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macOS Tahoe 26 will be released to everyone later this year, and it brings a handful of notable new features to the Messages app. There are new customization options, upgraded search functionality, group message improvements, and more.
Head below for all the new features coming to the Messages app on Mac later this year.
macOS Tahoe 26: New features in Messages
Backgrounds
If you’ve longed for a new way to customize your different chats in Messages, macOS Tahoe has you covered. The update introduces support for backgrounds for message conversations. You can choose from a robust library of built-in backgrounds, choose one from your own Photos library, and even create custom images using Image Playground.
Polls
You can now create polls for conversations in the Messages app. This will be useful in situations where you’re deciding where to go for dinner, what movie to see, what day works best for a gathering, and more. As people vote in the poll, results are updated in real-time for everyone included in the conversation.
Plus, if you’re using a Mac with Apple Intelligence support, Apple Intelligence can detect when a poll might be useful and automatically create it based on context from your conversations.
Group message typing indicators
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