MacOS Tahoe 26 Beta 1 Available to Download Now
Apple announced the next major version of MacOS, called MacOS Tahoe, versioned as MacOS 26, at WWDC 2026, and now the first beta version is available to download.
For Mac users who are enrolled in the developer beta testing program, MacOS Tahoe 26 beta 1 can be downloaded right away through the standard software update mechanism, or downloaded as a full package installer from Apple, or even as an IPSW file from Apple.
MacOS Tahoe 26 introduces a new Liquid Glass interface with more transparency and updated shinier icons, along with some new features like adding actions to Spotlight along with the ability to search your iPhone from your Mac, bringing Live Activities from iPhone to the Mac, more Apple Intelligence capabilities, the Phone app comes to the Mac, the inclusion of the Journal app, and many more smaller features, changes, and improvements.
MacOS Tahoe 26 Beta is Available Now for Registered Developers
To be able to access and download MacOS Tahoe 26 beta, you must be a registered Apple developer. This is done by using your Apple ID to sign up for the free developer program at developer.apple.com if you have not done that already.
Remember that early developer beta versions are typically the buggiest and least stable of a beta cycle, and therefore developer beta releases are not recommended for average or casual Mac users. If you’d like to experiment with MacOS Tahoe beta, you might want to instead setup a virtual machine for that purpose, install it onto a secondary Mac, or simply wait for the public beta to arrive next month, since the public beta is further along in the beta development cycle and typically a bit more stable.
Installing developer beta system software is not appropriate for casual users or average users.
Can my Mac run MacOS Tahoe 26 beta?
Hardware requirements for MacOS Tahoe 26 are more strict than Sequoia, and the following Macs are compatible with MacOS Tahoe:
- MacBook Air, all Apple Silicon models, 2020 and later
- MacBook Pro, all Apple Silicon models, 2020 and later
- MacBook Pro 16″ 2019 Intel model
- MacBook Pro 13″ 2020, Intel model with four Thunderbolt ports
- iMac 2020 and later
- Mac Mini 2020 and later
- Mac Studio 2022 and later
- Mac Pro 2019 and later
This list of compatible Macs comes directly from Apple.
You will notice that multiple Intel Macs have been dropped from supporting MacOS Tahoe. MacOS Tahoe 26 is set to be the last major MacOS release that supports any Intel architecture.
How to Download MacOS Tahoe 26 Beta 1
Before anything else, backup your Mac with Time Machine. This is critical since beta system software is notoriously unstable, and failure to backup so may result in data loss. We’re assuming you already signed up for the developer program with your Apple ID, in which case getting the MacOS Tahoe beta is quite simple:
- Go to the Apple menu, then select “System Settings”
- Go to “General”
- Go to “Software Update”
- Click on the (i) next to “Beta Updates”
- Select “MacOS Tahoe 26 Developer Beta” from the list of available beta updates (if this is not available you, quit and relaunch System Settings, otherwise you likely did not enroll the current Apple ID in the developer program)
- Click to “Upgrade Now” for MacOS 26 beta to download and install the beta version
The Mac will download the Tahoe beta installer and automatically apply the update, just like any other system software update. Once the installation has completed, your Mac will automatically boot into MacOS Tahoe developer beta.
Future Tahoe beta updates will arrive from the Software Update settings area as usual.
macOS Tahoe 26 Developer Beta 1 Installer & IPSW File Direct Download Links
The following direct download links are pointing to MacOS Tahoe beta files hosted by Apple CDN servers:
The InstallAssistant package is useful for updating several Macs at once, for installing onto an offline Mac, for archival purposes, for creating USB boot installers, and multiple other purposes.
The Tahoe IPSW file can be used to restore Tahoe beta onto an Apple Silicon Mac, but also to easily setup a virtual machine for MacOS Tahoe beta in something like UTM, Parallels, VirtualBuddy, Vmware, amongst other VM apps.
As usual, we’ll be keeping an updated list of MacOS installers that includes Tahoe, and you can always find the latest MacOS Tahoe 26 installer and IPSW file here.
Aside from the first MacOS Tahoe beta, Apple has also released the first beta versions of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26.
