The wait is over. If you own a compatible Mac and are feeling bold, you can now install the first public beta of macOS Tahoe 26 and try it out for yourself. Here’s everything new in the system.
First things first: should you install the beta?
You probably know the drill: Betas can be unpredictably buggy. Even if something works on one release, it is not guaranteed to work on the next.
Here’s how Apple puts it on the public beta FAQ:
“Please note that since the beta software has not yet been commercially released by Apple, it may contain errors or inaccuracies and may not function as well as commercially released software. Make sure you back up your iPhone or iPad and your Mac using Time Machine before installing beta software. (…) Install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business critical. We strongly recommend installing on a secondary system or device, or on a secondary partition on your Mac.”
So really consider following Apple’s “strongly recommend installing on a secondary system or device, or on a secondary partition on your Mac” advice before deciding whether to jump on the beta train.
How to install macOS Tahoe 26 public beta 1
The first thing you have to do is enroll in Apple’s public beta program at https://beta.apple.com/. Once you’re done, here’s the step-by-step:
Open System Settings
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