9 macOS Tahoe Tips You’ll Actually Use

While the most obvious change to macOS Tahoe 26 is the newly rounded and translucent Liquid Glass interface appearance, there are also a variety of neat new features and customization options that you’re sure to appreciate easily well.

Let’s review some of the most useful tips for macOS Tahoe that you’ll want to check out, and that you’ll actually use.

1: Try the New Clear & Tint Appearance Customizations

Aside from the new Liquid Glass interface appearance, there are also new customization options for the appearance of icons and widgets. The “Clear” look goes great with Liquid Glass and makes all the icons and widgets more subtle, while you can use the ‘Tint’ option to make the icons and widgets take on any color hue you’d like. This is a fun way to further customize your Mac look and feel.

System Settings > Appearance > Icon & Widget Style > choose ‘Clear’ or ‘Tint’

The effect is immediate in the Finder:

2: Try New Folder Color Customizations

Going beyond the aforementioned tint and clear icon and widget style customizations, you can also specify a color to use for your folders in the Finder, offering yet another great way to customize the look and feel of your Mac experience.

System Settings > Appearance > Folder Color > select the folder color of your choice

3: Use The New Spotlight Launchpad App Launcher

Spotlight has consumed Launchpad and now has an integrated app launcher. While some Mac users miss Launchpad and appreciate some alternatives, others might like the new Launchpad that has been incorporated into Spotlight, and a big part of that is simply learning how to use it properly.

Hit Command+Spacebar to open Spotlight as usual, then hit Command+1 to open the new Launchpad / App Launcher, then either find the app you want to launch, or start typing the name and hit return

4: Use the New Spotlight Clipboard Manager

Clipboard managers and clipboard history are wildly useful features that third party apps have long existed to suit the need for, but now macOS Tahoe brings a native simple clipboard manager, and it’s incorporated directly into Spotlight for quick and easy access. Using the Spotlight clipboard manager feature is super easy, here’s how it works:

Hit Command+Spacebar to open Spotlight as usual, then hit Command+4 to enter the clipboard history manager feature of the new Spotlight. Click the copy/file icon to the right of the item to copy it back to your active clipboard.

5: Try the New Phone app on Mac

MacOS now has a native Phone app that lets you handle, make, and receive phone calls directly from your computer. Plus you can access voicemails, see your recent call list, contacts, and more. There are also the new features of Call Screening and Hold Assist available on the Mac side of things too. The Phone app for Mac interface is a little weird, but it works, and it’s undoubtedly useful for when your iPhone isn’t nearby.

Phone.app is located in the /Applications folder, or via Spotlight.

6: Journal app for Mac

Journal app has arrived on the Mac as well, and it will sync to your iPhone Journal app as well as iPad Journal app, if you let it. If you’re a fan of keeping a journal and jotting things down about your day, this is an easy app to do that with. Many people use Notes for journaling, but why not try the dedicated journal app, since it’s easier than ever and right there?

7: Auto-join iPhone Hotspots if your Wi-Fi Goes Out

If your home wi-fi or ethernet goes out, you can set MacOS to automatically join iPhone wi-fi hotspot so you can continue to use and access the internet. This is easy to enable in wi-fi settings.

Go to System Settings > Wi-Fi > scroll all the way to the bottom for “Ask to join hotspots” > set to “Automatic”

8: Enjoy the New Aerial Wallpapers & Screen Savers

macOS Tahoe includes new beautiful wallpaper and screen saver options, including variations of Lake Tahoe scenery, stunning beachscapes of Goa India, tea leaf gardens in India, flybys through the Himalayas, and travels up the upper reaches of the Ganges river.

Go to System Settings > Wallpaper > Landscapes > and explore all the new beautiful options here.

9: Set Custom Wallpaper Backgrounds for Messages Converations

Setting a custom wallpaper background for significant Messages conversations offers a nice way to customize the appearance of chats in the Messages app, and also offer a very obvious visual cue of what message thread you’re in. If you’ve ever accidentally sent the wrong text to the wrong person, you know how embarrassing that can be, and by setting unique custom wallpapers per contact (or significant chat anyway) it makes it much easier to determine immediately who you’re talking to.

From Messages app > open a conversation thread > click on the person or group chat name at the top > go to “Background” and set your custom wallpaper background for that thread.

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macOS Tahoe includes even more changes and small features here and there, and of course the super obvious visual overhaul of Liquid Glass too. If you have a favorite feature or change, share it with us in the comments, we’d love to hear about it.

And by the way, if you feel macOS Tahoe is slow you can take some advice along with make a variety of adjustments to speed things up a bit, but be aware that some of those tweaks are going to impact the appearance of Liquid Glass interface elements.

What do you think? Do you love the new Tahoe features? Do you have a favorite? Share your thoughts below.