macOS Tahoe: A Pattern of Poor Usability and Design Regression

[Cape Dave]

What I find increasingly astounding is the regression in accessibility for users with visual impairment. I mean, it’s just a mess once you turn on any number of accessibility options.

Apple used to pride itself in this area, but in Tahoe it comes across as virtue signalling. In particular, the addition of outlines on all the new control/window elements probably would cause more visual impairment.

I AGREE 10,000%.

 

[Cape Dave]

+1. Especially contrast. The world now thinks gray-on-white is the aesthetic thing to do (e.g. the font on this page and throughout Apple), and it sucks for the huge number of folks with impaired vision. Apple is supposed to be better, more accessible not less. Apple making white-on-gray like in the OP example is the worst kind of forced inaccessibility.

Apple needs to give us a global choice to change the gray fonts to black. White-on-gray simply should not exist.

YOU ARE SO RIGHT! AND THAT IS SUCH PATHETICALLY LOW HANGING FRUIT THAT APPLE EITHER DID NOT CATCH (What, a 4 trillion dollar company can't get TEXT right?) it or simply did not care. Either way, eff you apple! Sorry about caps, new keyboard 🙂

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Would you stay on a forum about what you hate, tilting at windmills? That’s just weird to me.

Yes I will stay on a forum tilting at windmills if the windmill is the world's biggest tech company reducing accessibility.

 

[avro707]

But they're not going to do it. They'll refine and polish it with incremental updates (not to everyone's taste as usual) but it will be the full cycle most definitely. It’s up to individual user to decide whether they can live with that and adapt, or not.

Sure they will, they will "discover" a new UX direction that will be the next greatest thing and everything before will be thrown out, as they've done before. It's what they do.

Remember that the flat interface designs were the best thing ever (replacing the previous 3D look), then they tossed them out and went away from that and here we are now with 3D effects again.

I was one of the early adopters of Tahoe when it first became available.

 

[star-affinity]

I will stay on Sequoia for a very long, long time...unless LG can be completely turned off.

If a user must reduce transparency, add a tint, or take any other action to use the OS and its apps, then the GUI is broken. Apple's arrogance has broken the GUI, negatively affecting a large number of users with visual impairments.

While I agree with you, turning on "Reduce transparency" effectively disables LG. Everything becomes opaque. In macOS I think it works well. In iOS it changes the GUI too much and looks off at times, so there I go with LG set to "tinted".

I hope Apple will adjust LG to not have these issues. I think it can look good at times, but of course it should look good and clear always.

 

[Ctrlos]

Alan Dye was forced to fall on his own sword by Apple. I imagine things will be alright once AppleOS27 comes a knocking.

 

[Abydos]

hey give him a break, kvetching is good for the soul , we say something stupid rather than doing something stupid

 

[DrJR]

I’ve been using macOS daily for decades, across both Intel and Apple Silicon eras, and I don’t say this lightly… macOS Tahoe represents a noticeable regression in basic usability and visual design discipline.

View attachment 2596425

This screenshot is a simple but telling example. In the Messages app, Dark Mode, macOS renders white text on a very light background, resulting in insufficient contrast and reduced legibility. This isn’t an edge case or an obscure preference setting... it’s a direct violation of long-established usability and accessibility principles.

At a minimum, Apple should be meeting:

• WCAG contrast guidelines
• Clear foreground/background separation
• Predictable visual hierarchies across light and dark modes

Instead, Tahoe feels increasingly inconsistent, as if visual polish is being prioritized over functional clarity. Dark Mode, in particular, seems treated as a skin rather than a first-class design system... leading to situations where text becomes harder to read precisely when users choose Dark Mode to reduce eye strain.

This issue isn’t isolated. Across Tahoe, there’s a growing pattern of:

• Low-contrast UI elements
• Ambiguous visual cues
• Excessive translucency that undermines readability
• Visual effects competing with clarity

Apple used to be the company that understood that good design is invisible… that it gets out of the way. Lately, macOS feels like it’s drifting toward aesthetics-first decisions that ignore real-world usage and professional workflows.

