Last Year on My Mac: Look Back in Disbelief

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reaction to Tahoe / Liquid Glass

  • Strong consensus in the thread that macOS 26 “Tahoe” and the Liquid Glass aesthetic are major regressions in visual design and usability.
  • Complaints center on excessive translucency, rounded “squircle” containers inside already-rounded windows, and a childish, “movie prop” look.
  • Many see it as Apple’s “Vista moment” and the worst macOS release in decades.

Readability, UX & Accessibility

  • Users report poor contrast, reduced information density, and harder-to-read text, particularly in Photos, Finder, and Settings.
  • Accessibility is seen as a major casualty: long‑standing guidelines around affordances, hierarchy, and focus are being ignored, often by Apple’s own apps.
  • Power users describe UI as “sticky” and slow, with animations and jiggles that put chrome ahead of content.
  • Some mitigate issues by enabling “Reduce Transparency,” “High Contrast,” and reduced motion, but these cause their own rendering glitches.

Stability, Performance & Resource Use

  • Numerous reports of serious bugs: Spotlight lag and mis-selection, Safari and Messages glitches, iCloud tab/Reading List corruption, UI freezes, and camera/Photos flakiness on iOS.
  • Several note fans running more often, worse battery life on both macOS and iOS, and generally “jankier” feel compared to M1-era releases.
  • People are especially frustrated that they can’t officially downgrade, despite older versions still being security‑supported.

Product Strategy, Leadership & Cadence

  • Many blame annual release cycles and leadership that prioritizes visible change over polish; earlier OS X versions with longer cycles are praised as more deliberate.
  • SwiftUI and “design from data models” are criticized for producing long, flat, confusing settings lists instead of user‑centric layouts.
  • Some argue Liquid Glass is driven by VisionOS / future AR glasses needs (transparency, visual continuity), not Mac users’ needs.
  • Departure of the design lead is seen by some as hopeful, but others think the underlying culture and incentives are the real problem.

Other Apple Platforms

  • iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 draw similar ire: more taps for common tasks, awkward Safari tab UI, broken multitasking changes on iPad, and very buggy notifications and keyboard behavior.
  • Vision Pro is widely viewed as a failed or niche product whose design priorities are distorting mainstream OSes.

Considering Alternatives

  • Many long‑time Mac users are freezing on Sequoia or older releases; some vow to leave macOS once forced onto Tahoe.
  • Linux is a recurring option: praised for stability, XFCE/KDE/GNOME consistency, and no enshitification; criticized for sleep issues, trackpad quality, app inconsistency, and lack of pro apps (Adobe, music tools).
  • Android is getting renewed consideration as iOS frustrations mount; experiences differ sharply by user and device.

Nostalgia & Minority Views

  • Snow Leopard, Tiger, Leopard, and even early minimalist eras are remembered as peaks of Mac UI clarity and adherence to HIG.
  • A minority finds Liquid Glass visually appealing or tolerable and still prefers macOS over Windows and Linux overall, but almost everyone agrees software quality and bug counts have worsened.