Apple Seeds First macOS Tahoe Public Beta

[MacRumors]

Apple today provided public beta testers with the opportunity to test the newest version of macOS, macOS Tahoe, ahead of its launch this fall. If you want to sign up for the macOS Tahoe public beta, you can do so on Apple's beta website. The first Tahoe public beta is identical to the fourth developer beta that was released on Tuesday.

Public beta testers can download macOS Tahoe from the Software Update section of the Settings app after signing up for the betas.

macOS Tahoe has the same Liquid Glass design as iOS 26, and it extends to app icons, folders, the Dock, in-app navigation, menus, the Control Center, and the Menu Bar. The Control Center and the Menu Bar are both customizable, and you're also able to customize folders, app icons, and widgets.

Safari has an updated tab design and a redesigned sidebar, and Apple has brought the Phone app to the Mac for making phone calls through Wi-Fi Calling. The Phone app supports the new Call Screening and Hold Assist features.

Spotlight has been overhauled with improved search and the ability to execute hundreds of actions without opening up an app. There's a new Games app with a Game Overlay feature, and developers have access to Metal 4.

More on what's new can be found in our macOS Tahoe roundup.

Article Link: Apple Seeds First macOS Tahoe Public Beta

 

[timmywa]

Can I switch from developer beta to public? I switched the setting to Public and checked but it didn't show an available Update. I would have assumed the build number would be higher than the last developer beta...

 

[azentropy]

And we are off... Installing it on my 13" M3 MBA now. I have installed the developer version on a couple of my other Macs earlier.

 

[LightProtector]

How stable is this if I wanted to use it on my M1 Air (8/256)? Battery life?

 

[Acidsplat]

Can I switch from developer beta to public? I switched the setting to Public and checked but it didn't show an available Update. I would have assumed the build number would be higher than the last developer beta...

It looks like according to the article that the Tahoe public beta build is identical to the last developer beta, but iOS has a newer build being pushed.

 

[DestructoTim]

Bummed I cannot install due to error “Failed to personalize the software update.”. Looked it up and apparently has been a thing since M series Macs came out. It is some kind of failure with system security. Getting nervous, because I am reading some people had to go as far as replacing logic boards, just so they could get software update again.

 

[D4vidrim]

Has anyone tried Safari on MacOS yet? Are tabs readable now?

 

[AUGUSTU5]

Has anyone tried Safari on MacOS yet? Are tabs readable now?

If it’s the same build as yesterday’s Beta 4, then the answer is Nope. Safari is hot garbage in macOS26. They will need so much time to fix that / rollback some of those changes to make it atleast “usable”…

 

[nortonandreev]

Has anyone tried Safari on MacOS yet? Are tabs readable now?

It's quite bad, not gonna lie. Tabs are readable, but the design there is far from ideal.

 

[SpanishAppleNerd]

Can I switch from developer beta to public? I switched the setting to Public and checked but it didn't show an available Update. I would have assumed the build number would be higher than the last developer beta...

Yes you can, toggle it in the update window itself

 

[filmantopia]

Is this beta stable enough for a primary work computer? I use After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and FCP.

 

[Nomad-X]

Is it safe to upgrade from Sonoma yet? 🤣. Having experienced the state of Sequoia and seen the visual mess of Tahoe I think I'll stay where it's safe for as long as my machine lives.

 

[cameltahoe]

If anyone is holding off buying a new Mac they should buy one before Tahoe is released otherwise they will never be able to downgrade to a macOS with a decent UI.

Wall Street crooks have forced Apple, Google and other companies to add fat round corners, round objects and pills all over user interfaces so they can sell some kind of AR nonsense down the road. They don't care that it isn't useful on a desktop OS. They just want to force feed us crap.

That's what finance bros do. When they can't squeeze money out of us they start destroying all sorts of things we like so they can charge us again when they rebuild the destruction.

 

[Silverlox]

Has anyone tried the Tahoe public beta on a 2018 MacBook Pro Retina?
It's in the list of models that cannot be updated to Tahoe.
But it might work?

 

[D4vidrim]

Is this beta stable enough for a primary work computer? I use After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and FCP.

Stable, I think it is. Useful nope.

 

[matt_and_187_like_this]

Dev Beta 4 was definitely a big jump in the right direction. Do with this information whatever you want.

 

[iHorseHead]

how does it run on MBA 8GB M1?

 

[bobbyjack]

"MacOS Tahoe is out, it has liquid glass design, updated safari tabs and the phone app. Also spotlight."

Guys, the revolution is underway.

 

[Mamherst]

I like the rounded corners and redesign of Mail and some of the smaller apps. But liquid glass looks so over designed on both Mac and iPad.

 

[Adora]

Can I switch from developer beta to public? I switched the setting to Public and checked but it didn't show an available Update. I would have assumed the build number would be higher than the last developer beta...

You can change in System Settings - General Software Update - Beta Updates -

It won't find anything because it's the same build.

 

[Adora]

how does it run on MBA 8GB M1?

It even makes my M4 Pro (10/20 core) 64GB mini very hot. I guess it's not good for the battery.

 

[applefan8254]

Can we get the ability to install MacOS on iPad ? Thank you

 

[Adora]

I won't recommend it to anyone in this stage. I even think about downgrading although I don't have a battery and a fast enough Mac but I don't need an all day heater in the summer. It's even worse than Developer Beta 3.

 

[mgymnop]

Wow. It's even more ugly and inconsistent than I thought. I hope it gets fine tuned until the official release date. Transparency levels are either non existent or at so many different levels my eyes get dizzy.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy52]

It is ugly. Reducing transparency helps, but it's still unnecessarily ugly.