Clipboard History section that lets you search through what you've recently copied and an Actions menu where you can search through and trigger common Shortcuts. If you're a Mac productivity fiend, this is going to be a game-changer.

You can also type an application or action you want to undertake, like "Send", for example, and receive a list of search results with uses of the word across your email, Notes and more—and in this example the top option will likely be a shortcut to send a text via the Messages app, so you can just hit Return and start typing the message right in Spotlight Search.

While it will take some time to get to grips with the new Spotlight Search and really master all its new functionality, I think this is the singular most impressive upgrade you get in macOS Tahoe.

Check out the new Phone app

When iPhone owners upgrade to macOS Tahoe you'll find your Mac is going to get a bit better at interfacing with your phone, even while it's in your pocket.

Most notably you can now make phone calls and FaceTime calls from your Mac using using the revamped Phone app.

You generally get all the same benefits that you do on your iPhone, too, which includes automatic hold assist (so you can start a call, get put on hold and get back to work while you wait for your Mac to notify you the call is ready) and Live Activities updates on the menu bar. So if you're wondering where your DoorDashed lunch is, you'll no longer have to dig around in your pocket for your phone to check.

Plus, you can open the Notes app during a phone call and use Apple Intelligence to start automatically recording and transcribing the call.

Image Playground

Macs gained access to the image generation app Image Playground with macOS Sequoia, but it was pretty limited. Once you upgrade to macOS Tahoe your Image Playground will gain new features and new capabilities, including the option to outsource image generation to ChatGPT.

What's cool about the new option to use ChatGPT in Image Playground is that it gives you access to at least five new visual styles you can play with, basically doubling how many styles you can use in Image Playground.

In my limited testing using ChatGPT in Image Playground causes longer delays during image generation, but it's worth the wait. The new styles include everything from anime to oil painting, and generated images can be saved or shared across various apps.

Crack open your new Journal app

More from Tom's Guide

• 9 things Windows users should do first when switching to macOS
• I love macOS, but these 3 apps fix what Apple gets wrong
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This is the big week that Apple releases all its new operating systems for 2025, and that means the full version of macOS Tahoe is now available for download. I think most Mac owners should upgrade if possible because I've been testing pre-release versions of macOS Tahoe for months now, and I love the ways it makes your Mac better.

From the supercharged Spotlight Search to the new Liquid Glass design and the expanded customization options, macOS Tahoe is a welcome improvement. Plus, new Continuity features make it easier than ever to stay on top of your iPhone while working without having to pull it out.

If you like to play around with Genmoji or the Image Playground, there are some fun new features to play with. And while I haven't found the new-to-Mac Journal and Games app to be game-changers, you might feel differently when you upgrade.

To help you get through the process as effortlessly as possible, I put together this quick and easy guide to how to download macOS Tahoe, replete with photos to walk you through the process step by step.

Supported Macs

Like most versions of macOS, Tahoe is a free upgrade for all supported Macs. However, some Macs that currently run macOS Sequoia just fine won't be able to make the jump to Tahoe.

To help you figure out if your Mac can run the 2025 macOS update, here's a list of all the Macs that will officially support macOS Tahoe:

• MacBook Air: 2020 and later
• MacBook Pro: 2020 and later (exception: 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro)
• Mac mini: 2020 and later
• iMac: 2020 and later
• iMac Pro: 2017
• Mac Pro: 2019 and later
• Mac Studio: 2022 and later

If your Mac is on the list, you're good to go!

One important thing to do before upgrading: back up your Mac! You could use Apple's built-in Time Machine feature or a reputable third-party service like Backblaze — our guide to the best cloud storage solutions offers even more recommendations for you.

How to download macOS Tahoe

These days Apple makes downloading even the earliest developer beta of macOS a fairly straightforward process.

That's all there is to it! Updating macOS is a lot easier than it used to be, so hopefully before you know it you'll be welcomed into macOS Tahoe.

More from Tom's Guide

• 9 things Windows users should do first when switching to macOS
• I love macOS, but these 3 apps fix what Apple gets wrong
• This macOS Tahoe feature lets me track my coffee orders in real time — and I’m obsessed

The full version of Apple's macOS Tahoe is now available for download, and after testing out beta versions all summer long I can confidently recommend it as a worthwhile upgrade for your Mac.

The most notable change is the slick new "Liquid Glass" design aesthetic that emphasizes transparency and custom colors. But once you get over the new look and start to dig into macOS Tahoe you'll find a slew of new features and improvements, including some of the most meaningful implementations of Apple Intelligence I've seen in macOS to date.

Your Mac is also going to get some new apps when you upgrade, including a desktop version of the Journal app that's already on your iPhone as well as a revamped Games app that could help breathe life into the Mac gaming landscape. And thanks to new Continuity features, it's easier than ever to integrate your iPhone into your life on Mac without ever pulling it out of your pocket.

This update is adding more features to the best MacBooks than I could easily run down here, so dig into my full macOS Tahoe review below for more impressions of what it's like to make the jump.

macOS Tahoe review: Supported devices

Like most versions of macOS, Tahoe is a free upgrade for all supported Macs. However, some Macs which are currently running macOS Sequoia just fine won't be able to make the jump to Tahoe.

To help you figure out if your Mac can run the 2025 macOS update, here's a list of all the Macs that will officially support macOS Tahoe:

• MacBook Air: 2020 and later
• MacBook Pro: 2020 and later (exception: 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro)
• Mac mini: 2020 and later
• iMac: 2020 and later
• iMac Pro: 2017
• Mac Pro: 2019 and later
• Mac Studio: 2022 and later

If your Mac is on the list, you're good to go!

One important thing to do before upgrading: back up your Mac! You could use Apple's built-in Time Machine feature or a reputable third-party service like Backblaze — our guide to the best cloud storage solutions offers even more recommendations for you.

macOS Tahoe review: What to expect

As much as I think the many implementations of Apple Intelligence in macOS Tahoe are what really make the most difference, they aren't the first big change you'll notice when you upgrade.

No, the first thing you'll notice is the new "Liquid Glass" design aesthetic you get with Tahoe. Love it or hate it, Apple has taken a big step away from the past with this new look.

This visual overhaul gives much of your macOS interface the appearance of glass, such that menus and Widgets will often appear translucent and you can make out blurry versions of what's beneath them.

But that's just the immediate change. As you start to explore macOS Tahoe you'll find there are a host of small differences from earlier versions, including a new folder customization menu that lets you change folder colors or add an emoji to the icon so you can more easily identify it. This little change alone adds an appreciable amount of character to your Mac, and since I also enjoy the new glassy design language I'm loving the look of macOS Tahoe so far.

Once you get over the visual changes, you'll notice how AI (sorry, Apple Intelligence) has infiltrated macOS in a few different places. Spotlight Search has gained a host of new capabilities and features, for example, including the ability to run complex commands right from the Search bar. I'll explain in more detail shortly, but the simple version is that Spotlight Search can now help you do a lot more right from the search field, no need to dig into apps.

There's also new options to generate Genmoji or images in the Image Playground, including new visual styles you can use in the Playground by tapping into ChatGPT. These upgrades aren't life-changing, but they let you do more fun stuff with AI in macOS.

Elsewhere, macOS Tahoe taps Apple Intelligence to add new features like real-time translation in FaceTime, Messages and calls with the Phone app. I didn't get much time to test this since most of the people I communicate with regularly speak the same language, but if that wasn't true I could easily see this upgrade being the most impactful change in macOS Tahoe.

Plus, utility apps like Reminders and Notes can do more than ever thanks to Apple Intelligence. That includes auto-adding reminders based on messages or emails you receive, transcribing recorded audio from phone calls within the Notes app and a lot more.

You can also take more advantage of your iPhone's features via Continuity. So you can get more useful and actionable Live Activities updates, for example, or launch iPhone apps right from the Spotlight Search bar.

There are also new apps, including an all-new Games app for Mac and a Mac version of the Journal app you know from your iPhone.

One part of macOS that doesn't get a big overhaul, at least that I've noticed, is Safari. And that's fine, I don't think it needs any big updates, but it's interesting that Apple hasn't done much to mess with Safari this year.

There are lots of other small changes in macOS Tahoe, but for the sake of brevity let me run you through the most meaningful updates I've noticed in my time testing it.

macOS Tahoe review: Spotlight gets a big upgrade

After spending months testing the beta versions, I think my favorite upgrade in macOS Tahoe has to be the supercharged Spotlight Search.

What used to be a fairly straightforward and sometimes frustrating macOS search tool has become something far more capable, since you can now search more easily with natural language, filter the results far more effectively and even execute a host of commands from within the Spotlight Search bar.

I'm still learning how to effectively take advantage of these upgrades, but after just a few weeks of testing I think the new Spotlight Search is a game-changer for Mac power users. Not only is it more capable now as a search utility — potentially freeing you from having to rely on third-party search tools like Alfred — it can also do things like send email and messages, search within applications and create reminders right from the search bar.

So if I pull up Spotlight Search right now by hitting Cmd + Space and start typing "send," for example, it immediately starts populating the search results with results like "send email" (via the Mail app), "send message" (via the Messages app), "send Chrome feedback to Apple" (since I have Chrome open right now) and other, less relevant options. Hit Tab and you can start using the arrow keys to scroll through the results, and hitting Enter lets you immediately execute one of these actions right in the Spotlight Search bar.

