We’re expecting the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) announcement any time now, and it’s likely to be scheduled sometime in June. Excitement is already building for this year’s installment thanks to rumors of a major design overhaul for the Mac operating system. This is everything we’ve heard so far about macOS 16.
When will macOS 16 launch?
In recent years, Apple has developed a neat little schedule for WWDC, announcements, and product releases. If the company sticks to the same patterns this year, we should expect to see a reveal for macOS 16 at WWDC in the first or second week of June. The keynote will introduce all of the biggest new features, updates, and products, making it the most exciting part of the conference for most of us.
From there, Apple will likely announce a fall release date — keeping things purposefully vague so they have some room to maneuver. As usual, the first public release will most likely happen around the time Apple launches its next iPhone and iOS version. Judging by past trends, this is likely to happen sometime in September.
While Apple may announce all planned features for macOS 16 at WWDC, that doesn’t mean they will all come with the initial release. Apple Intelligence features, for example, will probably be part of a “slow rollout” just as they have been for macOS Sequoia.
If you can’t wait until September to try out macOS 16, there will be beta versions released between now and then. A developer beta is usually launched during WWDC alongside the initial announcement, and a public beta should come a month or so after.
It’s a lot easier to join in on the beta fun now than it used to be — just head to the Apple Beta Software Program website and use your usual Apple ID to sign up. The only thing to keep in mind is potential bugs and problems — it’s normal and expected for a few things to go wrong during beta testing, so it’s best practice to install the new software on a secondary device rather than the Mac you use every day.
What will macOS 16 be called?
Apple has always treated macOS a little differently from its other operating systems, bestowing each iteration with a special name rather than referring to it by its number like we are now.
The current OS version is named Sequoia, after the giant tree native to California. Before Sequoia was Sonoma, named for the wine region in Sonoma County, California. And before that, we had Monterey, named after Monterey Bay in California. As you can see, there’s a clear trend with macOS names — but that doesn’t make it easy to guess the next one.
The only rumors we’ve heard so far are based on trademarked names that have been registered by a company some people believe to be connected to Apple. Examples include California, Grizzly, Miramar, and Redwood.
What the rumors say about macOS 16
Apple has been working on its next round of OS versions for a while now but it wasn’t until recently that we got our first big rumor. Revealed by the notorious Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, we now expect macOS 16 to bring some of the biggest design changes we’ve seen in years.
This big revamp will occur across all of the newest operating systems, not just macOS16. The details are pretty light for now but it’s expected that icons, apps, menus, windows, and system buttons will all see a refresh.
Rumors also suggest that the new design will be loosely based on visionOS, the operating system for the Apple Vision Pro. If this is true, it means our app icons could go circular — and as silly as it might seem, that would be huge!
Translucency is also a big thing in visionOS, with see-through menus and windows aiming to create more cohesive interactions. For the Vision Pro, translucency means being able to see more of the world around you, but for macOS 16, it would probably just mean seeing more of your wallpaper. It will be interesting to see if and how that could be implemented.
With design overhauls coming to all of the operating systems at the same time, people are expecting to see more visual consistency between the three. iOS and iPadOS usually look pretty similar anyway, but it looks like macOS might adjust to match the others more than it does now.
As for features, the main topic of conversation is Apple Intelligence and Siri. The road toward AI-powered Apple software has been a bit of a bumpy ride so far, with an extremely slow rollout, EU regulatory problems, and now even legal trouble surrounding Apple’s advertisements for yet-unreleased Siri features. The latest rumors suggest that the Siri updates we’ve been promised could be delayed until 2026 or even 2027 — so it’s unsure whether Apple will mention them at WWDC this year.
The legal suit against Apple right now claims that Apple engaged in false advertising by pushing Siri Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone 16 and then delaying them. As a result of the ads, consumers may have upgraded mainly for these new features and then never received them. If we really do need to wait until 2026 or 2027 for the features to finally come, Apple could fall into the exact same legal trap if it promises the new and improved Siri will come with the iPhone 17 and the new operating systems.
Which Macs will be compatible with macOS 16?
Whenever a new macOS comes out, a few older Mac models fall off the compatibility list. Sequoia works with all M-series Macs and the very last generation of Intel-powered Macs — which suggests macOS 16 might be limited to Apple Silicon Macs only.
This isn’t a guarantee, but it is likely that the oldest generation compatible with Sequoia will be dropped for macOS 16. We’re now five-ish years into the Apple Silicon era and it has made a huge difference to what Macs can do — so it doesn’t seem too unreasonable to drop support for Intel Macs right about now.
However, Apple could decide that it needs to drag the transition out a little longer and keep supporting Intel Macs for a few more years. It could go either way.
