OneDrive for Mac to is Being Updated With ‘Native’ Sync Engine

Microsoft is rolling out a new “native” sync engine for its OneDrive app for Mac that brings better performance and an improved integration with macOS. The company said on its Message Center (via BetaNews) that the rollout is starting in late August, and there will be no change in functionality except for SharePoint document libraries.

The company initially announced its updated OneDrive client back in June, which is when it became available to Office Insiders. “It’s the latest in an ongoing effort to make OneDrive feel native on Mac. Earlier this year we shipped a redesigned Activity Center with Liquid Glass and native dialogs, and the Native Sync Engine is a major step in that journey,” the company said at the time.

Under the hood, this new native sync engine for OneDrive for Mac uses a simplified architecture, which Microsoft described as a “massive improvement.” OneDrive users on Mac can expect a more responsive app that uses fewer system resources, and the initial sync and on-disk state changes should be approximately 2x faster.

For users in organizations still using synced SharePoint libraries, this new sync engine now makes each synced library appear as its own root in the Finder sidebar, instead of nested under a single organization entry. Otherwise, there are no changes to Files On-Demand behavior, and the new sync engine still supports external drives.

For Mac users, the OneDrive client will automatically upgrade to the new native sync engine, and Microsoft expects the rollout to be complete by late November 2026. To check if you already have the new sync engine, you’ll need to open the ‘About’ dialog and see if there’s a (26H) value after the version number of the app