Hide macOS Tahoe's Menu Icons

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Reaction to Tahoe Menu Icons

  • Many dislike Tahoe’s new icons in drop‑down menus, calling them cluttered, hard to scan, and visually inconsistent across apps and functions.
  • Some users welcome the icons, saying they speed up recognition, especially when they don’t frequently use those menus or have dyslexia.
  • Several commenters stress that inconsistency and vague metaphors undermine the benefits of icons.
  • There is broad agreement that this should be a user‑configurable option, ideally as an accessibility setting, not a mandatory design.

Broader Critiques of Tahoe UI

  • Strong complaints about “Liquid Glass,” heavy transparency, and large rounded window corners, which some say hurt readability and make controls harder to recognize.
  • Users report difficulty resizing windows and distinguishing UI elements from app content or visual glitches.
  • Some see Tahoe as “generic,” dated, or reminiscent of old Linux/KDE themes, with sloppy details (e.g., dock reflections, mismatched panel curves).
  • Others find earlier macOS versions visually superior and more usable; a minority say Tahoe grew on them and older UIs now look dated.

Workarounds and Alternatives

  • The shared Terminal command to hide menu icons is widely appreciated, though some note it doesn’t work uniformly (e.g., Safari) and may require relaunching apps or sessions.
  • Users mention switching away from Finder to third‑party file managers and enabling accessibility settings like “Reduce transparency” to tame Tahoe’s visuals.
  • Several avoid upgrading, pinning themselves to Sequoia or earlier, sometimes using tools like Little Snitch or beta channels to block Tahoe updates.

macOS vs Other Platforms

  • Multiple commenters say Tahoe pushed them toward Linux (often with tiling window managers), reporting greater calm, familiarity, and customizability.
  • Others still prefer macOS overall, citing strong hardware and acceptable trade‑offs despite UI frustration.
  • Some argue major OS visual presentation should be decoupled from kernel/hardware versions, while an ex‑enterprise engineer counters that tight coupling aids testing and coherence.

General Themes

  • Recurrent nostalgia for older macOS design eras (Aqua, pre‑Big Sur toolbars).
  • Perception that Apple’s design leadership and consistency have eroded, with different teams shipping divergent UI patterns.
  • Underlying desire for more customization so users can tailor UI density, effects, and iconography to their own needs.