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With macOS 26.1 released, is Tahoe ready for mainstream use?

  • Yes, things are running pretty smooth, upgrading should be fine.

    Votes: 10 50.0%
  • No, you'd be better off staying on Sequoia for a while longer.

    Votes: 10 50.0%

  • Total voters
    20
  • This poll will close: .

PotentPeas

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 25, 2023
289
458
I'd like to try this poll after each minor macOS upgrade is released (X.1, X.2). I'm curious how community sentiment changes over time, and it could also help other users gauge the community consensus on whether upgrading at this time is a "good idea" or not.

The poll will remain open for 30 days. I'll post another one when macOS 26.2 drops. If Apple follows their typical release pattern, the release window for macOS 26.2 is mid-December. (I will not post a poll for 26.1.1. If there is such a release, it will most likely include just a small number of targeted fixes and won't change the overall picture by much.)

———

As someone who values stability and "things working right" more than access to the latest new features, I'm holding off on upgrading to Tahoe until I believe that it will be a reasonably smooth experience.

With 26.0, reading comments and posts from the community, I saw a lot of repeatedly noted issues. For example: Dock randomly going to autohide. Network printers not working. UI elements not cleanly meshing. Not having certain icons prepared in the new style (i.e. external hard drive icon). Contacts app much less usable than before. Rounded corners on PDFs. Impossible to get "back" in the TV app in some cases. UI animations or video playback in various apps being stuttery, when that was not the case before the upgrade. Electron app performance issues. Large "hit box" for the green maximize button at the top of windows. Finder exhibiting unexpected behavior. And so on...

To me, it really seems like Apple pushed Tahoe out to hit a self-imposed deadline, and it was still somewhat "beta" quality at launch; they did not wait for it to be adequately polished.

I am interested in your take, after using macOS Tahoe 26.1 for a bit. Did they make any improvements that meaningfully fix or improve any issues you were experiencing with 26.0? Should a "regular" user upgrade yet? Is it "safe"? Or is it still not worth it, because of the bugs and UI jank?

Vote in the poll, and comment if you like!

Thanks.

(I'm putting in a request to have this topic pinned/sticky.)

———

For myself, in addition to "feeling out the community", I'm also waiting for updates to or compatibility confirmation for certain key apps that may be more sensitive breaking with an OS upgrade:

  • ✅ Parallels
  • ✅ CrossOver
  • ✅ BetterDisplay
  • ✅ TG Pro
  • ❌ Ice
    • (Ice currently has beta support only.)
 
VMware Fusion here. I noticed I can now see how much memory each VM is using, this is an improvement over Sequioa and 26.0.1 (I used both during the last month).
I think I will stick with 26.1 this time, looks stable enough for me. Probably not yet perfect but good enough, and it looks the same for iOS 26.1

1762233002504.png
 
If things are working right for you, and there’s no killer feature for you, then don’t upgrade. I’ve found it to be mostly fine but other than the fresh coat of ‘Liquid Glass’ paint, there’s not much to be excited over really.
 
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