Select "send message," for example, and the Spotlight Search bar fills with a Mad Libs-esque series of blanks for key details like the message you want to send and the person you want to send it to. Type to fill the details in, hit Tab to switch between fields, and hit Enter when you're ready to send the message.

This makes the task of sending a text message on your Mac a series of keyboard shortcuts if you want it to be, and it's one of hundreds of examples of how you can now get a lot more done within Spotlight Search without taking your hands off the keyboard.

macOS Tahoe review: Cool new Liquid Glass aesthetic and cosmetic customization options

I'm not sure everyone loves the new Liquid Glass visual language Apple is implementing across its various devices in 2025, but I'm a fan.

With macOS Tahoe that graphical change feels fairly subtle at first, but that might be because I've been writing about computers long enough that I remember the glassy Aero visual language that Microsoft implemented decades ago in Windows Vista. So when I first upgraded to macOS Tahoe it almost felt like a nostalgic throwback to see all these semi-transparent apps and windows on my desktop with dynamic levels of translucency.

I actually liked the look (if not the performance) of Windows Vista, and I feel the same way about macOS in Liquid Glass. But I think what's actually cooler than the visual redesign is the way in which you can now customize the look of folders in Finder by changing the color of the icon or slapping an emoji on it.

I know, it's not the most impactful or time-saving change you'll find in macOS Tahoe, but I find it makes the MacBook I'm writing this on feel more like "my" Mac, in the same way that slapping stickers on the lid makes it feel personalized and unique. It's a small change to the way macOS works, but I'm all for it.

macOS Tahoe review: New Games and Journal apps are welcome additions

Two of the more interesting additions in macOS Tahoe, for my money, are the new Games and Journal apps.

I'm cautiously excited about the Games app because it seems like a useful one-stop hub for accessing all the games on your Mac, whether you got them from Apple Arcade, the App Store, Steam or other game services. However, throughout my months of testing the beta versions of Tahoe I didn't get much time to test the full functionality of the Games app.

What I have seen so far is a pretty skeletal mishmash of Apple Arcade, your games library and your Game Center friends list in one app. You can also message Game Center friends, invite them to games and compete with challenges and leaderboards in specific games.

Unfortunately, it's too early to say how useful or popular the Games app might be because at time of publication it's still missing some functionality. I expect Apple will continue to improve it post-release, and I hope that proves true because Mac game fans could use some healthy competition for Steam and the Epic Games Stores.

Something I don't have to hold back on is the Journal app, which is now cross-platform across iOS, iPadOS and macOS when you upgrade to Tahoe. If you, like me, have never used the Journal app on your iPhone (perhaps because, like me, you hate typing on that tiny screen) then this could be the upgrade you need to get into it.

Personally, I find the Journal app way more usable on macOS because I get to use my MacBook's full keyboard and touchpad to navigate the interface. I really appreciate how you can add images, recordings and locations to journal entries with a click, and the fact that you can keep multiple journals means you can do things like have a recipe book, a diary and a restaurant reviews journal all going simultaneously.

I have to confess, for all its simplicity I'm surprised at how versatile and useful the Journal app is, and I'm glad that it's coming to Macs with Tahoe so a lot more people will have an easier time using it.

macOS Tahoe review: Verdict

I've only been using the release version of macOS Tahoe for a little while but I'm already confident it's a good and worthwhile update for every Mac that supports it, because as long as you don't mind the new Liquid Glass aesthetic it seems to make macOS better across the board.

The new Spotlight Search is my favorite upgrade so far because it makes it easier to get things done right from the Search bar, no need to take your hands off the keyboard. I've always loved that aspect of Windows' Start menu, so to see Apple take a page from Microsoft's playbook is a delight for me.

But I also love the look and feel of the new macOS, and I think the customization features are going to be a crowd-pleaser. I'm less confident that the new Games and Joural apps will make a splash, but it's hard to hate a journaling app and I do love that Apple is creating a new hub for Mac owners to compete and play games with each other.

I'm going to keep testing macOS Tahoe as Apple continues to support it post-release, so stay tuned for more!

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• macOS 26 Tahoe — all the new features coming to your MacBook
• I review Macs for a living: 5 ways macOS Tahoe has made me more productive
• This macOS Tahoe feature lets me track my coffee orders in real time — and I’m obsessed

Apple's next major update for Mac is officially confirmed to arrive today (Monday, September 15), and macOS Tahoe 26 is gearing up for a massive design overhaul with a bundle of new features.

Set to arrive on the best MacBooks, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro and Mac Studio, macOS Tahoe will bring an all-new look with Liquid Glass, along with a handful of upgrades such as a new Spotlight Search, Live Activities on Mac, an improved Shortcuts app and many other features we're excited for.

The update for Macs will arrive with Apple's other updates, including iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26. Take note, this is the last major update for all Intel-based Macs, as Apple will move on to delivering its annual update only to Macs with Apple Silicon, its M-series chips.

Now that Apple has released macOS Tahoe 26 release notes, we have a full list of highlights to expect when the update arrives. We've already got a hands-on look at the big update thanks to the macOS Tahoe public beta (and we were impressed), but the full release will see the final version finally become available to Mac users.

To get prepared for what macOS Tahoe 26 delivers when it arrives, here's a look at how to install the update and all the new features you can expect.

How to download macOS Tahoe 26

macOS Tahoe 26 will be available today, and we expect it to drop at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. BST, if past OS updates are anything to go by.

Once the big update is available, it's simple to download and install. Head to System Settings — either by clicking the settings cog in the Dock, or by clicking the Apple icon in the top left and selecting it.

From here, navigate the left side menu and select General, and then click Software Update.

macOS Tahoe 26: What to expect

We've noted all the major macOS Tahoe features coming to Macs with the update, and thanks to Apple's release notes (via MacRumors), we now have a finalized look at everything that's coming.

• Liquid Glass: This will be the boldest change in macOS. With the new design, you can expect a transparent menu bar, apps and toolbars to reflect and refract what you're viewing and a way to personalize icons and widgets. This allows you to change the way they look, whether it's with a light, dark, tinted or clear look.
• Choose your look for folders: You will be able to give different folders on your Mac a new look, whether it's with a unique color or with an emoji. That's great for organizing files.
• Customize Control Center: The Control Center can be changed to how you like it. That includes being able to customize which controls appear and adding new controls for your Mac or iPhone apps (including third-party apps), how they're laid out and arranging them to what suits best. Plus, you can place controls in the menu bar.
• Live Translation: Putting an emphasis on Apple Intelligence, Live Translation on Mac will now automatically translate text that's in other languages. This happens in Messages, FaceTime calls with live captions and audio transcriptions from the Phone app.
• Supercharged Shortcuts: The Shortcuts app is also getting the benefit of Apple Intelligence, being able to tap directly into AI models. Plus, shortcuts can be made to run automatically based on conditions, such as the time of day, file or folder updates, connecting to an external monitor and so on.
• Genmoji gets more options: Like playing around with emojis? Genmoji is also getting an update, and it includes more options like hairstyle customizations.
• More ways to play around in Image Playground: For some more image editing options, the updated Image Playground comes with new options like being able to change the expressions or hairstyle of people from your photo library. What's more, there are options for ChatGPT styles, like "Watercolor" or "Oil Painting," and you can describe the style you want to apply with "Any Style."
• Live Activities on Mac: This is another big bonus for Apple's Continuity feature across its devices. With Live Activities, you can now track activities from your Mac from the menu bar, like tracking a delivery from Uber Eats. It also allows you to open your chosen app in iPhone Mirroring.
• Fresh Phone app: The new Phone app for Mac will now let you take cellular calls from your iPhone, which needs to be close by. This also allows access to other features like Call Screening, Recents, Contacts and Voicemails, along with new options like Hold Assist and Live Translation.
• A focus on Messages: Along with being able to add a background to conversations and send polls to contacts in the Messages app on Mac, it also comes with new screening tools to filter out unknown numbers (which can be marked as known).
• Upgraded Spotlight: We're fans of the new Spotlight Search feature, as it can now search for virtually anything on the system, all in natural language. Moreover, it allows you to take actions right in Spotlight, such as sending messages, using a shortcut and more. Even better, Spotlight can automatically assign quick keys to actions, so you can enter a command to get things done faster.
• All-new Games app: Finally, the Apple Games app is a new way to access games instead of the usual App Store. It's a way to find out the latest updates and titles friends are playing. Think of it as a new hub purely for gaming on your Mac.

There you have it. These are all the new features coming to Mac thanks to macOS Tahoe 26, along with a few updates to fix minor bugs and issues.

For a better look at our favorite ways macOS Tahoe will improve productivity, we've got you covered. Once it finally arrives, stay tuned for more ways to make the most of Apple's next major Mac update.

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Hackers are once again targeting the best MacBooks and other Apple computers in an effort to infect them with dangerous malware designed to steal passwords, files, browser data and more.

