MacOS Tahoe 26 Public Beta 1 Available to Download Now

Apple has started the MacOS Tahoe 26 Public Beta program, available for all interested users to explore. The first MacOS Tahoe 26 public beta build arrives a few days after the release of developer beta 4, which was also updated today with a new build number that matches the freshly released public beta.

Separately, iOS 26 public beta is also available, along with public betas for iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26.

MacOS Tahoe 26 includes a redesigned interface appearance called Liquid Glass that adds shininess and translunency everywhere, plus some interesting new features like the inclusion of actions into Spotlight, Spotlight can search the iPhone from MacOS, clipboard manager, live activities from iPhone on the Mac, Apple Intelligence enhancements, Phone app for Mac, Journal app for Mac, and various other smaller changes and features.

If you’re interested in trying out macOS Tahoe 26 public beta, you’ll need at least 40GB of free storage space available, and a compatible Mac. MacOS Tahoe 26 supported Macs include all Apple Silicon M-series Macs (basically every 2020 or newer model), along with a few Intel Macs (like the 2019 16″ Intel MacBook Pro, 2020 13″ Intel MacBook Pro, and 2019 or newer Mac Pro). You will also need to enroll your Apple ID in the public beta program, which you can here at beta.apple.com.

How to Download & Install MacOS Tahoe 26 Public Beta 1 as an Update

Before anything else, backup your Mac with Time Machine. Then installing and downloading macOS Tahoe 26 public beta is quite easy:

1. Open “System Settings” from the  Apple menu and go to “General”
2. Now go to “Software Update”
3. Click the small (i) button next to “Beta Updates” and then select “MacOS Tahoe 26 Public Beta” from the list of updates
4. Click to “Upgrade Now” for MacOS Tahoe 26 public beta to download and install Tahoe 26 as a software update

Installing the public beta this way initiates the installation right away, just like any other software update. If you’re trying to download the package file instead, refer to the links below.

Run through the standard MacOS Tahoe installation process and configuration, and when everything is finished you’ll be in MacOS Tahoe 26 public beta. You can receive new updates to the public beta through the standard Software Update mechanism.

Download Full Installer or IPSW for macOS Tahoe 26 Public Beta 1

Users can also choose to download the full installer or an IPSW file directly from Apple CDN servers. These can be useful for setting up virtual machines, performing clean installs, creating bootable installers, and much more. If you’re interested in setting up a virtual machine environment with MacOS Tahoe 26 beta, check out this article on setting up a Tahoe beta VM in UTM or using tart for a Tahoe beta VM if you’d prefer to use the command line.

• MacOS Tahoe 26 Public Beta 1 InstallAssistant.pkg
• MacOS Tahoe 26 public beta 1 IPSW

We maintain a full list of all available MacOS installers and IPSW files and also a list of download links for MacOS Tahoe 26 installers and IPSW too, which might interest you.

Apple has said that MacOS Tahoe 26 will be released this fall.