macOS 16/26 release date, beta, compatibility & new Mac OS features

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is takes place on Monday, and that’s when we will learn all about the next version of macOS (as well as the new iOS update, the next iPadOS and more). The new Mac OS version could include some big changes for the Mac, including a redesigned interface.

Apple hasn’t made any formal announcements about the next macOS so far, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors leaking out. This regularly updated article keeps track of all the reports, so you can get an idea of what to look forward to when the next version of macOS is revealed in June and arrives on Mac later in the year.

What will macOS 16 be called?

Well first things first, it won’t be called macOS 16 apparently.

Unlike its other operating systems, Apple attaches a name to macOS. The current name is macOS Sequoia, but as it is version 15 of the software it’s also known as macOS 15. Given the history of Apple’s macOS naming macOS 16 seemed set to be the name of the next macOS version.

Except that a report from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg claims that Apple will call the next version of its Mac operating system macOS 26. This will bring the macOS version into line with all its operating systems, so we can expect: iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26 and WatchOS 26. If this happens, it will certainly be less confusing for everyone: right now there’s iOS 18, macOS 15 and watchOS 11 and we get them mixed up all the time.

But Apple’s Mac operating system is more than a number. macOS also has another name. At one point the Mac operating system was named after Big Cats, but since OS X 10.9 in 2013, Apple has used names that are associated with California.

Internally at the company, macOS 26 is codenamed Cheer, but that won’t be its final name (see all the code names for macOS versions in our complete list of every macOS and Mac OS X release.)

There are some reportedly trademarked names that have circulated in recent years include California, Condor, Diablo, Farallon, Grizzly, Mammoth, Miramar, Pacific, Redwood, Redtail, Rincon, Skyline, and Shasta. These names have been registered by a company that is believed to be a shell for Apple.

But it looks like it won’t be any of those names: On June 1, Gurman reported that the name will be macOS Tahoe, after Lake Tahoe in northern California. Lake Tahoe is renowned for its deep blue water, which Gurman cites as an allusion to the user interface overhaul expected in the new macOS.

Apple

macOS 26: Release date

We’ll get a first look at the next version of macOS at WWDC in June, but Apple’s official release of macOS 26/macOS 16/macOS Tahoe will be in the fall, as is usually the case.

The release of the next macOS is likely to coincide with the new iOS update, which will probably happen a few days after the iPhone event in September 2025. We anticipate the September iPhone event will take place on September 9, so the software could be out around September 15 or 16.

However, Apple has previously scheduled the update to macOS after iOS, sometimes as short as a week, sometimes as long as a month, so there could be a longer wait.

Here is the recent shipping history for macOS.

• macOS 15 Sequoia: September 16, 2024
• macOS 14 Sonoma: September 26, 2023
• macOS 13 Ventura: October 24, 2022
• macOS 12 Monterey: October 25, 2021
• macOS 11 Big Sur: November 12, 2020
• macOS 10.15 Catalina: October 7, 2019
• macOS 10.14 Mojave: September 24, 2018

macOS 26: Developer and Public Beta release dates

• Developer beta: June 9
• Public beta: July 15 (estimate)

However, you won’t have to wait until the full release to try the new software out. Apple will run a developer beta as well as a public beta, so if you want to try out the new features before they are released to the general public you will be able to do so. Both betas are free, though the developer beta requires a free registration as a developer.

The first developer macOS Beta is usually shipped at the beginning of WWDC. In 2025 the WWDC keynote will take place on June 9. The public beta is released about a month later, usually after the developer beta moves to a second stage (beta 2). In 2024 the pubic beta arrived on July 15.

Between WWDC and the official release in the fall, Apple will release beta updates to developers and the public. Anyone using the beta is encouraged to file bug reports using the included Apple’s Feedback Assistant app so that the company can address them.

Learn more about participating in Apple’s beta software program so you can sign up and test the new software as soon as the beta arrives.

macOS 26: Compatibility

• Unlikely to support anything older than 2019
• May not support Intel-powered Macs

Because macOS 16 may feature major interface changes, Apple may decide to make this the first version of macOS that does not run on Intel-based Macs.

The signs of this started appearing a couple of years ago and with Sequoia only supporting recent Intel Macs (see: Intel Macs that can run macOS Sequoia for more information). Apple wants to move any users of these Macs over to M-Series Macs and could use this version of macOS as a cutoff point. It’s unknown if the UI changes depend on hardware found only on M-series Macs.