As reported by Infosecurity Magazine, the cybersecurity firm Trend Micro recently discovered a new Atomic macOS Stealer campaign that uses ‘cracked’ or pirated versions of popular macOS software as a lure. When this doesn’t work, the cybercriminals behind this campaign use fake CAPTCHA to the same end.

While you might think your Mac is safer than one of the best Windows laptops, think again, as hackers now love to target Apple’s computers in their attacks. This makes sense, too, as those willing to pay more for a premium laptop will likely make better (and more profitable) targets.

Here’s everything you need to know about this new campaign along with some tips and tricks to help keep you and your Apple computer safe from hackers.

From cracked to hacked

In its report, Trend Micro reveals that this new campaign begins with an attacker tricking a macOS user into downloading a fake or cracked version of a popular app. This malicious app then acts as a Trojan horse to deliver and install the Atomic macOS Stealer onto their computer.

These fake apps could be promoted on forums, in direct messages sent over social media or even through malicious ads. When a potential victim goes to download one of them, they’re redirected to a hacker-controlled page and prompted to click on a button which reads “Download for MacOS.”

In one case analyzed by Trend Micro’s security researchers, victims saw their Macs infected with malware after trying to download a cracked version of the legitimate app CleanMyMac. While the download site appeared to be legitimate at first glance, clicking on the “Download Now” button took them to Atomic macOS Stealer landing page.

Alternatively, victims might be instructed to copy and paste commands into Apple Terminal. Doing so leads to the execution of a malicious installation script which creates a binary file that lets the hackers establish persistence on a vulnerable Mac.

From there, the script copies loads of sensitive data off an infected Apple computer, including:

• System Profile information
• Username and password
• Browser data (including cookies, web data, and login information)
• Cryptocurrency wallet data
• Telegram data
• OpenVPN profiles
• Keychain data
• Apple Notes data
• Various files from folders on the system

All of this sensitive personal data is then compressed and sent back to a hacker-controlled server to use in follow-up attacks. Likewise, this data could also be sold to other hackers on the dark web to use in their own attacks.

How to stay safe from Mac malware

Just like on one of the best iPhones, you want to stick to the Apple App Store for downloading new apps for your Mac when possible. If you do download an app from outside the App Store, make sure it’s from the website of a reputable Mac developer first.

To do so, carefully examine the URL and you also want to look for signs of misspelled words or poor grammar as these can be a dead giveaway that you’re on a malicious site and not a legitimate one. You also want to be careful how you get to a vendor’s site. Instead of clicking on ads which appear in the top results on Google and other search engines which can be faked, you want to scroll further down the page to find a company’s actual site.

Although it goes without saying, you should never download cracked or pirated software. Besides hurting developers, doing so puts you at risk since you never really know what’s inside an app you downloaded illegally. Sure, it could work as intended but there’s also a chance that it might contain malicious code designed to steal your data or worse, take over your Mac.

As for staying safe, while your Mac does come with built-in protection in the form of Gatekeeper and XProtect, you may also want to consider using one of the best Mac antivirus software solutions alongside them. Third-party antivirus software is updated more regularly and it often includes other useful extras like access to one of the best VPN services or a password manager.

Hackers will likely continue to prey on Mac users given that the old and no longer true advice that Apple computers can’t get viruses is still quite widespread. However, you can stay safe by remaining vigilant online and this is especially true when downloading new software and apps.

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When it comes to how I work, macOS has been the best for keeping me in my flow. During my time testing macOS Tahoe, the revamped Spotlight search has become a game-changer! But like any computer operating system, that’s not to say Apple’s got everything right.

I still have my gripes with it — Apple’s love of always making your system go to sleep quickly, the many layers of menus to get to your apps (or the chaotic dock to store them), and that notch on all the best MacBooks. It could be a feature, but it’s just a frustration at the moment.

And that’s why over the years, I’ve been finding the perfect apps to enhance my productivity and paper over the cracks of macOS. These are my three go-to instant downloads!

NotchNook ($25)

This directly tackles the issue of that notch on the MacBook’s screen. In its traditional state, it’s just a home for the webcam that can hide top bar icons quite frustratingly. NotchNook turns the Notch into a feature rather than a distraction, and it has sped up my workload significantly!

Simply hover your mouse over the nook, and it’ll pop open like the Dynamic Island on your iPhone — giving you space for customizable widgets by default, but giving you so much more functionality too.

Whether it's a mirror using the webcam to check yourself out for a team meeting, create a quick temporary tray of files to refer back to across apps, even drag to AirDrop files too, this does it all!

More features are coming soon, like being able to use the notch as a quick notetaker. But in its initial form, this is a great way to inject some unique usability into your MacBook.

Amphetamine (Free)

The MacBook is a real champion of energy saving — there’s a reason why the battery life is so good. But when you’re doing more long-term tasks like uploading terabytes of data to a cloud drive, rendering a huge 4K video edit on Final Cut Pro, or any task where it would be more productive to leave it running while you do other things, those sleep features can prove problematic.

Amphetamine is the best (and free) way to tackle this. Not only can it override your Mac’s sleep features, but you can trigger mode advanced automations too.

For example, I can have it stay permanently on while the Mac is plugged into my external monitor, when a specific app is running, or even when it’s connected to a specific Wi-Fi network.

This has helped me never have to worry about my Mac going to sleep in key situations.

Launchy ($4.99)

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‘Shamos’ is a new infostealer that's being used to target vulnerable Macs but it's also the latest in a long list of malware taking advantage of ClickFix-style attacks to trick users into downloading malicious software disguised as legitimate programs.

Bleeping Computer reports that Shamos is a variant of AMOS (or the Atomic macOS Stealer) and was developed by the COOKIE SPIDER cybercriminal group. It disguises itself as a guide, manual or troubleshooting fix online in order to fool users into downloading it so it can steal sensitive data and credentials from their browsers, as well as Keychain items, Apple Notes and cryptocurrency wallets.

CrowdStrike first detected Shamos and according to the cybersecurity firm, hackers have attempted to infect over three hundred of the environments that they monitor using this new malware strain since June. It's spread through malvertising or fake GitHub repositories using ClickFix attacks which prompt targets into executing shell commands in the macOS Terminal. The hackers encourage users to run the commands by getting them to ‘fix’ an error or by installing software. Instead of fixing an issue or problem though, they're actually infecting their own devices with info-stealing malware.

CrowdStrike found a few specifically spoofed pages such as mac-safer[.]com or rescue-mac[.]com that claim to provide user assistance with common macOS problems that are often searched for online. The pages contain instructions that direct users in need to copy and paste a command to ‘fix’ the issue; again though, instead of making appropriate changes or repairs to the system, the user is instead downloading a command that decodes a Base64-encoded URL which in turn fetches a malicious Bash script from a remote server. The script then captures the user's password and downloads the Shamos mach-O executable, before executing the malware.

Once it’s been installed, it runs commands for data collection so it can take information from the an infected device like cryptocurrency wallet files, Keychain data, Apple Notes data and information stored in their browser. It bundles all of this stolen data, packages it into an archive named out.zip and sends it back to the hackers behind this campaign using curl.

ClickFix style attacks have become increasingly popular in malware distribution and have been found in a variety of places from TikTok videos, CAPTCHAS or fixes for fake Google Meet errors. They’re popping up more and more frequently because they’ve been successful in spreading malware, in ransomware attacks and even in state-sponsored attacks launched by more sophisticated hackers.

The malware can also ensure persistence via automatic execution on system startup (in cases when it runs with sudo privileges), and it can download additional payloads onto the victim’s home directory as CrowdStrike has observed instances where the threat actors have additionally dropped a spoofed Ledger Live wallet app and a botnet module.

How to stay safe from Mac malware

If you are a macOS user, do not execute commands on your system if you found them online, especially if you don't fully understand what they are, where they come from and what they do.

This also applies to GitHub repositories, because this platform is known to host malicious projects designed to infect users who download things without being worried that they may be malicious

If you are experiencing issues with macOS, avoid sponsored search results and seek help directly from the Apple Community forums which are moderated by Apple or via the system’s built-in Help menu.

Also, with the best Mac antivirus software, you can add an extra layer of security to your computer to protect against malware and other viruses. At the same time, paid antivirus apps often include extra security features to help protect your privacy and security online like a VPN, a password manager or a hardened browser that's more secure to use when conducting financial transactions.

Given how successful they've been in the past and how they have victims infect their own devices with malware, ClickFix attacks aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Hopefully Apple and Microsoft come up with a way to mitigate them but until then, it's up to you to be extra careful online and avoid falling for these kinds of attacks.

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I review MacBooks for a living here at Tom's Guide, so I've been testing out macOS Tahoe ever since the developer beta became available in June. After months of putting it through its paces and watching Apple update its software in real-time, I'm starting to get genuinely excited about the final version coming out this fall.

That's sort of a new feeling for me, because while macOS has generally been perfectly serviceable the past few years, I can't say I've been too excited about the changes Apple has made in recent versions. Heck, the most exciting part of my upgrade to macOS Sequoia last year was the new iPhone Mirroring app, and nowadays I barely use it.

Perhaps I'll have similar feelings about Tahoe this time next year, but the smorgasbord of new features on offer in Apple's latest macOS update gives me pause. I think there's a really nice balance between productivity-boosting upgrades and features that add a bit of fun personality to your Mac.

