Apple’s second developer preview of macOS Tahoe 26 doesn’t just squash bugs, it adds a small but highly requested feature: a switch that restores a solid background to the menu bar.
The option, tucked under System Settings > Appearance > Menu Bar, arrives with Beta 2 released on 23 June and immediately gives the once-transparent strip the same defined look users enjoyed in macOS Sequoia. Tahoe’s headline “Liquid Glass” aesthetic erases almost every hard edge in the interface, so windows and chrome melt into the desktop wallpaper. On paper, the see-through menu bar looks futuristic; in practice, bright or patterned wallpapers made icons hard to spot and status text nearly unreadable.
Apple tried to compensate with a light gradient, but testers complained the bar felt “floaty” and accessibility took a hit. The new Show Menu Bar Background toggle simply reintroduces an opaque layer while keeping Liquid Glass reflections, striking a compromise between flair and function.
A Pattern of Quick Course Corrections
The menu-bar switch isn’t the only reversal in this build. Beta 2 also “un-flips” Tahoe’s controversial Finder icon, which had swapped its traditional blue-white split for a mostly white face in the first beta. After push-back from long-time Mac users, Apple restored the classic left-blue/right-light gradient while preserving the new glass-like texture.
Taken together, the two tweaks show Apple is closely monitoring developer feedback. Similar mid-cycle pivots happened in macOS Ventura and Sonoma, but the turnaround here, just two weeks after WWDC, feels unusually fast. For journalists and developers who rely on rapid visual scanning of the menu bar, the background option is more than cosmetic; it directly improves day-to-day usability.
How To Try It Now
To see the change, install macOS Tahoe Beta 2 from Apple’s Developer Center, then toggle the new setting. Because it lives alongside accent-color and scroll-bar options, you can switch back to full transparency whenever a wallpaper suits it. Apple says a public beta is still on track for July, and the final release of macOS Tahoe should arrive this fall alongside iOS 26 and new Macs.
While the background toggle may seem minor, it underscores a larger truth: even in Apple’s boldest visual overhaul since Big Sur, legacy design cues remain important. By letting users blend, or separate, interface chrome from their desktop, Tahoe now feels both modern and considerate of the workflows polished over decades of macOS evolution.