After years of incremental tweaks, Spotlight is taking center stage in macOS Tahoe 26, in what Apple calls its biggest update ever. Here’s everything that’s new.
With this release, Apple wants to evolve Spotlight from a simple file and app launcher into a fully-fledged productivity layer across macOS, much like Alfred and Raycast users have used for years.
A faster, more relevant Spotlight
Spotlight now aims to be the fastest way to browse and interact with content on your Mac. It uses on-device intelligence to surface the most relevant files, apps, shortcuts, and actions based on your context. That includes recent activity, daily routines, shortcuts, and even what’s on your clipboard.
File results are ranked and grouped by relevance, and users can now filter results on the fly for even more precise searches.
System and app actions, built in
One of the headline changes is support for system and app actions directly from Spotlight. This means you can quickly do things like:
Create a calendar event
Send an email or message
Start a timer or voice memo
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