This MacOS 26 icon strategy punishes Mac users more than developers

Regarding iOS 26, liquid glass and readability have been the subject of many debates regarding the redesign of iPhone software. However, in MAC, the decision to icons for apps has sparked a lot of feelings towards Macos Tahoe users. One change in particular makes using Mac difficult.

From Finder to Macintosh HD

It started with the app permanently pinned to the first position of the dock: Finder. Apple threw decades of precedent from the Macos 26 Beta 1 window when it flipped the normal color order with the blue and white viewfinder face (s) icon. It was soon improved in the second developer beta.

Recently, what caused the uproar was the rarely seen changes to the Macintosh HD icon. In MacOS 26 Developer Beta 5, Apple has abandoned the legacy icon depicting the classic spinning platter hard disk drive in great detail.

It was an attractive icon in its own right, but the metaphor broke long ago when Apple moved to solid state drives. However, with that logic, using classic phone glyphs on phone icons is probably illogical, but don’t overthink this.

To improve accuracy, the Macintosh HD is not actually a hard disk drive, so you probably need to read your Mac SSD or Apple drive. However, you will not vote in favor of modernizing the name, as you risk losing the last official use of the Mac full title.

There are two real complaints resonating with the new Macintosh HD icon.

First, Mac users are confused as to why there are holes in the drive. The USB-C shaped holes make sense, but the three headphone jack-shaped holes are just decorations for details. Of course, the more literal Mac disk icons don’t look like the common Samsung external SSD, they don’t have holes, they’re similar to computer chips.

Another commonly shared feedback is that the drive icon’s perspective does not match the Apple logo perspective. The drive itself is tilted so you can see the top and front, but the Apple logo looks as if the drive is only visible from above.

Certainly, my initial response was “Oh, neat, Apple should sell it as an external SSD”, but in reality, no, the upgrade price for Apple’s internal SSD is enough to discourage me.

Mac users can “fix” the drive icon

However, the situation with Macintosh HD icons is not as dramatic as Finder changes.

For starters, the Mac operating system doesn’t display Macintosh HD on the desktop by default, just like it did a few years ago. This means that only those who choose to display it on the desktop will see it. You can turn it on or off from the Finder Settings panel.

MacOS also allows you to customize drive icons that include Macintosh HD. So you can always save the old icon and switch for nostalgia if your mind wants.

On the other hand, the Finder is always on the dock and cannot be customized by the user.

Some users will see blurry icons

With the exception of Finder and Macintosh HD, the Mac operating system shares some of the discourse of readability with Liquid Glass on iOS and iPads. This is due to the glass layer effect, which is currently used in many of the Apple app icons that are mostly shared with iPhones and iPads.

These icons are visually impressive when blown up, but when expanded to size in real context, the more detailed drawing appears to be blurred. The level of blurry is how well the viewer perceives the icon.

Those with a very sharp vision will probably get a sense of the level of detail in a small size. I didn’t have a great vision, so I’m definitely in the camp that recognizes Apple’s new icon style as a bit vague and seducing the eyes.

The first shot with Apple’s Photo App icon was the worst criminal, but closing the saturation helped me with the recent beta. The worst case scenario for me includes the automatic changes that Apple has made to third-party app icons.

Apple’s grey box strategy punishes Mac users

Apple wants to encourage developers to update their new layered glass style app icons. Macos Tahoe also forces all icons to the same quadriple angle. App icons that use another four row or fit perfectly in a round square shape are placed inside a gray box.

Like iOS 26, Macos Tahoe automatically applies the layered glass appearance to several third-party app icons. The Slack and IA writers are two examples of my dock. Slack could benefit from the same increase in saturation, which seems blurry to me. The change will also occur after the beta period. The Apple Numbers app icon also appears to be blurry rather than retinal resolution due to the addition of an auto effect, but I hope it will be optimized when the IWort app on MacOS 26 is updated.

I think it’s much worse than the original Finder icon or the new Macintosh HD icon for the grey box where the shape of the non-conforming icon is thrown into it. This strategy is to motivate MAC app developers to adopt a uniform shape, but bringing out the embarrassment box on the first day is really offensive. I hope Apple doesn’t ship to MacOS 26.0.

Aside from being visually ugly, it makes using Macs difficult for Apple customers. App icons are automatically scaled to fit inside the grey box, making them difficult to identify when placed in a realistic size on a dock with several other apps. Additionally, gray boxes allow users to visually change app icons sufficiently without the developer’s intent, so users may not be able to easily identify apps visually.

Like the drive icon, the app icon allows users to customize and lose the grey box. I did this on Chrome and Pixelmator Pro while living with my Macos Tahoe at Beta. However, changing to user source and changed app icons is a big question.

Apple apps like Final Cut Pro and GarageBand will definitely update immediately after the Macs 26 arrives to fix issues with Gray Box, but there is no guarantee that by actively embarrassing third-party app icons on the first day, it will force all Mac app developers to comply. Mac users endure the brunt of that punishment.