Apple drops macOS Tahoe's icons in every menu, a blogger says
A short blog post celebrates what its author sees as a design reversal at Apple. The author had earlier complained about the practice of putting an icon in every menu item by default, which shipped with macOS Tahoe. According to the post, that approach is now gone in the release he calls "Golden Gate".
He points to John Gruber, who wrote about the reversion back in June. As the post relays it, Apple's new Human Interface Guidelines specifically call out Tahoe's approach to menus as an example of what not to do on macOS.
The rest of the post is the author's argument about what this does for his case. In his original post, one of the arguments he held against icons in every menu was that Apple doesn't do it. Once Tahoe added them, he lost that point. Now he thinks he has a stronger one. Instead of "Apple doesn't put icons in their menus", it becomes "Apple tried putting icons in all their menus, and even they went back on it!" In his words, Apple designed the approach, shipped it, lived with it for a year, then publicly changed its guidance. He finds that more persuasive than a plain "Apple doesn't do this".
He closes with two aphorisms: choosing not to do something you've never done is one thing, while choosing not to do something you've done is experience. That, he says, is the essence of life: learning by doing. He also quips that it takes a big corporation to admit when it is wrong. Those lines are his commentary, not statements by Apple or Gruber.
Key facts
- The post's author says the default of an icon in every menu item, which shipped with macOS Tahoe, is gone in the release he calls Golden Gate.
- He cites John Gruber, who wrote about the reversion back in June.
- Per the post, Apple's new Human Interface Guidelines call out Tahoe's approach to menus as an example of what not to do on macOS.
- The author says Apple designed it, shipped it, lived with it for a year, then publicly changed its guidance.
- His takeaway: "Apple tried it and went back" is a stronger argument against menu icons than "Apple doesn't do this".
Why it matters
Menu design on macOS is something every Mac user sees daily, and the post says Apple has moved away from giving every menu item an icon by default. The author's point is that an argument from Apple's own experience carries more weight than an argument from its past habits: Apple tried the approach in Tahoe, lived with it for a year, and then publicly changed its guidance.
Who it affects
Mac app designers and developers who follow Apple's Human Interface Guidelines are the clear audience, since the post says the new guidelines name Tahoe's menu approach as something not to do on macOS. Mac users who disliked the icon-heavy menus are also affected.
How to use it
For designers, the practical reading is to check the new Human Interface Guidelines before adding an icon to every item in a macOS menu. The post gives no details of what the guidelines recommend instead. The author also suggests using the reversal in design debates: it is a stronger point than saying Apple doesn't do it.
How solid is it
This is a personal blog post, not an Apple announcement. The description of the Human Interface Guidelines is the author's paraphrase, relayed from John Gruber's June article, and the guidelines are not quoted directly. The post gives no version number or release date for Golden Gate or Tahoe, and no reason from Apple for the change.
Risks and caveats
The post does not say which menus or apps changed, or whether every icon was removed, so it should not be read as a full rollback. The lines about corporations admitting they are wrong and about learning by doing are the author's own commentary. The author also had a stake in the outcome, having argued against these icons before.
“Apple tried putting icons in all their menus, and even they went back on it!”
— The post's author, on why the reversal strengthens his argument