To illustrate my point, let me highlight some of the most notable new features of macOS Tahoe that I've been enjoying in the early beta versions. And while I generally recommend most people wait until the full release this fall to upgrade, if you're brave (and back up your Mac), you can download the macOS Tahoe beta right now to check them out for yourself!

Supercharged Shortcuts

When you upgrade to macOS Tahoe, your Shortcuts app is going to get a lot more capable, which can pay off big if you take the time to learn how to use it.

Admittedly, I'm not the world's most advanced Shortcuts user, so I'm still getting to grips with all the possibilities that the new features offer. For example, in macOS Tahoe, your Shortcuts app gains the ability to run Shortcuts automatically based on new triggers like time of day, getting an email or text from a specific person, when a file is added to a folder, and many more.

In addition, Apple Intelligence — which has been pretty underwhelming on Mac until recently — is now accessible by Shortcuts, so you can use Apple's AI models in your automated actions. You can create Shortcuts that tap Apple Intelligence to do things like generate images in Image Playground, automatically adjust the tone of text of messages, or even tap AI models (either on-device, in Apple's cloud, or via ChatGPT) to do advanced tasks that I, a known fool, can barely understand at this point.

But I'm excited to keep testing out the new Shortcuts available in Tahoe and figure out how I can use them to get more done with less effort.

Live Activities and the Phone app let me keep my iPhone in my pocket

My aging iPhone 13 doesn't hold a charge the way it used to, so when I'm working, it's usually either in my pocket or on the charger. Either way, it's not in front of me, and it can be a distraction when I get an unexpected phone call or text message.

But in macOS Tahoe, the new Phone app and the upgraded Live Activities feed from a connected iPhone let me keep my eyes on what's going on with my phone without having to take my hands off the keyboard.

And hey, look, I love an excuse to step away from my laptop, stretch and get a glass of water while I look at my phone. But with macOS Tahoe, I'm not forced to — I can quickly glance at every call and text I get without interrupting my flow, then text or call them back right from my MacBook.

Smarter Spotlight Search

I'm a huge fan of the new Spotlight Search you get when upgrading to macOS Tahoe. It's far more capable and easier to use than ever, though you do have to spend some time playing with it to understand its capabilities.

First and foremost, it's much better at surfacing the apps, files, and folders you're searching for using natural language. So now, when I'm working in macOS Tahoe, I can just hit Cmd + Space to summon Spotlight Search, then type what I'm looking for and get (for the most part) actually relevant and useful results.

And since Spotlight Search can now search across a lot more areas of your Mac — including your browser's open tabs and search history, your text messages, your screenshots and even your iPhone (if it's connected) — I'm starting to use Spotlight Search more and more as my first jumping-off point for every single thing I do on my Mac.

As a longtime Windows user, I absolutely love being able to hit a few keys on the keyboard, type what I'm looking for and have it at my fingertips. I've long loved the fact that the Windows 11 Start button lets you do this, but now that I've spent a few months with macOS Tahoe, I think Spotlight Search might be the new gold standard for finding things on your PC.

Additionally, there are now several new submenus in Spotlight Search that help you more effectively search for what you're looking for. You can dig into your applications, clipboard history, files, Shortcuts, and even ask Siri or ChatGPT directly for help. I'm still figuring out everything the new Spotlight Search can do, and so far I'm impressed.

Better organize your files and folders with Liquid Glass

Much has been made of the new look of the "Liquid Glass" design language that Apple is bringing to Mac (and the rest of its products) in 2025. Personally, I like the new look of macOS Tahoe with Liquid Glass, but more than that, I really appreciate the new tools it provides to color-code and organize your files and folders.

I say that because in Tahoe, you get a slew of new options to give folders custom colors and emoji. Once you Ctrl + click on a folder in Finder and crack open the "Customize this folder" menu, you'll see new options for giving the folder icon a custom color and emoji.

I've been using these new folder customization features to enhance the way I sort my files in Finder, color-coding my various projects for work so I can quickly find them at a glance and sort them out from my personal files. It's a small upgrade, but it's had a big impact on my productivity with my MacBook.

Use the Notes app to transcribe important calls

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Apple’s shared ecosystem has long been one of the reasons I’ve continued to gravitate towards the brand. Whether it’s messaging on Mac, using my iPad as an extra display in sidecar, or picking up FaceTime calls on whichever device I’m using through Continuity, I’d find it hard to leave.

In fact, macOS Tahoe appears to be bringing things closer and closer together. I could take or leave the ‘Liquid Glass’ design, but the new Phone app could be a huge deal as someone that often finds themselves scrambling for their phone when a notification comes in, and I love the Call Screening feature, too.

And yet, one new feature stands above all others: Live Activities on Mac.

We’ll do it Live (Activities)

On any given day, I am essentially propped up by coffee, but it’s not uncommon for me to lean on something like Uber Eats on a busy day where I can’t make a stop after the gym.

Sure, it’s unhealthy, but it’s my only real vice — and it’s so delicious. The (admittedly very minor) problem is that I can order via a website and have to keep opening a tab to be able to check on its progress, or I can order it via my phone and need to keep it handy while I work.

The latter is almost always better because I can use iPhone’s StandBy mode to keep the Live Activity active, but now that doesn’t need to be a concern anymore.

Live Activities will mean that once I’ve ordered my coffee, my Live Activity will show my delivery status on the menu bar which means I can track it while I’m working without needing to break focus from my Mac.

Is it a very specific solution to a very specific problem? Yes, but it’s also just another reason I’d find it hard to stray from Mac—or Apple—in general.

And, with suggestions that the MacBook ‘notch’ could be going the way of the dodo, there’s every chance Live Activities and a potential Dynamic Island could be a match made in heaven.

Some things to consider

That's not to say that the implementation here is perfect. For one, you'll need to make the order on your phone, before switching to the Mac (at least in this iteration).

Sure, it's a small thing, but it's that kind of wrinkle that meant macOS widgets felt laggy when they were copied across from the iPhone. That system did improve, and we're still in the beta phase so here's hoping Apple can streamline it.

It could be the kind of API that pulls from Safari, for example, meaning that macOS can understand where my order is coming from, wherever it's paid for, or that it ties into Apple Pay.

Many retailers support Apple Pay tracking already, and while it's not the same as a live activity, I love the idea of being able to pay for my coffee in my browser of choice (Chrome, for my sins), with Apple Pay, and have it automatically pop up as a Live Activity.

Is that asking a lot for a relatively minor feature in the grand scheme of things? Maybe, but if you don't ask, you don't get.

So Much Room For Activities!

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Six could be the magic number for the MacBook Pro. After a few years of the same design, there have been reports that the M6 model could (finally) ditch the controversial notch at long last, and herald the arrival of a tandem OLED display — similar to the iPad Pro M4.

The M6 version of Apple’s premium laptop had been tipped for 2026, but now Bloomberg’s longtime Apple reporter Mark Gurman has suggested we could end up waiting until 2027 in his latest Power On newsletter.

MacBook Pro OLED displays pushed back to 2027?

Gurman was asked about the next big moves for the Mac, and acknowledged that “many Apple fans aren’t upgrading as frequently," because of the “performance and longevity” of Apple Silicon.

Pointing to his own M1 MacBook, Gurman says the next exciting leap is likely to be “the revamped MacBook Pro with an OLED screen."

“It’s arriving between the end of 2026 and early 2027 and should boast the M6 chip,” he adds, suggesting earlier reports that an OLED M6 model in 2026 could be wide of the mark.

Still, Gurman believes the model will “represent enough of a change to finally move the needle” while also acknowledging that an M5 MacBook Pro is expected by early 2026.

Should you wait?

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All of the best MacBooks have been relatively predictable for the last few years. The ‘new’ design, which debuted in 2021, doesn’t feel all that new nowadays, and one of its more contentious inclusions is the notch. Housing the camera, it's always felt like Apple making the best of a bad situation.

Now, it appears the Cupertino crew could be preparing to retire the controversial feature and replace it with something else entirely, alongside a new OLED panel in time for the M6 versions of the machine (expected in 2026 after this year’s M5 models).

Apple to move to OLED for next year’s MacBook Pro?

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macOS Tahoe creeps ever closer, and while we’re expecting the full release to go live next month, Developer Beta 5 just revealed more of the changes to expect.

While we’re digging into what’s changed (with Apple seemingly finding a sweet spot for liquid glass after a few tweaks in earlier versions), we’ve already spotted a trio of tweaks that show nothing is sacred this year — not even the longstanding Macintosh HD icon.

Here are three new changes that will be coming to the best MacBooks and Mac desktops.

A new Macintosh HD icon

Starting there, then, with a surprising update that feels as though it’s been a long time coming.

The Macintosh HD icon has long looked like a spinning disk drive, but Mac hardware has had SSD drives as standard for years now, making it a bit of a relic of a bygone era.

Now, there’s a new, sleeker icon that ushers in a new age. But, as ever, you can expect to be able to upload custom icons if you’d prefer.

New wallpapers

Sticking with some visual changes, it’s a relatively small one but the macOS Beta wallpaper is now the Tahoe wallpaper.

