macOS 26 Tahoe: Everything we know so far
I say that because I've been covering Macs for decades, and Apple reliably introduces us to the next iteration of its operating systems at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. With WWDC 2025 kicking off June 9, I'm confident we're about to meet the sequel to macOS Sequoia.
Of course, we won't know for sure what this year's edition of macOS will be called or what features it will offer until we get it straight from Apple. But in the meantime we've seen some compelling reports and rumors about what the next version of macOS will be called and how it will work.
For starters, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple will reveal macOS Tahoe as the name of this year's Mac operating system. Gurman has also reported that Apple is planning to start branding its operating systems by the year in which they're launched, so what was iOS 19 will potentially be iOS 26 — and macOS Tahoe might also be thought of as macOS 26.
Whatever it ends up being called, here's everything we know so far about macOS Tahoe.
We won't know for sure when the next version of macOS is coming until Apple tells us at WWDC 2025, but since I've been doing this for awhile I feel pretty confident I can make an educated guess.
For the last few years Apple has consistently announced a new version of macOS at WWDC in June, then shipped a developer beta the same month followed by a public beta in July.
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So if you're willing to try the beta version and risk the accompanying bugs and crashes, you might be able to get your hands on macOS Tahoe this summer. If not, I expect we'll have to wait until September 2025 for the full release of macOS Tahoe.
Every year Apple releases a new version of macOS, and every year a few more Macs fall off the list of supported devices as time marches on.
Personally I've been a little amazed that macOS Sequoia supported Macs made as far back as 2018, when they were still shipping with Intel chips inside instead of Apple silicon. But that looks likely to change, as we've heard reports that macOS Tahoe will no longer support Intel-based Macs.
Now we won't know for sure until Apple tells us at WWDC 2025, but right now Apple Insider is reporting that the list of macOS 26 supported devices does not include the following Macs: 2017 iMac Pro, 2018 Mac mini, all 2018 MacBook Pro models and all Intel-based 2020 MacBook Air models.
If that proves true, I predict these Macs will support macOS Tahoe:
Here's where I'm really making educated guesses, because the feature set of macOS changes significantly nearly every year in response to Apple's priorities.
New Apple Intelligence features: This year, for example, I expect new Apple Intelligence features to be a cornerstone of macOS Tahoe. After making a big show of launching "AI" at WWDC last year, Apple has delayed or slowed the rollout of its key features, so WWDC 2025 is make-or-break for Apple Intelligence on iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Apple AI models open up to developers: Plus, I've read reports from Gurman that macOS Tahoe will open up Apple's AI models to third-party developers so they can build Mac apps which integrate Apple Intelligence more effectively and use Apple's AI models to power their own AI features. So even if Apple Intelligence on macOS doesn't blow us away in the next year or two, we may soon see more impressive AI apps hitting the Mac App Store.
New gaming app: I've seen credible reports that Apple will be launching a new gaming app across its various devices that will sort of function like a revamped Game Center, serving as a one-stop shop for launching games, tracking friends and time played, achievements and more. The macOS version will almost certainly promote Apple Arcade and the games in the Games section of Apple's Mac App Store, but I bet it will also be capable of tracking games downloaded through platforms like Steam.
New visual design: Many reports have surfaced that Apple plans to roll out a macOS visual redesign with Tahoe, and I find that pretty easy to believe. We usually get at least a small visual makeover with every new version of macOS, and reports are that macOS Tahoe is getting a larger-than-usual visual makeover that will make it look very similar to the VisionOS-inspired 'Solarium' UI makeover coming in iOS 19.
Those are the most credible rumored new features I've heard of so far, but I'll keep my ear to the ground and update this post as soon as we learn anything else about macOS Tahoe.
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