If Apple wants to continue positioning macOS as a productivity-first OS, these basics need to be addressed. Visual consistency, contrast, and legibility are not subjective preferences... they’re foundational to usable software.

Curious if others are seeing the same pattern in Tahoe, especially those running Dark Mode full-time.

i’ve been using macOS since Panther and this is a decent release. every major UX design overhaul will have some critics…… it will be more polished this year as they shift to focus on AI stuff

 

[antiprotest]

The other night I was at the bar with some friends and we overheard someone said, "I don't give a liquid glass if she gets evicted. That tahoe deserves everything that's coming to her." True story.

 

[Madonepro]

Been using it since the first RC release, and it hasn't skipped a beat for me. As someone, who is probably in the 'target' demographic, of the average Apple user, I am most likely in the 99% of users who think macOS Tahoe is fine.

 

[Tig_one]

No. It's just that Apple chose to go with such UI for a while. Like it was with Aqua, brushed metal, flat or whatever. And they're not gonna revert it fully anyway.

I didn't like Aqua. I'm not a fan of overly detailed kitschy (in my opinion) 3D icons and general overly skeuomorphic UI. But I had to get used to it, I had no other choice. People need to realize that there's no way a single UI will be accepted by everyone.

Having unreadable text is not subjective.

 

[Tig_one]

Been using it since the first RC release, and it hasn't skipped a beat for me. As someone, who is probably in the 'target' demographic, of the average Apple user, I am most likely in the 99% of users who think macOS Tahoe is fine.

Right... it's fine.

 

[appleinsiderbro]

this is fine

 

[Madonepro]

Right... it's fine.

View attachment 2596794

this is fine

View attachment 2596795

So you have issues, I don't, and neither do so many. So if you wish actively get resolution, contact Apple Support, or use the Feedback tool, that's present on your systems, to directly report the issue.

This forum, was once a place of information, knowledge and troubleshooting for many, it's now become the home of negativity and gaslighting.

 

[maflynn]

I was a critic and skeptic on Tahoe, being fairly negative, but like @Madonepro, my experience has been positive. The OS is not perfect but as I've said it has not impacted my work or play. Its been a nice upgrade and I don't regret it

 

[Madonepro]

Yes I will stay on a forum tilting at windmills if the windmill is the world's biggest tech company reducing accessibility.

Like all of us, you have access to these forums, as long as you are respectful and abide by there rules. But here's a tip, if there is something that you'd like, or dislike, learn to code, and write some code/app that fixes it. Apple exist, not for one or two special cases, but for the wider community. Fixing everyone's dislikes, or annoyances, is like giving someone with adhd an abacus.

 

[appleinsiderbro]

I downgraded to Sequoia. Some people don't understand what is wrong with Tahoe, that's fine. For me it was just too much of a bad design and really what I feel is neglect. Frankly I don't know what is going on in the minds of the Designers and Execs.
I will wait and see what comes out at WWDC. If I feel there is still caring I will continue using Mac, otherwise I am out. Using Macs since 1999.

 

[maflynn]

Some people don't understand what is wrong with Tahoe

I don't think its lack of knowledge, ignorance or failing to grasp something but rather there are folks who disagree with the idea of it being a poor design, because their practical experience in using Tahoe has been positive. That largely describes me. I make no bones that there are some rough edges, and questionable design choices, but you can say that with every OS (MacOS/Windows/Linux).

You're experience in using Tahoe is negative, which doesn't mean that Tahoe is objectively wrong and we the unwashed masses haven't realized how bad it is. Its more subjective, for many of use, it just works

Using Macs since 1999.

I see this sort of comment often here and in reddit as a way to say someone's opinion carries more weight or is more knowledgeable. Your length of use on Macs doesn't play in to how Tahoe is or isn't very good.

 

[GigabitEthernet]

I don't think its lack of knowledge, ignorance or failing to grasp something but rather there are folks who disagree with the idea of it being a poor design, because their practical experience in using Tahoe has been positive. That largely describes me. I make no bones that there are some rough edges, and questionable design choices, but you can say that with every OS (MacOS/Windows/Linux).

You're experience in using Tahoe is negative, which doesn't mean that Tahoe is objectively wrong and we the unwashed masses haven't realized how bad it is. Its more subjective, for many of use, it just works


I see this sort of comment often here and in reddit as a way to say someone's opinion carries more weight or is more knowledgeable. Your length of use on Macs doesn't play in to how Tahoe is or isn't very good.

But what was the need for the UI change? The thing I have asked many times is, the OS worked fine before, why did we need to change the UI? Was anyone calling for a UI change?

When iOS 7 came out, it was obvious the OS was looking increasingly old (and if you look at it today, whilst I like some of the principles, does look terribly dated). But I am not seeing that this time, it's just change for the sake of it.

What was the actual point?

 

[appleinsiderbro]

the unwashed masses haven't realized how bad it is

😉👍

 

[maflynn]

But what was the need for the UI change?

Why did apple need to change the Aqua UI?

All products get refreshed otherwise they feel old and stale and people's perceptions changes, Apple wants to be known to be a leader in computing and they chose to update the UI

 

[maflynn]

What was the actual point?

My point is that people's complaints are not facts, but rather opinions and if one person who hates Tahoe doesn't mean everyone should. The other member posted that we who don't hate Tahoe just don't understand why its so bad. That's just a misinformed perspective.

 

[ThomasJL]

I’ve been using macOS daily for decades, across both Intel and Apple Silicon eras, and I don’t say this lightly… macOS Tahoe represents a noticeable regression in basic usability and visual design discipline.

View attachment 2596425

This screenshot is a simple but telling example. In the Messages app, Dark Mode, macOS renders white text on a very light background, resulting in insufficient contrast and reduced legibility. This isn’t an edge case or an obscure preference setting... it’s a direct violation of long-established usability and accessibility principles.

At a minimum, Apple should be meeting:

• WCAG contrast guidelines
• Clear foreground/background separation
• Predictable visual hierarchies across light and dark modes

Instead, Tahoe feels increasingly inconsistent, as if visual polish is being prioritized over functional clarity. Dark Mode, in particular, seems treated as a skin rather than a first-class design system... leading to situations where text becomes harder to read precisely when users choose Dark Mode to reduce eye strain.

This issue isn’t isolated. Across Tahoe, there’s a growing pattern of:

• Low-contrast UI elements
• Ambiguous visual cues
• Excessive translucency that undermines readability
• Visual effects competing with clarity

Apple used to be the company that understood that good design is invisible… that it gets out of the way. Lately, macOS feels like it’s drifting toward aesthetics-first decisions that ignore real-world usage and professional workflows.

If Apple wants to continue positioning macOS as a productivity-first OS, these basics need to be addressed. Visual consistency, contrast, and legibility are not subjective preferences... they’re foundational to usable software.

Curious if others are seeing the same pattern in Tahoe, especially those running Dark Mode full-time.

All of that is precisely why Apple needs to rehire Scott Forstall and revert back to the exact same skeuomorphic design that was used in Mac OS X Mountain Lion. Apple's skeuomorphism in Mac OS X Mountain Lion was the computer industry's pinnacle in terms of user-friendly design. Flat design has been a disaster in terms of user-friendliness, and that is true of all flat design variants such as neumorphism and glassmorphism.

 

[whatnot]

My point is that people's complaints are not facts, but rather opinions and if one person who hates Tahoe doesn't mean everyone should. The other member posted that we who don't hate Tahoe just don't understand why its so bad. That's just a misinformed perspective.

'informed perspective' merry-go-round: I like it = it's perfect = fact; you hate it = that's just your opinion, so get on with the program.

can you point us to 999 threads screaming 'I can't get any work done without all the iPhone-y gimmicks in OS!' before it was forced on everyone? why am I not surprised..

 

[Tig_one]

My point is that people's complaints are not facts, but rather opinions and if one person who hates Tahoe doesn't mean everyone should. The other member posted that we who don't hate Tahoe just don't understand why its so bad. That's just a misinformed perspective.

Yea this one below is a great opinion too.

More "opinions"