What to know

  • Apple unveiled macOS 26 Tahoe at WWDC 2025, adopting a new year-based naming system across all operating systems.
  • The new macOS features a significant design refresh, making it more cohesive with other Apple platforms.
  • Two new Continuity features are coming to Mac, including iPhone Live Activities support and a dedicated Phone app.

Apple kicked off its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 today with the announcement of macOS 26 Tahoe, featuring what appears to be the most substantial design change in years.

The keynote, which began at 1 PM ET (10 AM PT) at Apple Park in Cupertino, revealed that Apple is moving to a unified year-based naming standard across all its operating systems. Instead of continuing with different version numbers for each platform, the company has aligned them as iOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26, and macOS 26 Tahoe.

The design overhaul of macOS 26 Tahoe aims to create a more cohesive experience across all Apple devices. This follows rumors that Apple planned to make its design language more consistent across different surfaces and devices.

Among the new features announced for macOS 26 Tahoe are two significant Continuity enhancements. The first allows Mac users to view iPhone Live Activities directly on their computers, bringing iOS notifications and real-time updates to the desktop environment.

The second major addition is a dedicated Phone app for Mac. While users have previously been able to make and receive calls through their Macs when connected to an iPhone, this new dedicated app suggests a more robust calling experience with potentially expanded features.

These updates build upon Apple Intelligence, which was first introduced at last year's WWDC. Apple Intelligence represents the company's suite of machine learning and language model features designed to compete with similar offerings from Google and Microsoft.

The WWDC 2025 keynote also covered updates to Apple's other operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. For developers, Apple is reportedly planning an AI-powered coding tool in partnership with Anthropic for a new version of its Xcode programming suite.

The conference continues throughout the week with developer sessions focused on implementing these new features and technologies into apps and services.