macOS Tahoe Unveiled

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Hey everyone,
welcome back to Tech Between the Lines!

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I'm Between Two Pixels, and today we're
diving into the shiny new world

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of macOS Tahoe 26.

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This is Apple's latest developer beta,

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and honestly,
it's kind of a paradigm shift for the Mac.

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If you missed our iOS and iPadOS 26
episode,

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definitely go check that out too-lots of
crossover,

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but Tahoe's got its own flavor.

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Yeah,

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and by "shiny," he means literally shiny.

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I'm Finn Circuit, and I've seen a lot of
Mac updates in my day,

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but this one's got more glass than a
1980s office building.

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We'll break down what's new,
what's actually useful,

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and what might just be window
dressing-pun intended.

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You've been waiting

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to use that one, haven't you?

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Anyway, let's get into it.

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There's a lot to unpack, from the new
look to some wild AI features and,

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uh, a few things that might make Intel
Mac users a little nervous.

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Okay,

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so first up: Liquid Glass.

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This is the big visual overhaul.

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The whole desktop has this glossy,

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almost fluid vibe now-think, like,

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if macOS and a lava lamp had a baby.

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Widgets are more customizable,

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you can tint them light or dark,

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or go totally clear for that minimalist,

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sci-fi look.

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I love it.

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It feels super modern,
and it finally matches iOS and iPadOS 26,

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so everything's cohesive across your
devices.

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Yeah,

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it's cohesive, all right.

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But I gotta say,
all this transparency and animation?

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It's a lot of eye candy.

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The menu bar's translucent,
you can rearrange stuff,

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and folders can have colors or even
emojis now.

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I mean, I remember when a folder was just
a folder.

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Now it's a mood board.

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But here's the kicker-if you're on an
older Intel Mac,

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some of these animations stutter.

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It's not all smooth sailing.

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True,

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beta 1's a little rough on older hardware.

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But, like,
the icons and sidebars look so clean now.

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It's all about focus-less clutter,

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more content.

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And folder customization syncing over
iCloud?

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That's actually super handy if you're
jumping between Macs.

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But, yeah,
this is the last macOS for Intel Macs.

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If you're still rocking a 2018 MacBook
Pro or,

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like, a 2017 iMac Pro,
this is your final stop.

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Apple's basically saying,
"Time to move on,

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folks."Yeah, and if you're sentimental
about your Intel machine,

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maybe start shopping for a backup.

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Or just keep it as a vintage piece-like
my old ThinkPad.

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Still boots faster than some of these new
machines,

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by the way.

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All right, let's talk Spotlight.

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This is probably the biggest functional
update in Tahoe.

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Spotlight's not just a search bar
anymore-it's basically your command

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center.

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You can do context-aware searches,

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so it knows what you're working on and
surfaces the right docs or emails.

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And you can actually take actions right
from Spotlight-like,

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send an email, create a calendar event,

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even start a podcast-without ever opening
the app.

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It's wild.

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Yeah, "wild" is one word for it.

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I tried the new Quick Keys-like,

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you type "sm" for Messages or "ar" for
Reminders-and it's fast,

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but only if you're living in Apple's
walled garden.

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Third-party cloud stuff,
like Google Drive,

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is hit or miss.

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Sometimes it finds my files,
sometimes it just shrugs.

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And the clipboard manager?

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It's there, but it's basic.

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I mean, I've used better third-party
tools for years.

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But the integration

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with Shortcuts and Apple Intelligence is
where it gets cool.

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You can chain actions, like,
"summarize this doc and send it to Finn,"

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and it'll try to do it all in one go.

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It's not perfect-sometimes it,

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uh, gets confused and emails the wrong
thing-but the potential is huge.

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It's like having a mini AI assistant
built into your search bar.

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Yeah,

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as long as you don't mind being a beta
tester for Apple's grand experiment.

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I'll stick to my old-school Alfred
workflows for now,

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thanks.

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Speaking of AI,
let's dig into Apple Intelligence.

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This is the brains behind a lot of the
new stuff.

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You get live translation in Messages,

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Mail, and even the new Phone app-so you
can chat in,

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like, nine languages and it'll translate
in real time.

