macOS Tahoe: 25 Tips, Tricks & Hidden Features

Just when we thought we’d settled into Sequoia, Apple dropped its most radical visual overhaul in years: macOS 26 Tahoe.

Named after the serene alpine lake, Tahoe brings a design language Apple calls “Liquid Glass.” It’s airy, translucent, and looks like it was plucked straight out of a sci-fi movie. But beyond the eye candy, there are serious productivity features and hidden tricks worth knowing.

Here are 25 tips and hidden features to master macOS Tahoe.

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The Liquid Glass Visual Overhaul

1. Understand What Changed

Liquid Glass isn’t just a coat of paint. The entire interface now uses:

• Translucent materials — Windows show hints of what’s behind them
• Dynamic reflections — UI elements reflect light based on your wallpaper
• Depth layers — Active windows feel “closer” to you
• Continuous curves — Rounded corners everywhere, inspired by visionOS

The effect is stunning on Retina displays, but can be distracting if you’re not used to it.

2. Reduce Transparency (If It’s Too Much)

Not everyone loves the glass effect. If you find it distracting or your Mac feels sluggish:

System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Reduce Transparency

This makes windows more solid and opaque. It also improves performance on older Macs by reducing GPU load.

3. Customize the Theme Color

Tahoe’s Liquid Glass reflects your theme color more prominently than before. In Tahoe, “Accent Color” has been renamed to just “Color” in the redesigned Appearance settings:

System Settings > Appearance > Color

Try different colors with your wallpaper — some combinations look stunning with the new transparency effects. There’s also a separate Text highlight color option now, so you can make selected text a different shade from buttons and menus.

4. Use Dark Mode with Liquid Glass

The Liquid Glass effect looks completely different in Dark Mode. The translucency shows darker, moodier backgrounds through the windows.

System Settings > Appearance > Dark

Or use Auto to switch based on time of day.

5. Change Your Wallpaper Strategically

Your wallpaper now affects the entire look of the OS. Liquid Glass tints windows based on the colors behind them.

• Solid colors — Clean, consistent window tints
• Gradients — Windows change tint as you move them
• Dynamic wallpapers — The whole OS shifts throughout the day

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Apple Intelligence & the Upcoming LLM Siri

6. Enable Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence powers many of Tahoe’s smartest features. Make sure it’s enabled:

System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Apple Intelligence

This requires an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or later). Basic features like Writing Tools and notification summaries are available now. The much-anticipated LLM-powered Siri — with personal context, on-screen awareness, and the ability to take actions across apps — is expected to arrive in macOS 26.4 (spring 2026).

7. What LLM Siri Will Bring

When the full LLM Siri arrives, Apple has promised complex, context-aware requests like:

• “Find that PDF about marketing from last week and email it to Sarah”
• “What did John say in yesterday’s meeting notes?”
• “Remind me about this email tomorrow morning”

Siri will be able to reference files, emails, and conversations — not just web searches. For now, Siri handles basic requests and integrates with Apple Intelligence for summarization and writing tasks.

8. Type to Siri (The Better Way)

Don’t want to talk to your computer in the office? Type to Siri is much better now:

Double-press the Command key (or change the shortcut in System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Keyboard Shortcut)

A sleek Siri interface appears in the top-right corner of the screen. Type your request and press Enter. No more awkward voice commands at your desk.

9. Use Writing Tools for Summarization

Select any text, right-click, and choose Writing Tools (part of Apple Intelligence). From there you can:

• Summarize — Get a concise summary
• Key Points — Extract the most important takeaways
• List or Table — Reorganize the text into structured formats

Writing Tools work in most apps, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and many third-party apps.

10. Siri + Shortcuts Integration

Siri now works much better with Shortcuts. You can create complex automations and trigger them with natural language:

“Run my morning routine” → Opens apps, plays music, shows calendar, etc.

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The New Phone App

11. Manage Calls from Your Mac

Tahoe introduces a dedicated Phone app (finally). No more digging for your iPhone when a call comes in.

Features:

• View and manage voicemail
• See recent call history
• Make and receive regular cellular calls (routed through your iPhone)
• Call Screening — for unknown numbers, Siri asks who’s calling and why, then shows a live transcription so you can decide whether to pick up
• Hold Assist — AI monitors hold music and alerts you when a human picks up
• Send calls to voicemail with a tap

12. Visual Voicemail on Mac

The Phone app includes visual voicemail. Play, delete, or transcribe voicemails directly on your Mac without touching your iPhone.

13. Quick Reply to Missed Calls

On your iPhone, you can send a quick text reply to missed calls directly from the notification. On Mac, missed call notifications appear in the Phone app, where you can call back or start a message.

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iPhone Mirroring Improvements

14. Drag and Drop Between Mac and iPhone

If you haven’t tried it yet, iPhone Mirroring supports bi-directional drag and drop (added in macOS Sequoia 15.1). You can:

• Drag a photo from your Mac into an iPhone app
• Drag a file from your iPhone to your Mac desktop
• Works with almost any app on either device

In Tahoe, the mirroring experience feels smoother overall, with better performance and reduced latency.

15. Control iPhone with Keyboard

While mirroring, your Mac keyboard works in iPhone apps:

• Type in iPhone text fields
• Use keyboard shortcuts (Cmd+C, Cmd+V work)
• Arrow keys navigate some interfaces

16. iPhone Mirroring Is Wireless (Always Has Been)

A common misconception: iPhone Mirroring has been wireless since it launched in macOS Sequoia. Your iPhone and Mac just need Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on, signed into the same Apple ID. No cable required — your iPhone can be in another room.

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Productivity Features

17. Window Tiling Gets Smart

Tahoe refines the window tiling introduced in Sequoia with smoother snap-to-edge behavior:

• Drag a window to the edge → See layout previews for halves and quarters
• The green zoom button shows all available tiling options
• Hover over a corner to snap into quarter-screen layouts

Keyboard shortcuts:

• Fn + Control + ←/→ — Tile left/right half
• Fn + Control + ↑/↓ — Tile top/bottom half
• Fn + Control + F — Fill the entire screen
• Fn + Control + C — Center the window

18. Focus Modes and Desktop Customization

Focus modes in Tahoe let you filter notifications, apps, and even customize which Home Screen pages appear. Combined with Focus Filters, you can show specific Safari Tab Groups, Mail accounts, or Messages conversations per Focus mode.

System Settings > Focus > [Your Focus] > Filters

Combining Focus modes with Stage Manager gets you close to automatic workspace switching.

19. Better Stage Manager

Stage Manager continues to improve in Tahoe:

• Independent stages per display for multi-monitor setups
• Visual refinements with the Liquid Glass aesthetic
• Toggle via Control Center > Stage Manager (or assign a keyboard shortcut in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Mission Control)

For full workspace management (saving/restoring window arrangements), you’ll still want a third-party tool like Moom or Rectangle Pro.

20. Smart Actions Across macOS

Tahoe combines Apple Intelligence with existing macOS features for a smoother workflow:

• Writing Tools — Select text in any app, right-click, and use Writing Tools to summarize, extract key points, or rewrite
• Remove Background — Right-click any image in Finder > Quick Actions (available since Ventura, still handy)
• Transcribe in Notes — Record audio in Notes and get an automatic transcript, then use Apple Intelligence to summarize it
• Translate — Works through Apple Intelligence in supported apps and via Writing Tools

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Performance & System

21. Background App Management

Tahoe is more aggressive about managing background apps:

• Unused apps are suspended faster
• Less RAM used by background processes
• Better battery life on MacBooks

You can see what’s suspended in Activity Monitor > CPU > (sort by Energy Impact).

22. Optimized Charging Gets Smarter

For MacBooks, optimized charging now learns from multiple locations:

• Knows to charge fully before your commute
• Adapts to changing schedules
• Works even if you don’t have a consistent routine

Check status in System Settings > Battery > Battery Health.

23. Memory Pressure Improvements

Tahoe manages memory better, especially on 8GB Macs:

• More aggressive memory compression
• Better swap file management
• Apps resume faster from suspension

If you have an 8GB Mac that felt cramped in Sequoia, Tahoe may feel smoother.

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Hidden Features & Easter Eggs

24. The Tahoe Screensaver

A gorgeous new screensaver shows aerial footage of Lake Tahoe with the Liquid Glass aesthetic:

System Settings > Wallpaper > Screen Saver…

Look for the Tahoe options in the list. They dynamically adjust based on time of day and match the new design language beautifully.

25. Terminal Gets a Glass Makeover

Even Terminal embraces Liquid Glass:

• New translucent background
• Updated default color schemes
• Better font rendering

To customize: Terminal > Settings > Profiles — explore the redesigned themes that align with the Liquid Glass aesthetic.

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Compatibility Notes

Supported Macs

Apple Silicon (Full Support):

• MacBook Air (M1, 2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro (M1, 2020 and later)
• Mac mini (M1, 2020 and later)
• Mac Studio (All)
• Mac Pro (M2 Ultra, 2023)
• iMac (M1, 2021 and later)

Intel (Final Version — Limited Support):

• MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
• Mac Pro (2019)

What Intel Macs Don’t Get

• Apple Intelligence features (requires Neural Engine)
• Some Liquid Glass animations (simplified on Intel)
• Future feature updates (security updates only)

If you’re on Intel, this is a good time to consider upgrading — especially with Apple Silicon Macs now available refurbished at good prices.

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Performance Tips for Tahoe

If Your Mac Feels Slow

1. Reduce Transparency (Settings > Accessibility > Display)
2. Reduce Motion (same location)
3. Close unused apps (Tahoe is better at this, but still helps)
4. Check Activity Monitor for runaway processes
5. Restart — Tahoe has some memory leaks in early builds

For Best Battery Life

1. Use Safari (still more efficient than Chrome)
2. Enable Low Power Mode (menu bar battery icon)
3. Let background apps suspend (don’t force-quit everything)
4. Use Focus modes to limit notifications

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The Bottom Line

macOS Tahoe is Apple’s most significant visual update since Big Sur, and the AI features through Apple Intelligence are genuinely useful. The Liquid Glass design takes some getting used to, but it’s gorgeous once you adapt.

Worth upgrading? Yes, especially on Apple Silicon Macs. Intel users should update for security but won’t get the full experience.

Best new features:

1. Apple Intelligence (Writing Tools, notification summaries — with LLM Siri coming in macOS 26.4)
2. The Phone app (finally!)
3. Liquid Glass design overhaul
4. Window tiling and Stage Manager improvements

Take a weekend to explore. There’s a lot here, and the hidden features are worth discovering.

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