macOS 27 brings UI refinements to fix Liquid Glass complaints, revamped Siri at WWDC 2026

Report: macOS 27 to feature UI tweaks to address some Tahoe design complaints - 9to5Mac

Apple is preparing to roll out a 'slight redesign' for the next version of macOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The update will feature a refinement of the Liquid Glass design language, cleaning up some of the rough edges seen in the Tahoe user interface. This will apparently include tweaks to the use of transparency and shadows across the system, which should address some user criticism about poor contrast when using Tahoe apps. According to Gurman, the Tahoe incarnation of the new design was somewhat unfinished. The macOS 27 follow-up will help deliver Liquid Glass on the Mac in the way the design team originally intended. Here's how Gurman describes the current situation: In fact, the changes to macOS are meant to make Liquid Glass look the way Apple's design team intended it to from the start. Last year's operating systems didn't necessarily suffer from design problems, I'm told, but rather a not-completely-baked implementation from Apple's software engineering team. From the sounds of it, if you hate the concept of Liquid Glass in general, you probably still won't like macOS 27. But if you have specific issues with readability on Mac, like perhaps with the transparency of sidebars, macOS 27 might just deliver changes that make you happy. Outside of the design changes, Apple will also use macOS 27 as an opportunity to deliver software reliability and efficiency improvements. Code cleanup is apparently a theme across the new operating system versions this year. The big new feature will be the revamped Siri and other smaller enhancements powered by upgrades to Apple's artificial intelligence platform.

macOS 27 set to launch with three huge new features -- and no, Apple's not killing Liquid Glass at WWDC 2026

WWDC 2026 is just around the corner, and so is macOS 27. Will Apple get rid of Liquid Glass? No, but according to the latest Mark Gurman report, the company looks set to address some of the key frustrations about it -- all while adding some nifty new features and optimizations to the OS too. With it being quite the make-or-break year for Apple's AI ambitions, Safari looks set to get awesome new tech to automate tab grouping (alongside the revamped Gemini-infused Siri), and there is even talk about prepping the desktop OS for touch. A 'slight redesign' to tackle Liquid Glass problems In his newsletter, Gurman has reported that a "slight redesign" is coming to help address the readability problems that Liquid Glass has caused -- namely the "shadows and transparency quirks." It's been one of my biggest pet peeves with macOS over the past few months, but also one I've been conflicted about because I do actually like the transparency of Liquid Glass giving me subtle context clues of where my windows are. So if we could get better text visibility, improved scroll bar placement and less shadow effects taking over the screen, that would be a damn good place to start. Thoughtful AI usage in Safari Same as what Gurman has been told about test versions of iOS 27, a new "Organize Tabs" button is set to be added to Safari for AI-infused automatic tab grouping in Apple's Safari. Taking the manual process out of figuring out all your browser tabs (and catching up with other browsers that have been doing this for a while), Apple is dealing with the groups for you and "you can choose whether you want the grouping to occur automatically or not." Touch-ready for MacBook Ultra This is the big question mark. All rumors are pointing to a touchscreen MacBook Ultra launching later this year -- it's gotten us so excited that we got impatient and created our own touch iMac. So it stands to reason that with new hardware, the software needs to catch up. macOS may look rather touch-friendly with its iOS stylings, but it's certainly a bit awkward to use in this way. In another Gurman report, it sounds like this is finally the year where we'll see it happen. However, don't expect it to be out in the wild for you to test in betas. Given it's potentially connected to new devices, you can expect the Cupertino Crew to keep this one hidden until the Ultra reportedly breaks cover towards the end of this year/beginning of next year. This needs to be a 'Snow Leopard' moment Remember Snow Leopard? This came after a particularly massive feature-rich version of macOS Leopard -- bringing a lot of stuff to the table while introducing some bloat to say the least. Snow Leopard is easily my favorite version of the OS that Apple has ever launched because it focused simply on everything under the hood. It was a night-and-day difference in speeds and feeds, and everything just felt much more "put together." And it's this feeling that I'll be looking for in macOS 27. An improved Siri looks ready to potentially bring some agentic capabilities, Liquid Glass needs a tune-up, and while macOS is in a much more power-optimized place now with Apple Silicon, there are still plenty of stability improvements to be made. If we get this version of Craig Federighi (and his magnificent hair) on stage in June, then you'll know Apple's been cooking. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok.