Apple’s new Apple Intelligence system continues to mature in macOS Tahoe beta 2, especially across productivity apps. The systemwide writing tools—for rewriting, summarizing, and tone-shifting content—are now more responsive and better at adapting to different app contexts like Mail, Pages, and Notes.
Siri is also getting smarter. In this beta, users report faster voice recognition, more natural phrasing, and improved handling of follow-up commands. Combined, these improvements demonstrate Apple’s long-term vision: AI that works quietly in the background, enhancing productivity without compromising user control.
Visual Polish and UI Refinements
Apple continues to refine the look and feel of macOS Tahoe in beta 2 with subtle but noticeable interface adjustments:
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The new dynamic desktop backgrounds now transition more smoothly based on time of day
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Finder animations feel snappier, with improved window rendering
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System icons and control buttons in System Settings have been visually cleaned up for better alignment and clarity
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Dark Mode contrast has been further fine-tuned to improve accessibility without sacrificing aesthetics
While none of these updates are major, they collectively contribute to a desktop that feels more fluid and modern.
Core App Improvements
macOS Tahoe beta 2 also brings quality-of-life enhancements to Apple’s key apps:
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Safari loads pages faster and introduces more consistent behavior with the new AI-powered page summary feature
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Notes now better recognizes handwriting from iPads when synced via iCloud and includes improved PDF editing tools
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Mail shows early support for automatic categorization and priority triage, although this feature still appears to be in limited testing
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Messages now syncs more reliably across devices and includes groundwork for upcoming AI reply suggestions
These updates reflect Apple’s broader effort to make macOS apps not just powerful, but intelligently proactive.
System Performance and Stability Enhancements
Developers testing macOS Tahoe beta 2 report a number of under-the-hood improvements:
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Faster app launching and Spotlight indexing
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Reduced system stutter on Apple Silicon Macs (especially M1 and M2 models)
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Improved external display handling for multi-monitor setups
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Fewer kernel and UI crashes compared to beta 1
These refinements make beta 2 feel noticeably more stable, and signal that Apple is focused on ensuring macOS Tahoe will launch as one of its most reliable macOS versions in recent memory.
Still Missing or Inactive Features
Some features announced at WWDC 2025 remain either inactive or limited to placeholder functionality in beta 2:
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AI-powered document search in Finder
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Genmoji creation tools
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Full Apple Intelligence writing assistant in Pages
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Complete Siri customization options
These are likely being held for later betas or public testing in July.
Why It Matters
While macOS Tahoe beta 2 doesn’t bring dramatic changes, it shows Apple is fine-tuning the essentials: speed, intelligence, and interface fluidity. As Apple shifts more of its ecosystem toward on-device AI and personalized system interactions, macOS is evolving into a platform that blends performance with proactive assistance—without sacrificing privacy or user control.
For developers and power users, this beta makes it clear: macOS Tahoe isn’t just an annual refresh—it’s a foundation for the future of desktop computing in Apple’s ecosystem.
