Terminal in macOS is the most utilitarian app on the Mac. It’s a command-line interface app that most people don’t use, but the 24-year-old Terminal is a vital tool for those who do use it regularly. And its look hasn’t changed in… ever?
But even Terminal is included in Apple’s UI redesign. Apple announced in its State of the Platforms presentation at WWDC25 that Terminal is getting a colorful boost in macOS 26, with support for 24-bit color and the ability to use Powerline fonts. And, of course, Terminal is getting a bit of the Liquid Glass treatment with a new set of themes based on the new design.
Terminal already provides different color profiles, and it doesn’t appear that the enhancements in macOS 26 go to the extent of third-party utilities such as Neofetch (which is no longer in development) that are used to display system info in a fancier way. We’ll find out soon enough if the people who use Terminal will actually care, but it’s definitely an overdue update.
macOS 26 will arrive in the fall, but you can try the developer beta now or wait until July for the more-stable public beta.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor, Macworld
Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He's also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.