macOS Tahoe vs Sequoia: Should You Upgrade in 2025?

Sep 18, 2025

macOS Tahoe vs Sequoia
macOS Tahoe vs Sequoia

Download Fenn for Apple Silicon

Download Fenn for Apple Silicon

macOS Tahoe vs Sequoia: Should You Upgrade in 2025?

Upgrading your Mac can help or hurt your day. With macOS 26, Tahoe, now out, here is a clear guide to what changes from Sequoia, what stays the same, and who should move now.

What is new in Tahoe ?

A new system look

Liquid Glass brings a more transparent, consistent design across apps and controls. It is system wide and pairs with the rest of Apple’s 2025 platform updates.

Spotlight gets serious

Spotlight in Tahoe adds:

  • Filters by app, file type, folder, or provider

  • Search history for past queries

  • Quick website search from the Spotlight bar

  • Open Safari windows and tabs directly from results

  • Browse views for Apps, Files, Actions, and Clipboard history

  • Quick keys to run actions like send message or start a timer
    These changes make Spotlight feel like a launcher, an action runner, and a search tool in one place.

Phone app and Live Activities on Mac

You can take calls on Mac with familiar iPhone features like Call Screening and Hold Assist. Live Activities from iPhone appear in the menu bar and can expand or open with iPhone Mirroring.

Availability and support

Tahoe runs on Apple Silicon and a short list of Intel Macs. Reports indicate it is the final major macOS release for many Intel models.

Tahoe vs Sequoia, in real terms

  • Design and polish: Tahoe’s UI feels cleaner and more consistent. Sequoia stays closer to Sonoma’s look.

  • Search and actions: Tahoe’s Spotlight adds filters, browse modes, clipboard history, and quick keys. Sequoia’s Spotlight lacks these additions.

  • Continuity upgrades: Tahoe adds a full Phone app on Mac and Live Activities. Sequoia does not.

  • Intel status: If you are on Intel and eligible, Tahoe may be your last stop for major macOS upgrades. Sequoia remains an option if you want to wait.

Spotlight and private file search

Spotlight in Tahoe is more capable, it still focuses on metadata, app actions, and basic content. If you need private, precise search inside files, consider a dedicated tool that complements Spotlight.

Fenn is an AI powered file search engine for macOS that works on device by default, with optional cloud indexing for speed. It searches inside long PDFs, slides, images, screenshots, and even audio and video, and it opens to the exact page, frame, or timestamp you remember. It supports semantic, keyword, and hybrid modes in one place. Find the moment, not the file.

Quick workflow with Fenn

  1. Index your sources in Fenn, for example Cases, Research, or Client Media folders.

  2. Search in Hybrid mode with a phrase you would say out loud, like “where Sarah mentions the indemnity carve out” or “slide with the blue growth curve.”

  3. Open the result at the moment. Fenn jumps to the right PDF page, slide number, video frame, or audio timestamp. On device by default. Optional cloud for speed and scale.

Should you upgrade now?

Choose Tahoe now if you want:

  • The new design and controls

  • The upgraded Spotlight with filters, actions, and clipboard history

  • Phone on Mac and Live Activities

  • Your Mac is Apple Silicon or a supported Intel model and you can test your critical apps safely

Stay on Sequoia for the moment if you:

  • Depend on older plug ins or drivers and cannot risk a change mid project

  • Manage a lab or team and need to schedule upgrades after pilots

  • Use an older Intel Mac and plan to replace hardware soon

See also

Download Fenn for Apple Silicon

Download Fenn for Apple Silicon

Search Inside Scanned PDFs on Mac ›