With that in mind, you can check the specifications of your Mac, then take a look at what we expect macOS 16 to be compatible with:

• MacBook Air (M1 or later)
• MacBook Pro (M1 or later)
• iMac (M1 or later)
• Mac mini (M1 or later)
• Mac Studio (M1 Max or later)
• Mac Pro (M2 Ultra or later)

There is still a chance that macOS 16 will support a selection of Intel Macs. If it does the following Intel Macs are most likely to be covered:

• 2019 MacBook Pro
• 2020 iMac
• 2019 Mac Pro

That means no Intel MacBook Air models and no Intel Mac mini models and only the most recent Intel models of the MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Pro.

If your Mac isn’t supported by the new macOS that doesn’t mean it becomes obsolete. Apple supports the most recent versions of macOS with security updates, so at least you should be able to continue to use your Mac for a few more years before it’s macOS is end of life. Learn more about which Macs are supported by Apple in our guide to how long Macs and MacBooks last and macOS compatibility: The latest version of macOS your Mac can run.

Foundry

macOS 26: New features

• Redesigned user interface coming

Here are some of the new features expected in the new macOS. This list will be updated as more features are reported.

Major UI change

According to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, macOS 16/26 (along with the new iOS and iPadOS) will have a redesigned user interface that is based “loosely” on visionOS, Apple’s operating system for its Vision Pro headset. Apple wants to make its operating systems more consistent across platforms, and visionOS will be the inspiration for it.

Details on how Apple will implement this new design aren’t available yet, but Apple won’t simply just port over the visionOS UI to the Mac and be done with it. It will combine the best of both worlds and possibly allow Mac users to do more (and without a cursor).

Because of the visionOS’s touch implementation, it’s easy to conclude that Apple is working on a touchscreen Mac. Hardware rumors are more prevalent than software ones, and touchscreen capability has not been mentioned about future MacBooks or Apple displays.

Apple

Apple Intelligence and Siri

Apple Intelligence made its debut with macOS 15 Sequoia and Apple is on a continuous development path with these features. However, the Apple Intelligence features promised for Siri in iOS 18/macOS 15 have been delayed and aren’t expected until later in 2025, maybe 2026.

Apple usually introduces Siri updates first on iOS, so this delay means that Siri updates in macOS have been pushed back even further.

Will Apple reveal other Apple Intelligence inspired features? Or reliance on another tool to complement ChatGPT integration? Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote in a late May 2025 report that Apple won’t deliver “any AI breakthroughs” at WWDC.

macOS 26: New app

• New Gaming app
• Updates to Home app
• Updates to Calendar app

Gaming app

MacOS 16/24 will reportedly include a dedicated gaming app, according to a report from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. The App will also be available for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, it is claimed.

The Mac app will tap into both the App Store’s games section and Apple Arcade, and “games downloaded outside of the App Store,” according to Gurman. It will also offer editorial content about new games and centralize everything currently found in Game Center.

Home app upgrades

While specifics about the Home app have not been reported, several reports of new smart home hardware have been made, so it would follow that Apple will update the Home app. However, the Home app is more often used on the iPad and iPhone, so Apple could release the Mac version of the Home app at a later date.

Magnifier app and other accessibility features

The accessibility feature that first appeared on the iPhone is said to be coming to the Mac in macOS 16, and it’s Apple that says so.

In May 2025 Apple revealed some new Accessibility features coming to macOS later this year. Among them are a Magnifier app which will work with Continuity Camera (which lets you use your iPhone as a webcam). With the Magnifier app, a Mac can use their iPhone camera (or any other USB camera) to view their surroundings and zoom in.

Apple also provided details of a new Accessibility Reader coming to Macs later in 2025. This system-wide feature will make text easier to read, by changing colour, font, and spacing.

Other new accessibility features include: Braille Access, Background Sounds, and Personal Voice. Read about the accessibility features coming in the next major macOS in our guide.

Calendar app

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on it and MacGeneration confirmed that Apple acquired Mayday Labs in 2024, makers of the Mayday calendar app, which used AI to “help you organize, protect, and manage your day” before it was shuttered last May.

Further confirmation on a new Calendar was spotted by Macworld contributor Filipe Espósito, who noticed a job posting for a Senior Software Engineer, Calendar Experience. The posting, which was listed on April 29, states that Apple is looking for candidates to join a team that will “reimagine what a modern calendar can be across Apple’s platforms.” That’s pretty much a confirmation from Apple that Calendar is undergoing a dramatic revamp.

Messages automatic translation and polls

9to5Mac reports that Messages in iOS 26 will have the ability to automatically translate messages and to conduct polls. It’s possible this feature could also be in macOS 26, though sometimes Apple releases new features on iOS first and then macOS the following year.

Notes and Markdown support

9to5Mac also reports that the Notes app in iOS 26 will get Markdown support. It’s possible this feature could also be in macOS 26, though sometimes Apple releases new features on iOS first and then macOS the following year.