Apple just dropped the fourth developer beta of macOS Tahoe 26.4 — and at four betas deep, the stable release is clearly close. This one’s a quieter update than most, but don’t let that fool you. A few of these changes have been on Mac users’ wish lists for an embarrassingly long time.
The battery feature every MacBook user actually needed
If your MacBook spends most of its life plugged in at a desk, this one’s for you. macOS 26.4 finally brings a native Charge Limit setting — letting you cap your battery anywhere between 80% and 100% directly from System Settings. Third-party apps have offered this for years; Apple just took its time catching up. Better for your battery’s long-term health, and better for your peace of mind.
Safari’s compact tabs are back — finally
Apple removed the compact tab bar when macOS Tahoe first launched, and the backlash was immediate. Quiet, but immediate. Compact tabs collapse everything into a single, space-saving row — exactly the kind of thing power users build muscle memory around. Losing it felt oddly personal. It’s back in 26.4, and nobody’s going to complain about that.
That cursor bug is actually fixed this time
Here’s a fun one. Apple marked the window resize cursor misalignment bug as fixed in macOS 26.3 — then quietly reclassified it as a “known issue.” Classic. The cursor wasn’t following the actual corner shape when resizing windows; a small thing that somehow managed to feel infuriating every single time. macOS 26.4 fixes it properly, apparently for real this time.
Rosetta 2’s days are officially numbered
You know that one app you’ve been putting off replacing for two years? macOS 26.4 is done being subtle about it. Fire up anything still running on Rosetta 2, and your Mac will now flash a warning — a gentle but firm reminder that Apple is pulling the plug on the Intel translation layer with macOS 27. It’s not gone yet; just very much on its way out. Start checking your app drawer sooner rather than later.
Also coming to your iPhone and iPad
macOS 26.4 doesn’t arrive alone — iOS and iPadOS 26.4 tag along with a few shared additions. End-to-end encrypted RCS messaging is being tested across all three platforms; conversations with E2EE enabled will show a lock icon, though full iPhone-to-Android encryption is still a future update away. MacBook Neo wallpapers are also rolling out to all Mac users — so even if you didn’t buy one, you get the aesthetic.
When is macOS 26.4 coming to your Mac?
Four betas in, a release candidate around March 16 seems likely — which puts the stable update on your Mac somewhere in the March 23 window. Not long now.
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