Skip to main content

macOS

macOS is Apple’s operating system for the Mac. It has been around quite a long time, but in its current form it really started in 2001 with Mac OS X 10.1. It’s built on top of a UNIX core, which makes it very stable, versatile, and great for developers. It’s popular with creators too, as a good platform for video editing and photography. More recently, Apple has begun working to bring iOS apps to the Mac, which could change how MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Pros, and Mac Minis work for everybody.

The best deals on MacBooks right nowThe best deals on MacBooks right now
Tech
Tech
Brandt Ranj, Cameron Faulkner and 1 moreCommentsComment Icon Bubble
R
External Link
Richard Lawler
Apple’s next iPhone, iPad, Mac, monitor, and... CEO.

Mark Gurman’s newsletter runs the gamut of Apple nexts this weekend, starting with rumors of the “iPhone 17e” kicking off an annual refresh cycle for cheaper iPhones, more iterative chip-bump updates for the Mac and iPad starting this fall, and Apple’s first new Mac external monitor since 2022’s Studio Display.

There’s also some succession plan musing around (secretly swole?) CEO Tim Cook detailing why hardware chief John Ternus is most likely, and how the design team that will be reporting to Cook might do so via Alan Dye and Molly Anderson.

D
External Link
Dominic Preston
A MacBook with an iPhone chip.

That’s what Apple is working on next, at least according to supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The more affordable MacBook would use the same A18 Pro chip found in the iPhone 16 Pro series, and pack a 13-inch display and colorful finishes like silver, blue, pink, and yellow.

Apparently Apple is aiming to sell 5-7 million of them too, making up more than a fifth of its overall laptop sales.

A
Andrew Liszewski
8BitDo’s customization software now supports more controllers on Macs.

The company has released an update to its Ultimate Software V2 that expands the number of devices you can customize using the macOS version, bringing it more in line with the Windows version, it announced on X.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission.

An Apple computer on a wooden desk running 8BitDo’s Ultimate Software V2.
An update for the macOS version of 8BitDo’s Ultimate Software V2 is now available for download.
Image: 8BitDo
A
External Link
Andrew Liszewski
macOS Tahoe could finally say goodbye to FireWire.

According to @NekoMichiUBC on X, and a Reddit thread, the first developer beta of macOS Tahoe does not include support for the IEEE 1394 standard, which Apple calls FireWire. Older external drives, capturing footage from MiniDV cameras, and even the first generation iPod aren’t compatible.

However, it’s still several months before macOS Tahoe is officially released. FireWire support could still return, but the last computer Apple released with the port was the 13-inch 2012 MacBook Pro.

Apple WWDC 2025: the 13 biggest announcements
Play

Big changes are in store across Apple’s platforms, from a design refresh to major multitasking improvements for the iPad.

R
External Link
Richard Lawler
Apple’s OS overhaul could bring ‘Liquid Glass’ UI ahead of a 20th anniversary iPhone.

Mark Gurman’s Bloomberg newsletter brings one more pre-WWDC 25 rumor, saying the most exciting part of the conference will be the rumored design overhaul for iPhone, Mac, and other platforms that he says is called Liquid Glass (remember Microsoft’s Aero Glass, and Apple’s iOS 7 shift away from skeuomorphism?).

Adding “transparency and shine effects in all of Apple’s tool bars, in-app interfaces and controls,” he says it sets the stage for next year’s “Glasswing” iPhone design with curved glass sides, slim bezels, and no cutout section in the display.

R
Youtube
Richard Lawler
Apple teases a “Sleek peek” coming at WWDC25.

The keynote for Apple’s next developer conference is only a week away, and the homepage for the event has just been updated with a short tagline, “sleek peek,” while exec Greg Joswiak tweeted out this new animation. We’re guessing this refers to the visionOS-like design refresh supposedly coming for Apple’s operating systems, and not to the “gap year” for AI features rumored over the weekend.

Whatever it is, we’ll be at Apple Park on June 9th to report the details.

R
External Link
Richard Lawler
Gurman: macOS 26 will be macOS Tahoe.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter follows up on his earlier news that Apple’s operating systems will switch to Madden-style numbering by saying the new Mac update will be Lake Tahoe-themed.

With just one more week to go before WWDC 25, he’s also suggesting this will be a “gap year” for Apple’s AI ambitions, with projects like LLM Siri, a true ChatGPT competitor, and an Apple Intelligence-enhanced version of its Shortcuts app still in development but possibly not ready for a preview.

A
External Link
Andrew Liszewski
macOS 26 may drop support for four older Macs.

Following Bloomberg’s report that Apple plans to name the next versions of its operating systems based on years, Apple Insider is reporting that macOS 26 may drop support for several older Intel-based Macs, according to people familiar with the matter.

Unsupported Macs will potentially include the 2018 MacBook Pro, the 2017 iMac Pro, the 2018 Mac mini, and the 2020 Intel-based MacBook Air, which are currently the oldest models currently supported by ‌macOS Sequoia‌.

W
External Link
Wes Davis
Get ready for Apple’s glassy operating systems overhaul.

This year’s rumored redesign for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS is also coming to watchOS and tvOS, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter. In an April subscriber edition of Power On, he wrote that watchOS would only get elements of the redesign “here and there.”

It’s expected the updates will take cues from the look of the glassy, translucent visionOS, which, Gurman writes, is also getting tweaks where they “make sense for a headset.”

R
External Link
Richard Lawler
Apple’s future M chip plans come into focus.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter notes Apple’s push for an AI agent-powered “Project Mulberry” upgrade for its Health app next year, and that its its long-running attempt noninvasive glucose monitoring via Apple Watch sensors is still “many years away.” (Here’s more on why that’s been so difficult).

But if you’re into hardware, he reports new M5 iPad Pros are already in testing in addition to work on 2027-targeted M6 editions with Apple’s in-house modems, and while the regularly scheduled MacBook Pro M5 refresh is “a lock” for this year, a design overhaul may not come until its M6 update in 2026.

W
External Link
Wes Davis
Apple’s latest update fixes a browser security flaw on iPhones and Macs.

A new batch of Apple security updates today that includes iOS 18.3.2 and macOS 15.3.2 might re-enable Apple Intelligence (again), but it also supplements an issue first addressed in iOS 17.2, where “Maliciously crafted web content may be able to break out of Web Content sandbox,” according to an Apple update note spotted by 9to5Mac.