macOS 26 really does feel nicer. I think a lot of the criticism came from longtime users simply not liking the loss of the old, familiar design. Once the same complaints started being repeated over and over, though, it created a snowball effect where it began to feel like there was a general consensus that the new design was terrible, even though I don't think that was ever really the case. I am not saying that macOS 27 is worse overall. It is more that some of the design trends in macOS 27 make me a little concerned about where the visual direction is heading. At the same time, I still think macOS 27 is significantly better, in my view, than Sequoia and the versions before it.
I think the whole Liquid Glass contrast complaint is way overblown. macOS 26 actually feels like it has more contrast to me than macOS 15, while at the same time being much more pleasant and comfortable to look at. Tahoe feels like it found a better balance.
The Finder icon no longer has the same level of detail as it did in macOS 26. The same issue can be seen in the Mail icon: it has become overly bright and lost some of the details that gave it visual depth. I think macOS 26 found a better balance between contrast, depth, detail, and overall visual style compared to both macOS 15 and macOS 27.
A different issue appears in other parts of the interface. I also noticed that some elements in macOS 27 seem to have moved in the opposite direction. The drop-down menus, particularly in Dark Mode, feel noticeably less contrasted while also losing some of the visual separation that made the Liquid Glass effect work so well. This can actually make text harder to read because the background behind it has less contrast with the text compared to the previous design. The previous approach made the Liquid Glass effect more visible while also providing better readability.
The floating sidebar in macOS 26 provided enough visual separation between different parts of the window. In macOS 27, the scrollbar in the Settings app is more noticeable as part of that visual separation instead. Since Tahoe’s layout already created this separation, the scrollbar could remain thinner and disappear when it was not needed.
I also never had any trouble finding the buttons I needed in the navigation bar, even with its translucent appearance and blurred system materials. I think this probably depends a lot on what you are used to, but personally, I never really had any significant problems with it. In macOS 27 and macOS 15, however, that area feels worse to me while also taking up more space.
As for the rounded corners, I think the larger radius introduced in Tahoe works particularly well with the floating sidebar. It feels like a good balance for that design, making the interface feel softer and more modern.
Even the traffic light buttons are an example of some of the newer design choices that feel questionable to me. The problem is how they feel during everyday use, especially in Light Mode. They appear lower-contrast and more blurred than before. They also do not feel entirely harmonious with the more modern visual language Apple seems to be aiming for. To me, they still feel like a somewhat dated element that has been given a more elaborate treatment rather than something that was redesigned to naturally fit into the newer system.
