Apple’s MacOS Tahoe Beta 2 Lets You Test New AirPods Features
I’m excited about macOS Tahoe. Apple’s annual operating system update is set to introduce a number of exciting new features and changes , including a new design and updated Spotlight search .
Tahoe won’t be available to the public for some time, as the OS is still in beta testing while Apple irons out the bugs. To that end, the company released the second beta of macOS Tahoe this week, and it includes three key features that I’m particularly interested in.
Sign up for the AirPods beta
Speaking of beta testing, did you know that Apple has a beta program for AirPods? If you didn’t, that’s probably by design, since up until now only developers could enroll their AirPods in the beta.
That’s changing now: With Apple’s latest releases this fall, users will also be able to sign up for beta AirPods firmware updates. If you want to test out new features on your AirPods, risking crashes or bugs, you can.
In macOS Tahoe beta 2, this option is present in your AirPods settings. If you open System Preferences > Bluetooth , then select (i) . Here you will see “AirPods Beta Updates,” which contains a consent toggle. Once your AirPods are registered, they will install beta updates while in the charging case and within range of your Mac.
Finder icon has been “fixed”
Apple’s new “Liquid Glass” design has been met with both praise and criticism. But ignoring the love/hate glass effect itself, one change, at least on macOS, has been particularly controversial: the Finder icon.
While Apple’s Finder icon has undergone many design changes over the years, the overall concept has remained largely the same: the left side of the Finder’s face is dark blue, while the right side is lighter. Apple literally flipped the script with the first macOS Tahoe beta, making the entire logo light and the right side dark blue. What’s more, the right side was made smaller, so that you could see the light background behind it. It was a big change in terms of design, and many were unhappy with it.
Luckily, macOS Tahoe is still in beta, which means things could change before the final release. The Finder icon is one such case: in beta 2, Apple restored the Finder logo’s original color scheme. As you can see below, the left side of the face, as well as the background in general, is dark blue, while the right side is back to light:
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Fans of the classic Finder will likely prefer this change, although Apple is still sticking with the smaller right dial. While it may still be controversial for some, I think it fits in with the new Liquid Glass theme while still maintaining the icon’s original appeal. To be honest, I don’t really hate the original attempt from beta 1, and I wouldn’t mind Apple offering multiple versions of its icons in future releases that you can modify based on your personal style. That said, if I had to pick one design right now, I’d go with this one from beta 2.
You can return the menu bar background
Another big design change for macOS Tahoe is the transparent menu bar. For the first time, Apple’s menu bar icons will simply float on top of your desktop, without a specific bar in place. It’s a cool look, but as of beta 2, you don’t have to live with it.
Apple has added a new “Show menu bar background” option in Preferences that brings back the classic menu bar look. If you don’t like the transparent look or find it difficult to distinguish the menu bar from the desktop, this might be a good setting to change:
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