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There's Genmoji,
which lets you create custom emojis,

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and Image Playground for generating
images in different styles.

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It's all powered by on-device models,

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so your data stays private.

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Mostly.

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Yeah, "mostly." I'll believe the privacy
pitch when I see the

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source code.

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But I'll give them this-the writing tools
are actually useful.

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You can proofread, summarize, or change
the tone of your emails and notes.

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It's not perfect,
especially with long documents,

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but it's better than the old spellcheck.

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And developers can tap into the language
model for their own apps,

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though the docs are, uh,
a little thin right now.

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It's early days,

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but the foundation is there.

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I mean, we're literally building the
future of personal computing here.

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Imagine what this'll look like in a year
or two,

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once the bugs are ironed out and
third-party devs get creative.

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Or imagine

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the mess when it starts auto-translating
your boss's emails into Klingon.

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But yeah, it's a step forward-just watch
out for the rough edges.

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Let's

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talk about Continuity.

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This is where the Mac and iPhone really
start to blur together.

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There's a new Phone app on Mac,

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so you can take calls, check voicemails,

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even screen spam-all from your desktop.

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Live Activities show real-time updates
from your iPhone,

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like navigation or music,
right on your Mac.

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And iPhone Mirroring?

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You can literally control your iPhone
from your Mac,

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even if it's locked.

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It's like Star Trek, but real.

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Yeah,

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until your Mac drops the connection
mid-call.

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Beta 1's a little flaky,
especially on older hardware.

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But I'll admit, the Wi-Fi sync is
handy-log in to a hotel network on

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your iPhone,
and your Mac just picks it up.

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No more typing 30-character passwords
twice.

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That's progress, I guess.

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And accessibility is getting a real boost.

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There's a system-wide reader that adjusts
fonts and colors,

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better braille display support,

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and even motion cues to help with travel
sickness.

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Plus, background sounds for focus.

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I read about a user with limited mobility
who can now sync ambient sounds

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and device settings across all their
Apple gear-it's closing the inclusivity

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gap in a way that's honestly inspiring.

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Tech like this is why I get so excited
about the future.

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Yeah,

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I'll give Apple credit here.

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Making tech more accessible is always a
win.

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Just hope they keep it simple and don't
bury the good stuff in a maze

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of settings.

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I've seen too many "accessibility"
features that are anything but.

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Quick

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lightning round-Safari's got a new look
with rounded tabs and a refreshed

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sidebar.

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It's slick, but tabs can overlap if
you've got a ton open.

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There's a new Passwords app that tracks
changes,

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but it's still pretty basic.

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And the Journal app is finally on Mac,

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so you can jot down thoughts, add photos,

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or even record audio,
all synced with your other devices.

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Messages gets

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some of the iOS features too-custom
backgrounds,

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polls in group chats, live translation,

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and typing indicators.

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Some of it's fun, some of it's fluff.

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And don't forget the Preview app for PDFs
and images.

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It's decent,
but if you're doing heavy editing,

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you'll still want something more powerful.

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Oh, and if you're into gaming or video
editing,

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Metal 4 and the new Video Effects API are
there,

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but only really shine on M-series Macs.

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Yeah,

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Intel Macs are definitely getting left
behind on the cutting-edge stuff.

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But overall,
Tahoe 26 feels like a big leap-just,

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you know,
with a few beta bumps along the way.

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All right,

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that's a wrap on macOS Tahoe 26 beta 1!

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We've got the Liquid Glass look,

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a supercharged Spotlight,
Apple Intelligence everywhere,

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new Continuity tricks,
and a bunch of smaller upgrades.

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It's a bold update, even if it's a little
rough around the edges right

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now.

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Yeah, if you're on an Intel Mac,

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enjoy the ride while it lasts.

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For everyone else, buckle up-Apple's
pushing the Mac into new territory,

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for better or worse.

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We'll keep testing and let you know how
it shakes out in future betas.

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Thanks

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for tuning in!

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We'll have more deep dives on Apple's
updates soon,

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so stay subscribed.

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Finn, always a pleasure arguing with you.

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Likewise,

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kid.

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See you next time.

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And remember-if it ain't broke,

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don't Liquid Glass it.

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Later, everyone!