There’s a screensaver, too, which moves in a wave-like way, as well as three Tahoe landscape shots for Morning, Evening, and Night, which are nice.

Borders and window changes

While Apple seems to have dialled in Liquid Glass now, the company is still making tweaks to app windows.

Now, a system-wide change has removed the borders from around apps, and updated the UI coloring to make windows stand out more — which also feels more uniform when you have a screen full of them.

When will macOS Tahoe 26 launch?

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Apple is in the process of finalizing macOS Tahoe for release this fall, and so far I think it could be the most interesting macOS update in years.

I say that because I wrote our last few macOS reviews, and after spending the summer testing beta versions of macOS Tahoe I think it could be an exciting upgrade for lots of Mac owners.

That's because there are a whole host of changes coming in macOS Tahoe, including some of the most meaningful implementations of Apple Intelligence I've seen in macOS to date.

But you don't have to take my word for it. Now that it's public, anyone can download the macOS Tahoe beta to start puttering around and playing with all the (yet unfinished) features Apple is working on, including the supercharged new Spotlight Search, some fun new folder customization options and the new Games and Journal apps.

It's risky to install a beta version of macOS on a Mac you rely on, however, so I recommend you read my hands-on preview of macOS Tahoe if you're curious about what's coming but don't want to deal with the hassles of beta software yourself.

macOS Tahoe preview: Supported devices

Like most versions of macOS, Tahoe will be a free upgrade for all supported Macs. However, some Macs which are currently running macOS Sequoia just fine won't be able to make the jump to Tahoe.

To help you figure out if your Mac can run the 2025 macOS update, here's a list of all the Macs that will officially support macOS Tahoe:

• MacBook Air: 2020 and later
• MacBook Pro: 2020 and later (exception: 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro)
• Mac mini: 2020 and later
• iMac: 2020 and later
• iMac Pro: 2017
• Mac Pro: 2019 and later
• Mac Studio: 2022 and later

If your Mac is on the list, you're good to go!

One important thing to do before installing beta software: back up your Mac! You could use Apple's built-in Time Machine feature or a reputable third-party service like Backblaze — our guide to the best cloud storage solutions offers even more recommendations for you.

macOS Tahoe preview: What to expect

As much as I think the many implementations of Apple Intelligence in macOS Tahoe are what really make the most difference, they aren't the first big change you'll notice when you upgrade. No, the first thing you'll notice is the new "Liquid Glass" design aesthetic you get with Tahoe.

This visual overhaul gives a lot of the macOS interface the appearance of glass, such that menus and Widgets will often appear translucent and you can make out blurry versions of what's beneath them.

But that's just the immediate change. As you start to explore macOS Tahoe you'll find there are a host of small differences from earlier versions, including a new folder customization menu that lets you change folder colors or add an emoji to the icon so you can more easily identify it. This little change alone adds an appreciable amount of character to your Mac, and since I also enjoy the new glassy design language I'm loving the look of macOS Tahoe so far.

Once you get over the visual changes, you'll notice how AI (sorry, Apple Intelligence) has infiltrated macOS in a few different places.

Spotlight Search has gained a host of new capabilities and features, for example, including the ability to run complex commands right from the Search bar. I'll explain in more detail shortly, but the simple version is that Spotlight Search can now help you do a lot more right from the search field, no need to dig into apps.

There's also new options to generate Genmoji or images in the Image Playground, including new visual styles you can use in the Playground by tapping into ChatGPT. These upgrades aren't life-changing, but they let you do more fun stuff with AI in macOS.

Elsewhere, macOS Tahoe taps Apple Intelligence to add new features like real-time translation in FaceTime, Messages and calls with the Phone app. I didn't get much time to test this since most of the people I communicate with regularly speak the same language, but if that wasn't true I could easily see this upgrade being the most impactful change in macOS Tahoe.

Plus, utility apps like Reminders and Notes can do more than ever thanks to Apple Intelligence. That includes auto-adding reminders based on messages or emails you receive, transcribing recorded audio from phone calls within the Notes app and a lot more.

You can also take more advantage of your iPhone's features via Continuity. So you can get more useful and actionable Live Activities updates, for example, or launch iPhone apps right from the Spotlight Search bar.

There are also new apps, including an all-new Games app for Mac and a Mac version of the Journal app you know from your iPhone.

One part of macOS that doesn't get a big overhaul, at least that I've noticed, is Safari. And that's fine, I don't think it needs any big updates, but it's interesting that Apple hasn't done much to mess with Safari this year.

There are lots of other small changes in macOS Tahoe, but for the sake of brevity let me run you through the most meaningful updates I've noticed in my time testing it.

macOS Tahoe preview: Spotlight gets a big upgrade

So far my favorite upgrade in macOS Tahoe has to be the supercharged Spotlight Search.

What used to be a fairly straightforward and sometimes frustrating macOS search tool has become something far more capable, since you can now search more easily with natural language, filter the results far more effectively and even execute a host of commands from within the Spotlight Search bar.

I'm still learning how to effectively take advantage of these upgrades, but after just a few weeks of testing I think the new Spotlight Search is a game-changer for Mac power users. Not only is it more capable now as a search utility — potentially freeing you from having to rely on third-party search tools like Alfred — it can also do things like send email and messages, search within applications and create reminders right from the search bar.

So if I pull up Spotlight Search right now by hitting Cmd + Space and start typing "send," for example, it immediately starts populating the search results with results like "send email" (via the Mail app), "send message" (via the Messages app), "send Chrome feedback to Apple" (since I have Chrome open right now) and other, less relevant options. Hit Tab and you can start using the arrow keys to scroll through the results, and hitting Enter lets you immediately execute one of these actions right in the Spotlight Search bar.

Select "send message," for example, and the Spotlight Search bar fills with a Mad Libs-esque series of blanks for key details like the message you want to send and the person you want to send it to. Type to fill the details in, hit Tab to switch between fields, and hit Enter when you're ready to send the message.

This makes the task of sending a text message on your Mac a series of keyboard shortcuts if you want it to be, and it's one of hundreds of examples of how you can now get a lot more done within Spotlight Search without taking your hands off the keyboard.

macOS Tahoe preview: Charming new Liquid Glass aesthetic and cosmetic customization options

I'm sure not everyone loves the new Liquid Glass visual language Apple is implementing across its various devices in 2025, but I'm a fan.

With macOS Tahoe that graphical change feels fairly subtle at first, but that might be because I've been writing about computers long enough that I remember the glassy Aero visual language that Microsoft implemented decades ago in Windows Vista. So when I first upgraded to macOS Tahoe it almost felt like a nostalgic throwback to see all these semi-transparent apps and windows on my desktop with dynamic levels of translucency.

I actually liked the look (if not the performance) of Windows Vista, and I feel the same way about macOS in Liquid Glass. But I think what's actually cooler than the visual redesign is the way in which you can now customize the look of folders in Finder by changing the color of the icon or slapping an emoji on it.

I know, it's not the most impactful or time-saving change you'll find in macOS Tahoe, but I find it makes the MacBook I'm writing this on feel more like "my" Mac, in the same way that slapping stickers on the lid makes it feel personalized and unique. It's a small change to the way macOS works, but I'm all for it.

macOS Tahoe preview: New Games and Journal apps are welcome additions

Two of the more interesting additions in macOS Tahoe, for my money, are the new Games and Journal apps.

I'm cautiously excited about the Games app because it seems like a useful one-stop hub for accessing all the games on your Mac, whether you got them from Apple Arcade, the App Store, Steam or other game services. However, I can't be sure how useful the Games app for Mac will end up being because the version I've been testing in the beta edition of macOS Tahoe is missing some functionality.

The "Home" tab doesn't load right now for me, for example, but I'm sure that by the time Tahoe launches in the fall it will. You can buy Apple Arcade games just fine through the "Arcade" tab, but while the "Play Together" tab shows options for adding friends, issuing game challenges to them and launching multiplayer sessions none of it works for me yet. And while the Library tab does a good job of automatically finding all the games on your Mac, it doesn't seem to be the best place to launch them. I just tried to launch a Steam game from the Library tab of the Games app, for example, but since Steam wasn't already running it instead threw a "You must start Steam before launching the game" error in my face.

But I can immediately pull the game up in Spotlight Search and hit Enter to launch it, and macOS automatically launches Steam and then launches the game I want to play. This is exactly how it should work, so it's perplexing that the Games app (at least in my limited testing of an unfinished beta version) doesn't work the same way. However, I expect most of these issues to be addressed by the time macOS Tahoe launches later this year.

So while I'm a bit concerned that the Games app will prove superfluous for anyone who already uses clients like Steam or the Epic Games Launcher to manage their games, I have to reserve judgment on it until the release version of macOS Tahoe is live and folks are using the Games app to game with each other.

Something I don't have to hold back on is the Journal app, which is now cross-platform across iOS, iPadOS and macOS when you upgrade to Tahoe. If you, like me, have never used the Journal app on your iPhone (perhaps because, like me, you hate typing on that tiny screen) then this could be the upgrade you need to get into it.

Personally, I find the Journal app way more usable on macOS because I get to use my MacBook's full keyboard and touchpad to navigate the interface. I really appreciate how you can add images, recordings and locations to journal entries with a click, and the fact that you can keep multiple journals means you can do things like have a recipe book, a diary and a restaurant reviews journal all going simultaneously.

