Disappointment: macOS 26 Tahoe’s new utility icons

Apple’s macOS 26 “Tahoe” brings a refreshed visual language — but not everyone is pleased. A prominent criticism is that many utility app icons are now forced into a gray “squircle” frame that visually shrinks and mutes them, reducing recognizability and aesthetic contrast.

What changed

• New squircle icon framing and stricter shape enforcement across system apps.
• Icons appear boxed in a gray background, making some details harder to read and reducing visual variety.
• Some icons (e.g., Finder) were adjusted during beta after user feedback, but many remain controversial.

Community response

Users unhappy with the new look are turning to community icon packs to replace or restore older designs. Repositories like macosicons.com have become popular for custom replacements.

Sources & further reading

• 9to5Mac: coverage of the icon framing issue
• Apple Newsroom: macOS 26 Tahoe announcement
• macosicons.com: community icon packs

Conclusion: The update is intended to bring consistency and personalization to macOS, but the icon changes have sparked mixed reactions — expect continued debate and community fixes as macOS 26 rolls out.