Early adopters: You know who you are, and you’re probably well into your installation process by now. That’s fine. Although the betas have been mostly stable in my testing, I’ve noticed various cosmetic problems with the new Liquid Glass interface on my iPhone 16 Pro and M1 MacBook Air. (Functional problems, that is; I’m not a big fan of Liquid Glass even when it works correctly.) In particular, there have been occasional slow redraws when switching screens. Regardless, it’s unlikely that anyone upgrading today will find themselves dead in the water.
Enthusiastic users: Those eager to try the latest features but unwilling to tolerate major issues can update everything except macOS within a week or so. That short delay gives Apple time to fix any initial problems with overloaded download servers or show-stopping bugs. However, I suggest waiting longer before updating macOS to let early adopters report bugs that slipped past beta testing. If you rely on your Mac for work, the stakes are higher, and more caution is warranted.
Cautious users: Those who see Apple devices as necessary tools should wait until at least the OS 26.1 releases scheduled for October. These updates will likely address the most prominent bugs that emerge between now and then. Even then, it’s safest to delay updating macOS. If you feel any trepidation about installing Tahoe, wait until macOS 26.2 appears, likely in mid-December. The advantage of waiting for macOS 26.2 is that you can upgrade during the holiday break when you’re likely to have more time to install carefully (after making at least two separate backups) and recover from any problems. For full details and help with upgrading from our friends at Take Control, read TakeControl of Tahoe by Joe Kissell and TakeControl of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 by Glenn Fleishman.
Reluctant upgraders: Even those with no interest in new features should upgrade eventually, at least by the last batch of releases before Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June. After that, the only bugs likely to be fixed are security vulnerabilities, so there’s no benefit in waiting longer. Although you can delay macOS upgrades for up to two years due to Apple’s ongoing security updates for the last two versions, the longer you wait, the higher the risk of encountering installation issues. You generally cannot delay iOS and iPadOS upgrades too long because Apple releases security updates only for the latest versions of those operating systems, along with older versions for obsolete devices that can’t upgrade.
I’ll be writing about the most interesting new features across these operating systems, just as many other Apple-focused publications, websites, and bloggers will. For now, though, these links should pique your interest in what’s new:
I especially recommend the PDF feature lists for macOS 26 Tahoe, iOS 26, and iPadOS 26 because they’re easier to scan than Apple’s otherwise lovely product pages. Additionally, they might be more comprehensive, and I often find that the small features not highlighted on the product pages make the most difference in my everyday use.
I’m definitely in the last group for now. I’ve turned off automatic download & installation on my MacBook Air, my 2022 iPhone SE and my mother’s 2021 iMac to avoid any surprises, and will sit & wait for the fallout from the UI redesign. I’ll continue to manually install security updates for iOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia respectively, so that should keep both I and my mum safe.
While I’ve not been a fan of some of Apple’s UI changes over the past few years, I’ve reluctantly accepted them. But Liquid Glass looks to be particularly disruptive, especially for my mother who is comfortable with her iMac the way it is currently.
Apple seems to have released iOS/iPadOS 18.7 & MacOS 15.7 (i.e., an update for Sequoia) at or just before releasing iOS/iPadOS & MacOS 26 (Tahoe). [Though there is no corresponding update for tvOS.] … While posting security updates for iOS/iPadOS 26, but not (yet, as I write this) for MacOS 25.
Regardless of how long you plan to wait for OS 26 releases, if you’re on iOS/iPadOS 18.anything and/or MacOS 15.anything, you may want to go to iOS/iPadOS 18.7 and MacOS 15.7 already. Just for the security updates.
It is interesting to see that Apple simultaneously released macOS 15.7 and iOS/iPadOS 18.7 at the same time as OS26, including for machines that are compatible with OS26.
The final revision of Sonoma came out a day before Sequoia, so it is not exactly unprecedented, but it does seem pretty unusual to me.
They did the same for iOS 17.7 last year - it was released on iOS 18 day, and was the default install for all devices that could run iOS 18 - you needed to scroll down to select iOS 18 manually, just like today with iOS 26.
I’m still on 17 on my iPhone and iPad, so I guess I’m firmly in the last category Will probably go to 26 after a few bug fix releases though. I am on Sequoia 15.6.1 on my iMac, so will wait a week or so for a 15.7.1 then install whatever’s the latest 15.7.x at the time (it won’t run 26).
I’m a reluctant early adopter because I need to test my apps. I found Liquid Glass in Tahoe to be unusable because it’s so distracting. Everything looks smudgy. With reduced transparency Liquid Glass is mostly gone except for the squircled dock icons.
I only did a couple of bug reports this time but got no reaction on any of them.
For those planning to delay the upgrade beyond a few weeks, I think you should be aware of the possible security implications. Today’s macOS 15.7 security release has 34 fixes, whereas Tahoe 26.0 has 75 fixes. Apple always puts a much more comprehensive suite of security fixes in the latest major version, compared to the prior versions.
This morning (Japan Time) I opened (under macOS 15.6.1, M4 Mac mini) System Settings > Software Update, and noticed that TWO updates are offered there: “macOS Tahoe 26.0” AND “macOS Sequoia 15.7”. Naturally I selected the “macOS Sequoia 15.7” item, and clicked the “Update” button. – 35 minutes later, I was surprised to see a “Welcome to macOS Tahoe” screen! – My M4 Mac mini was actually running macOS Tahoe 26.0.
So my Mac was updated to Tahoe 26.0 against my will. (I definitely wanted to go to Sequoia 15.7.) But I noticed the following:
Other than slight visual differences (icons, buttons, etc.,) the Mac functionality was the same as Sequoia 15.6.1 everywhere.
The free (available) storage space is about 25 GB less than yesterday.
Analog-clock widget can be kept on the Desktop, which is nice (Under Sequoia, I had to move the pointer to screen corner to see widgets.)
To my joy, Apple Intelligence is still inactive, because I keep the System language to Japanese and the Siri language to American English. (so I’ll never be bothered by Apple Intelligence)
So far, macOS Tahoe is fine to me. I just wonder what was the correct procedure to go to Sequoia 15.7 – I might have been absent-minded, but certainly it was a confusing user interface (for offering TWO updates at the same time.)
The other issue is that the longer you wait, the harder it is to find support for problems that occur. I know that a few weeks after I upgrade, I find it difficult to remember how things that were upgraded worked before the upgrade. As time goes on, fewer and fewer people will be in a position to help you.
Just took 45 mins to backup the iPhone, and did the 18.7. Then jumped on the Mac and did the MacOS 15.7 while also disabling Automatic updates for Mac OS.
Do not want to just yet (waiting till I pickup my iPhone 17Pro, case, and magsafe carmount).
THOUGHTS: I have seen popup notifications that next OS won’t support TimeCapsule disks, likely due to the new AFIS image that won’t work on the Timecapsule (based on disk images). However, is it true that Apple won’t allow any Timemachine backups over network attached server (NAS)? And only to a local attached drive (USB-C/Tbolt)?
One thing I’ve run into on previous upgrades – not sure how it applies to this one – is that assuming all your devices are OS26-capable, there may be iCloud-related features that don’t work as expected when devices are on different major OS versions. So if you upgrade your iPhone and your iPad this week and hold off a month for your Mac, it’s not guaranteed that everything will work as it should during that period.
Will probably go to 26 after a few bug fix releases though. I am on Sequoia 15.6.1 on my iMac, so will wait a week or so for a 15.7.1 then install whatever’s the latest 15.7.x at the time (it won’t run 26).