I have to confess, for all its simplicity I'm surprised at how versatile and useful the Journal app is, and I'm glad that it's coming to Macs with Tahoe so a lot more people will have an easier time using it.

macOS Tahoe preview: Bottom line

More from Tom's Guide

• macOS 26 — all the new features coming to your MacBook
• I review MacBooks for a living: 3 macOS Tahoe 26 features I'm most excited about
• macOS Tahoe 26 is ready to try out: here's how to download it

Ever since Apple first introduced us to macOS Tahoe I've been excited for all the changes coming to Macs in 2025, and I might be most excited about the supercharged new Spotlight Search.

I know, Spotlight Search is hardly the most exciting part of macOS, but with Tahoe it's becoming a lot more like the Windows 11 Start button—and I couldn't be happier.

See, I love being able to hit the Start button on Windows and start typing whatever I want to do next, trusting in Windows' algorithms to find the app or file I want to open. It makes the Start button the de facto starting point for almost everything I do on my PC, and my Mac running macOS Tahoe now has a similar feature in Spotlight Search.

For years now Spotlight Search has been utterly fine on macOS, but its barebones functionality and occasional foibles have driven a lot of Mac users into the arms of more powerful search tools like Alfred.

Now, for my money Alfred is one of the best Mac apps you can get, but I bet it's going to be a lot less attractive to folks who upgrade to macOS Tahoe because Spotlight Search is now far more useful.

I know because I've been using macOS Tahoe since the earliest developer beta, so I've had a lot of time to play with all the new features. Now that it's public anyone can download the macOS Tahoe beta and start testing out the new Spotlight Search, so I wanted to give you some quick pointers to get the most out of it.

So without further ado, let's dive right in! If you're on a Mac running a version of macOS Tahoe, open Spotlight Search (by clicking the icon in the upper-right corner or just hitting the Cmd + Space key combo) and scroll down to see all the cool things you can do with it.

General tips

First and foremost, the most exciting upgrade to Spotlight Search should be clear as soon as you open it. Once you upgrade to macOS Tahoe Spotlight Search gets a lot smarter, and you can type in more natural language with greater expectation that your Mac will find what you're after.

For example, you can type "Send" and Spotlight Search will begin to auto-populate results with apps like Messages and Mail, so you can immediately hit a key to start sending a text or email. Spotlight Search will intelligently surface entry fields like Recipients and Subject right in the search bar, so you can just start typing your message from within Spotlight Search.

You can also use hotkeys to navigate between the four new sub-menus of Spotlight Search: Applications (Cmd + 1), Files (Cmd + 2), Actions (Cmd + 3) and Clipboard (Cmd + 4). You can also use Tab and the arrow keys to navigate the list of search results quickly via keyboard.

Also, you can often hit Tab to dive deeper "into" an app or folder and start searching within it, right from the Spotlight Search bar. Supported apps will also let you hit Tab to start writing directly into the app, which is how you can do things like start writing a new note in the Notes app or composing a new message in the Messages app from within the Spotlight Search bar.

Plus you have new options to filter search results by either clicking on the appropriate section of the Spotlight Search menu or hitting the / key.

You can further fine-tune how Spotlight Search works by exploring the Spotlight Search subsection of the Settings menu (click the Apple icon in the top-left corner and navigate to System Settings > Spotlight). From here you can enable or disable search results from specific apps, subsections of your Mac or even your iPhone (if it's linked via iPhone Mirroring).

Applications submenu

Once you get comfortable with the basics of Spotlight Search, you can start becoming a power user by becoming familiar with the four new submenus.

And the first one you will find, either by clicking on the icon which appears to the immediate right of your Spotlight Search bar or by hitting the (⌘+1) key combo, is the Applications submenu.

You can use this subsection of Spotlight Search to find specific apps more quickly, because your search results won't include anything else—no files, folders or clipboard items.

This search will also surface apps on your iPhone if you've connected it via iPhone Mirroring, so it can be a good way to quickly find, say your Amazon app without having to scroll through search results of the Amazon website and emails with your Amazon order receipts.

You can also click on the submenus within the Applications section of Spotlight Search (or hit Cmd + Left or Right) to filter apps by categories like Productivity & Finance, Entertainment and Utilities.

Files submenu

Once you get the hang of using the Applications submenu, the Files submenu (aka the next one over) is easy to figure out. It works exactly the same way, except it filters out everything but files on your Mac.

It's pretty basic, but there are some neat features like the ability to filter by file type. I wish this was a bit more fine-grained so you could actually create a custom search query that would seek specific file types and filter out others, but you can get 90% of the way there by just hitting the filters that appear automatically under your search, like "Installer" or "PDF."

You can also search within apps and folders by typing the name of the app or folder, then hitting Tab when it's highlighted in search results. So you could type Adobe Photoshop and then hit Tab to search for Photoshop files, for example.

Actions submenu

Now we're really getting into the powerful aspects of Spotlight Search. The third submenu, Actions, lets you quickly search through sets of actions you can take within apps right from the Spotlight Search bar.

This is basically a simple way of filtering search results down to just the ways in which you can execute actions from the Spotlight Search bar. This is where you'll find the "Send message" in Messages or Mail shortcuts, for example, as well as lots more like "Add reminder" in the Calendar app or "Eject disk" in the Disk Utility app.

Not only can you execute these actions right from the search bar, you can also set "Quick Keys" key combos for each action that let you quickly initiate them from the Spotlight Search bar.

So you can set "Add Reminder" to the "ar" key combo, for example, and next time you hit "ar" in Spotlight Search it will immediately auto-complete to the "Add Reminder" action.

This is probably secretly the most powerful submenu of the new Spotlight Search bar, and I've already created key combos for all my most commonly-executed actions.

Clipboard submenu

Last but probably not least, the Clipboard submenu of the new Spotlight Search allows you to quickly sift through everything you've copied to your Mac's Clipboard, then copy it back and paste it wherever you like.

This isn't the coolest or most powerful feature of Spotlight Search, but it can really come in handy when you need to dig up something you copied yesterday and have long since copied over.

That's about all it's good for, but I love it because I'm a writer by trade so I often have to copy and paste bits and bobs from various drafts in the course of a given workday. Before upgrading to macOS Tahoe I just had to be vigilant about making sure I'd copied what I wanted to paste, but now that I can easily sort through my clipboard history I don't have to worry about wasting time re-copying and pasting things all day.

If you've made it this far, you've seen every corner of the upgraded Spotlight Search and you're well on your way to becoming a macOS Tahoe power user. More power to you!

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple is ripping a page from Microsoft with this macOS Tahoe feature — and I couldn't be happier
• I thought glasses-free 3D gaming was a gimmick, but this monitor may change my mind
• Finally! Steam runs natively on Mac with Apple Silicon — here's how to try it

Apple just released the public beta version of macOS Tahoe 26, which means anyone who doesn't mind a little risk can now sneak a peek at some of the new features coming to your Mac this fall.

Putting this beta version of macOS on your Mac is easier than ever, and you can follow our step-by-step guide to how to download the macOS Tahoe beta for assistance. However, keep in mind that it's unfinished software in a beta state right now, which means you could encounter serious bugs or lose critical data.

I know because I've been reviewing macOS and the best MacBooks for years, so I've been through this rodeo a few times before. I've also been using macOS Tahoe since Apple released the first developer beta following WWDC 2025, so I have a good idea what are the most exciting new features to try.

For my money the new Live Translation features are amazing, for example, but unless you regularly communicate with folks who speak different languages you probably won't notice them at first. But the new Spotlight Search or Liquid Glass design? Those are upgrades you can appreciate right away.

So if you're looking for some cool things to try first in macOS Tahoe, here's what I recommend.

Supercharged Spotlight Search

Perhaps the easiest way to immediately get a taste of what's new in macOS Tahoe is to check out the supercharged new Spotlight Search.

This is one of the clearest ways to see how Apple Intelligence has improved since it debuted in macOS Sequoia, because you can type whatever you want into the Spotlight Search box and your Mac will try to figure out what you're after. Spotlight Search also has a lot more power in macOS Tahoe, since it can now search through other apps (think Mail and Messages) and do all sorts of things right from the search box.

So now that you're running macOS Tahoe you can open Spotlight Search (Cmd + Space) and immediately see new controls for filtering the results or launching immediately into apps via keyboard shortcut.

You can also type you want to find or do, like "Send", for example, and you will see a list of search results drop down with uses of the word across your email, Notes and more—and in this example the top option will blikely e a shortcut to send a text via the Shortcuts app, so you can just hit Return and start typing the message right in Spotlight Search.

I love this macOS Tahoe upgrade because it makes Spotlight Search work a lot like the Windows 11 Start button, making it an easy one-stop shop for immediately finding the next thing you want to do with just a few keyboard commands.

Explore Image Playground

Macs gained access to the image generation app Image Playground with macOS Sequoia, but it was pretty limited. Once you upgrade to macOS Tahoe your Image Playground will gain new features and new capabilities, including the option to outsource image generation to ChatGPT.

What's cool about the new option to use ChatGPT in Image Playground is that it gives you access to at least five new visual styles you can play with, basically doubling how many styles you can use in Image Playground.

