Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/ When Should You Upgrade to Apple's OS 26 Releases? Adam Engst As promised, Apple has released the [1]first versions of all its 2026 operating systems, including a few [2]new Apple Intelligence features. Many of you are thinking about upgrading. But would it be better to wait? Let's consider a few broad categories of users. * Early adopters: You know who you are, and you're probably well into your installation process by now. That's fine. Although the betas have been stable in my testing, I've noticed various cosmetic problems with the new Liquid Glass interface on my iPhone 16 Pro and M1 MacBook Air. (Functional problems, that is; I'm not a big fan of Liquid Glass even when it works correctly.) In particular, there have been occasional slow redraws when switching screens. Regardless, it's unlikely that anyone upgrading today will find themselves dead in the water. * Enthusiastic users: Those eager to try the latest features but unwilling to tolerate major issues can update everything except macOS within a week or so. That short delay gives Apple time to fix any initial problems with overloaded download servers or show-stopping bugs. However, I suggest waiting longer before updating macOS to let early adopters report bugs that slipped past beta testing. If you rely on your Mac for work, the stakes are higher, and more caution is warranted. * Cautious users: Those who see Apple devices as necessary tools should wait until at least the 26.1 releases scheduled for October. These updates will likely address the most prominent bugs that emerge between now and then. Even then, it's safest to delay updating macOS. If you feel any trepidation about installing Tahoe, wait until macOS 26.2 appears, likely in mid-December. The advantage of waiting for macOS 26.2 is that you can upgrade during the holiday break when you're likely to have more time to install carefully (after making at least two separate backups) and recover from any problems. For full details and help with upgrading from our friends at Take Control, read [3]Take Control of Tahoe by Joe Kissell and [4]Take Control of iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 by Glenn Fleishman. * Reluctant upgraders: Even those with no interest in new features should upgrade eventually, at least by the last batch of releases before Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in June. After that, the only bugs likely to be fixed are security vulnerabilities, so there's no benefit in waiting longer. Although you can delay macOS upgrades for up to two years due to Apple's ongoing security updates for the last two versions, the longer you wait, the higher the risk of encountering installation issues. You generally cannot delay iOS and iPadOS upgrades too long because Apple releases security updates only for the latest versions of those operating systems, along with older versions for obsolete devices that can't upgrade. I'll be writing about the most interesting new features across these operating systems, just as many other Apple-focused publications, websites, and bloggers will. For now, though, these links should pique your interest in what's new: * macOS 26 Tahoe * + o [5]Product page o [6]Feature list PDF o [7]Release notes o [8]Security notes (75 vulnerabilities fixed) * iOS 26 * + o [9]Product page o [10]Feature list PDF o [11]Release notes o [12]Security notes (26 vulnerabilities fixed) * iPadOS 26 * + o [13]Product page o [14]Feature list PDF o [15]Release notes o [16]Security notes (26 vulnerabilities fixed) * watchOS 26 * + o [17]Product page o [18]Release notes o [19]Security notes (18 vulnerabilities fixed) * visionOS 26 * + o [20]Product page o [21]Security notes (17 vulnerabilities fixed) * tvOS 26 * + o [22]Release notes o [23]Security notes (16 vulnerabilities fixed) * HomePod Software 26 * + [24]Release notes I especially recommend the PDF feature lists for macOS 26 Tahoe, iOS 26, and iPadOS 26 because they're easier to scan than Apple's otherwise lovely product pages. Additionally, they might be more comprehensive, and I often find that the small features not highlighted on the product pages make the most difference in my everyday use. References 1. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/new-versions-of-apples-software-platforms-are-available-today/ 2. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/09/new-apple-intelligence-features-are-available-today/ 3. https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/tahoe/?pt=TIDBITS 4. https://www.takecontrolbooks.com/ios-26-ipados-26/?pt=TIDBITS 5. https://www.apple.com/os/macos/ 6. https://www.apple.com/os/pdf/All_New_Features_macOS_Tahoe_Sept_2025.pdf 7. https://support.apple.com/en-us/122868 8. https://support.apple.com/en-us/125110 9. https://www.apple.com/os/ios/ 10. https://www.apple.com/os/pdf/All_New_Features_iOS_26_Sept_2025.pdf 11. https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/whats-new-in-ios-26-iphfed2c4091/ios 12. https://support.apple.com/en-us/125108 13. https://www.apple.com/os/ipados/ 14. https://www.apple.com/os/pdf/All_New_Features_iPadOS_26_Sept_2025.pdf 15. https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/whats-new-in-ipados-26-ipad8d9d296d/ipados 16. https://support.apple.com/en-us/125108 17. https://www.apple.com/os/watchos/ 18. https://support.apple.com/guide/watch/whats-new-apdb93ea3872/watchos 19. https://support.apple.com/en-us/125116 20. https://www.apple.com/os/visionos/ 21. https://support.apple.com/en-us/125115 22. https://support.apple.com/en-us/106336 23. https://support.apple.com/en-us/125114 24. https://support.apple.com/en-us/108045 .