In my limited testing using ChatGPT in Image Playground causes longer delays during image generation, but it's worth it to be able to create images that look like oil paintings, watercolors or anime illustrations.

Play with new Liquid Glass customization features

Apple has implemented a nearly system-wide visual redesign in macOS Tahoe that makes the whole interface feel more transparent. It's part of the "Liquid Glass" design language that the company has rolled out across iPhones, iPads, Macs and more this year, but on your Mac it also comes with new customization options.

So once you've finished scoping out how all the widgets and windows on your Mac have this new design aesthetic, check out how you can now change the colors of folders in Finder or add emojis to individual files.

If you Ctrl + Click on a folder you will notice some new options under the "Customize this folder" option, including controls to change the color of the folder and a new Emoji menu you can use to add any emoji you want to the folder. It might be the least impactful change in terms of performance, but the most meaningful in terms of giving you more creative control over how your Mac looks.

Explore your new Games app

I know it will never replace Steam for a lot of people, myself included, but I still think it's neat that Apple has finally put a robust Games app in macOS with Tahoe.

Admittedly, it's not fully functional in the beta versions of macOS Tahoe I've been testing for the last month and change. The new macOS Games app is intended to be a one-stop shop for finding what to play next on your Mac, as it can find and list all the games you have installed in your Library and also sell you new games with dedicated pages for, say, Apple Arcade.

But what's really interesting is the Play Together section of the Games app, which lets you quickly add friends, initiate multiplayer gaming sessions and even issue challenges in select single-player games for you and friends to compete over.

The new Games app is also meant to work a bit like Steam in that you can summon an in-game overlay where you can do things like message friends, which sounds great. However, in my testing to date I haven't had a chance to see how that stuff works, as some portions of the Games app have not been functioning during beta testing.

But that's okay; even if the Games app isn't as good as Steam right out of the gate, I'm hopeful it shows Apple is investing more effort and money in supporting Mac game devs and Mac gaming in general.

Crack open your new Journal app

Did you notice Apple put a free Journal app on your iPhone in 2023?

I've been meaning to use it for ages, but frankly I don't because I hate typing on my phone's tiny touchscreen. It's bad enough for text messaging, but the thought of using it to write paragraphs in a daily digital journal sounds agonizing.

That's why I'm glad Apple is finally making the Journal app available on Macs with macOS Tahoe (as well as iPads with the new iPadOS 26). I know it's not the most exciting new feature, but it's a welcome one for me because I'm a writer so when I journal, I go hard. We're talking multiple paragraphs per entry on occasion, so being able to access my Journal on my Mac as well as my iPhone is a game-changer that makes me actually want to use it.

So give it a shot now that it's easy to type Journal entries on your Mac and see them sync on your iPad and iPhone, so you can easily use your phone add photos, locations and other details from your life as you capture them.

More from Tom's Guide

• Apple is ripping a page from Microsoft with this macOS Tahoe feature — and I couldn't be happier
• I thought glasses-free 3D gaming was a gimmick, but this monitor may change my mind
• Finally! Steam runs natively on Mac with Apple Silicon — here's how to try it

Nearly five years after launch, Cyberpunk 2077 now runs natively on Macs — and it runs well, if you rely on Apple's MetalFX upscaling tech.

I know because here at Tom's Guide our crack team of testing experts has been hard at work in our lab this week benchmarking how well the game runs on a slew of modern Macs.

Now we have numbers for how well Cyberpunk 2077 runs on everything from a 2021 M1 Max MacBook Pro to a cutting-edge M4 Max Mac Studio, and the results should get you excited if you've been dreaming of playing CD Projekt Red's cyberpunk RPG.

Because our testing reveals that while even the latest Macs can't match the gaming prowess of the best gaming PCs, if you fine-tune the settings and enable MetalFX resolution scaling you can get some pretty good framerates playing Cyberpunk 2077 on your Mac.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Mac system requirements

Before we dig into the data, I wanted to quickly remind you that Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate runs on most Macs with Apple silicon—but there are some key caveats you should know about.

Notably, to run it your Mac must be packing an M1 chip or newer and have at least 16GB of unified memory. So we couldn't test how well it runs on an entry-level MacBook Air M1 or MacBook Air M2, for example, because they only have 8GB of memory.

On top of that, only Macs with M3 or newer chips support the game's ray tracing features. So as you're looking through our test results, remember that only the M3 and M4 Macs can even run the game with ray tracing enabled.

How Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate stacks up on Macs vs. Windows PCs

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate launched on the Mac App Store Thursday (July 17), and our testing team immediately downloaded a few copies and started benchmarking it on every Mac we could lay our hands on.

So while we haven't yet had a chance to comprehensively benchmark it on every possible Mac configuration, we do have a nice spread of test results that gives you a good sense of how well the game runs on Apple silicon old and new.

The quick answer is: pretty well! However, you have to give yourself over to Apple's MetalFX resolution scaling and the nebulous "For Your Mac" graphical preset in order to get a decent framerate playing Cyberpunk 2077 on most Macs.

When we did our best to fine-tune the graphical settings to match what we use when running Cyberpunk 2077 benchmarks on Windows PCs, the framerate tanked. If you'd like to get a sense of how different these two configurations look, click to zoom in on the screenshots below.

To show you what I mean I'm going to list the specific settings we used for these benchmarks below. But if you're not interested, you can skip straight to the results!

We ran these benchmarks on every Mac we could find using two graphical settings configurations, the vague "For Your Mac" setting that Apple recommends and a slight modification of the "Ray Tracing: Ultra" preset that we use when benchmarking this game on gaming laptops and desktops. On the oldest Macs that did not support ray tracing, we used the "Ultra" preset instead.

For full transparency I'm going to share our exact Mac testing settings here so you can see for yourself how we came by these numbers, but if you're more interested in the results feel free to skip down to the next section!

Before I start comparing Windows and Mac results side by side, let me run down how our many Macs performed in these tests.

As you can see from our testing, you basically cannot get a steady 30 frames per second or above at max settings on any Mac we have on hand. However, if you're willing to use the "For this Mac" preset and lower the resolution to 1200p you can get decent performance on even a 13-inch MacBook Air.

You might also notice that the older M1 Max MacBook Pro appears to run the game better than the new MacBook Pro M4 Pro, and the reason is simple: M1 and M2 Macs don't support ray tracing, and the game is a lot less demanding without it.

So if you have a newer M4 Mac, don't sweat it: disabling ray tracing should give you a nice framerate boost. However, I'd personally be bummed to lose that feature because I find it adds a nice patina of realism to the game.

Now let's compare those results to what we saw when we ran the game on some of the latest and best gaming laptops we've recently tested. Before you look at the numbers, keep in mind that this is a raw performance test so we do not enable any graphical upscaling tech like the MetalFX resolution scaling available on Mac. So that means none of these test results were generated using any Nvidia DLSS, AMD FSR or Intel XeSS upscaling.

As you can see, the numbers are generally better than anything you can get running the game on Mac with no upscaling enabled. One notable exception is the 2025 Razer Blade 14, which seems to struggle with this benchmark at its native 1800p resolution.

But of course, since we don't benchmark our review units with any kind of upscaling enabled you don't get the full picture of what's possible on a modern Windows gaming laptop with framerate enhancements like Nvidia's DLSS.

To show you what I mean, look how fast a modern creator laptop (the Asus ProArt P16 with an Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU, AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU and 32GB RAM) can run Cyberpunk 2077 with graphical settings cranked to max (Ray Tracing Overdrive) at its native (2560x1600) resolution with increasing levels of DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation enabled.

That's fairly typical of the performance increase I've seen on multiple gaming laptops and PCs after enabling DLSS and Multi Frame Gen while playing Cyberpunk 2077.

Admittedly, when Multi Frame Gen debuted with the first GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards in January I didn't love how the higher levels (3x-4x) seemed to cause disorienting graphical glitches in some games, but nowadays CD Projekt Red and Nvidia seem to have fine-tuned it and even at Multi Frame Gen 4x I rarely see any issues in Cyberpunk.

Bottom line

While we haven't yet had a chance to test every config of Cyberpunk 2077 on every Mac, it's pretty safe to say that even the most tricked-out Mac Studio M3 Ultra probably won't run it as well as an equally expensive Windows gaming PC with the latest and greatest.

But let me tell you, I've been reviewing some very expensive gaming PCs recently (like this $7,399 Corsair Vengeance i8300) and despite sporting an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU and cutting-edge components that thing struggles to surpass a solid 80+ FPS with all graphical settings cranked to max—even with DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Gen 4x enabled.

That's in part because Cyberpunk 2077 is a very demanding game that employs some of the latest graphical tech you can get, so it's remarkable that our testing shows you can now play it on a MacBook from four years ago and expect a decent 30-60 FPS, especially if you enable MetalFX upscaling and trust in Apple's "For Your Mac" config.

There's no shame in relying on it either, since you also need to rely on DLSS or FSR to get great framerates in the game at peak settings when playing on Windows. So while Windows gaming machines still seem like the best place to play Cyberpunk 2077 if you care about graphical fidelity and performance, it's clear Apple and CD Projekt Red have done yeoman's work to bring one of the best PC games to Mac.

More from Tom's Guide

• macOS 26 — all the new features coming to your MacBook
• I've been using the MacBook Air M4 for 3 months — here's my pros and cons
• I just played Cyberpunk 2077 on my iPad Pro — and the results match a powerful gaming PC

Apple has a reputation for going to great lengths to set up hardware and software that is intended to protect its users – in fact, many people have falsely believed they don't even need antivirus software on their Mac because of how well the company protects its machines.

However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't also know the ins and outs of your macOS system, particularly when it comes to the settings menu.

Making a few tweaks and adjustments to the default settings can, in fact, keep your machine even better protected and more secure. It's easy to know how to do, easy to switch back and forth, and easy to keep your system better protected.

Here are five ways to get started in better understanding your macOS security settings, and five settings that you should not leave on by default.

Location sharing

You don’t tell your neighbor where you’re going all the time, or share your location with your boss or your mom. So why are you doing it with all the apps on your Mac?

You should control which apps have access to your location – and only the essential ones should have that data. While some of them clearly need it to function (Maps, for example), others certainly do not and providing them with that information is just giving away data to advertisers or worse, hackers and data thieves.

Take back your privacy and keep your computer more secure by making sure you have control over which apps have access to your location. Head to System Settings, then choose Privacy & Security in the sidebar. Select Location Services; from there you can toggle off all location services at once or toggle it off for individual apps as you please.

Microphone and camera permissions

Much like with location, many apps may request access to your microphone or camera when they may not actually need it.

You should absolutely review the permissions that each app has accessed – particularly microphone and camera settings – and feel free to toggle them off if their access seems iffy or is making you uncomfortable. You can always grant them permission again if you need it enabled for the app to function.

Go to System Settings, and again, Privacy & Security in the sidebar. From there you should see a full listing of the functions and apps including photos, calendar, contacts, and camera and microphone. Clicking on each of these will bring up a list of which apps have access to that feature. If you don’t want that app to have access, simply toggle it off. It may seem a little time intensive at first, but if you do it regularly enough you’ll be familiar with what you want to have access to each feature and it won’t take as long the following time.

Siri

Siri is helpful, useful, friendly and always listening. And while your Mac keeps most of that data locally on your device, some of that data is inevitably sent to Apple for its servers to process to make Siri more accurate and functional.

Which sounds okay–except if you’re concerned about your privacy it sounds a little troubling. Some of that data could potentially include sensitive information from whatever you’ve been asking your personal digital assistant.

If you’d like to shut off Siri, go to System Settings, scroll to Apple Intelligence & Siri then simply toggle off Siri. This will, of course, keep her from answering your questions and helping you with your queries, but if you don’t use her frequently already then you probably don’t need her listening all the time anyways.

Automatic Wi-Fi connections

There are plenty of times when you may be somewhere and need to connect to a public Wi-Fi network – a hotel, an airport, a library. However you should be aware that any public Wi-Fi network is likely unsecured which means it leaves you vulnerable to having your data and sensitive information being intercepted.

That means anyone else on that network can potentially view, or access, your passwords, emails or any other information like banking details.

That’s why you shouldn’t let your Mac automatically connect to Wi-Fi: it could be joining insecure networks and leaving you in a risky situation. You should be making the assessment as to whether or not the connection is safe, or using a VPN. Either way, disable auto connect by going to System Settings, then select Wi-Fi from the sidebar. Find your trusted network in Known Network and click the three dots to change the auto connect settings for that network.

From there you should be able to scroll down to Ask to join network settings and toggle it on. This means your Mac will ask before joining any networks.

Personalized Ads

Ad tracking should always get shut off.

Not only is it a performance and battery drain on your computer, but it can track your location, browsing history and other data in the background in order to serve you targeted ads – and if that makes you feel uncomfortable, it should.

If any kind of malware or infostealer winds up on your system, this is going to provide them with a bunch of free personal data about you.

In order to minimize the risk, turn it off by going to System Preferences, then Security & Privacy. Next, scroll down until you see Apple Advertising (it may be below the Analytics option). Just uncheck the box that says Personalized Ads to opt out.

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When I drove down to Apple HQ for the company's WWDC 2025 keynote earlier this month the last thing I expected to see was macOS looking a bit more like Windows.

But in a sense, that's exactly how I felt when I saw Apple's Raja Bose break down how the company is upgrading Spotlight Search in macOS 26.

The search tool is getting supercharged on macOS this year, and it reminds me of nothing so much as the Windows 11 Start button.

I've been reviewing Macs for years, and while Apple has consistently delivered fairly useful upgrades to its oldest operating system the last few years of macOS revisions have felt pretty prosaic.

Last year macOS Sequoia brought some cool new features (iPhone Mirroring, Passwords) but couldn't follow through on the promised Apple Intelligence upgrades, for example, while macOS Sonoma's most exciting addition (for my money) was Widgets.

And look, I love Widgets. I think they're way better on macOS than what Windows gives you by default. But there are a lot of things I prefer about Windows even after years of using Macs, most notably the power of the Start menu.

I love how I can hit the Start button on a Windows keyboard and just start typing what's on my mind, with a reasonable expectation that the built-in search tools will surface the app, file or menu I want. It's not perfect, but most of the time I can quickly hit a few keys on the keyboard and hop right into my next task.

I'm sure macOS power users have long been able to do the same, either by mastering Mac keyboard shortcuts or using Alfred (one of the best Mac apps for finding files, in my opinion). But in macOS 26 Apple is aiming to make Spotlight Search far more functional in a way that reminds me of the Start button, and I couldn't be more pleased.

Spotlight Search is getting a lot more handy

I've been testing a very early version of the new Spotlight Search in the macOS 26 developer beta, and while it's not the final product I can already see some promising new features taking shape.

Most notably, Spotlight Search is getting an injection of Apple Intelligence that enhances the tool's capacity to auto-complete and suggest appropriate apps and actions based on your usage patterns.

Windows has a similar system for the Start menu, but what sets macOS 26's version apart is how the new Spotlight Search has multiple submenus you can flip through via mouse click or keyboard shortcut: Actions, Files, Shortcuts and Clipboard.

You can use these to quickly fine-tune your search to the relevant category of thing you're looking for with more granularity than Windows offers, which is a nice upgrade. The upgraded Spotlight Search is also able to access and search an iPhone you've connected via iPhone Mirroring, which seems incredibly handy.

On top of that Spotlight Search is gaining more power to execute actions, enabling you to quickly get things done and jump from task to task with a few keystrokes.

We saw this demonstrated during the WWDC 2025 keynote when Bose showcased how you can do things like send a text message by typing "Send" into Spotlight Search, at which point macOS suggests the Messages app and you can simply hit Enter, then start typing the message you want to send.

There's a refined version of this called Quick Keys coming as well, which is what Apple calls short abbreviated commands you can type into Spotlight Search (like "sm" for "Send Message" or "ar" for "Add Reminder") to quickly execute actions.

"Quick Keys are automatically provided for system and app actions you've taken," according to Bose, so presumably there's some Apple Intelligence involved in how Spotlight Search suggests actions based on what you type.

macOS Tahoe Outlook

We won't know for sure how well anything in macOS 26 really works until Apple ships the final version this fall, but even the very early previews I've seen of what's coming to Spotlight Search have me impressed.

While it will take me some time to get used to using keyboard shortcuts to flip between the various submenus, I suspect Spotlight Search is about to become my new favorite macOS feature. And with Windows 11 growing long in the tooth, I'm really hoping Microsoft returns the favor and takes a page from Apple's playbook when planning out the Windows roadmap for 2025 and beyond.

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Now that Apple announced it's ending support for all Intel-based Macs, Valve has rolled out an update that allows Steam to run natively on Apple Silicon Macs — and it's available to try out now.

In the recent Steam Client Beta update, Valve details that the Steam client (and Steam Helper) app can run natively on Apple Silicon. Previously, to install Steam on Mac, gamers would have to use Rosetta 2 to run Intel-based apps on its chips.

It's been a long time coming. While Rosetta gave users a way to play Steam games on their Mac, there were a few hurdles to go through to get it set up.

Plus, since the Steam client runs via a Chromium-based user interface through Rosetta's transition layer, the app would run slow and hinder performance and feel laggy — especially compared to the Windows-based app. Now, Steam doesn't have to rely on this.

Steam on Mac running natively on Apple Silicon is currently in beta, so Valve is still working on optimizing its popular gaming client. But after trying it out, it's clearly a faster, smoother experience, with speedier launch times, more responsive navigation and quick access to the Store and Library.

How to enable native Steam on Mac in the beta

If you've installed the Steam app on Mac, you can try out the native version right now — and it's easy to do.

There you have it. With the update now in beta, it won't be long until the native Steam app for Apple Silicon rolls out to all, but it has yet to be announced when it will arrive.

With macOS Tahoe 26 being the final major update for Intel-based Macs, Valve is now making the move to offer its gaming client to Mac users that use Apple's own chips. And, with Apple's first dedicated gaming app arriving, gaming on Mac is about to get a lot better.

If you're wondering what else is coming to your Mac, check out the macOS Tahoe 26 features we're most excited about.

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