macOS 27 Golden Gate: What’s new, what’s in the beta & what’s next

What’s New in macOS 27 Golden Gate at a glance

Apple

Here are the top ten new features and changes in macOS 27 Golden Gate.

1. Siri AI: A redesigned conversational Siri that can answer questions, understand personal and onscreen context, access the web and take actions across apps.
2. Apple Intelligence: Systemwide proofreading, smarter writing tools, improved dictation and automatic file and folder naming.
3. Safari upgrades: Automatic tab grouping, webpage change alerts with Notify Me, AI-generated extensions and faster, more efficient browsing.
4. Smarter Messages and Mail: Better search and syncing, contextual suggestions and improved reliability.
5. New Photos tools: Spatial Reframing, image expansion with Extend, improved Clean Up, and better search and organization.
6. More powerful built-in apps: New features for Passwords, Calendar, Notes, Preview, Freeform, Weather, Shortcuts, and Image Playground.
7. Expanded parental controls: Ask to Browse, improved Screen Time, contact approvals and broader Communication Safety protections.
8. Better Mac gaming: Game Porting Toolkit 4 promises significant performance and compatibility improvements for Windows games.
9. Refined Liquid Glass design: Better readability and consistency, adjustable transparency, cleaner Finder windows, and improved iPhone Mirroring.
10. Faster macOS performance: Quicker app launches, Spotlight, AirDrop and networking, plus improved external-display, Thunderbolt and Bluetooth support.

macOS 27 release date: When was macOS 27 released?

• September 14, 2026

macOS 27 has been in beta since it was unveiled at WWDC in June, but the official version of macOS 27 became available to install on compatible Macs on September 14.

Apple released the macOS 27.0.1 update on September 28, 2026. According to Apple’s security releases document, ” “This update has no published CVE entries.”

The next update is expected to be macOS 27.2, which is currently in beta.

Latest macOS 27 Beta – What’s coming in macOS 27.2?

Apple

Development of Golden Gate continued and Apple released the first Golden Gate beta – confusingly named: macOS 27.2 beta – on September 16. The second beta of macOS 27.2 was released on September 21.

macOS 27.2 is expected to arrive towards the end of October.

Apple has not announced any major additions coming with macOS 27.2, but the update is expected to focus on:

• Bug fixes and performance improvements addressing issues in macOS 27.
• Additional Siri AI languages, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish due in October.
• Automatic password changes, a promised feature omitted from the initial macOS 27 release.
• SynthID support for identifying AI-generated or edited images.

Beta software can cause crashes, app compatibility problems, increased battery drain and, in some cases, data loss. If you install a beta, make a full backup first and, ideally, use a secondary Mac, separate volume or external SSD.

Here’s how you can participate in the beta program we also recommend reading our guide to whether you should install the latest macOS beta.

What features are still to come in macOS 27

At the time of the launch of macOS 27 not all of Apple’s promised features were available. Missing features include:

• Automatic password changes: The ability for the Passwords app to visit supported websites and automatically replace compromised passwords was removed shortly before release. 
• Additional Siri AI languages: Siri AI launched in English only. French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish are due in October. 
• SynthID identification for AI images: Apple said support for adding SynthID identification to most AI-generated or edited images would arrive in a software update later in 2026. 

macOS 27 problems: Are there any issues with Golden Gate?

Since macOS 27 Golden Gate arrived on Macs there have been reports in the Apple Support Community of issues with Mission Control and Spaces.

These include:

• Stuttering or delayed transitions: Reports long pauses before a new Space appears.
• Black or missing desktop previews: A black screen may appear when switching Spaces.

French website MacGeneration was able to reproduce some Mission Control glitches.

It is likely Apple will address these issues in macOS 27.2, if not before.

Siri AI: Siri powered macOS 27 features

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Apple’s biggest focus in macOS 27 Golden Gate is Siri AI, a completely redesigned version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence. Rather than functioning primarily as a voice assistant, Siri is now a conversational AI that can answer questions, understand personal and onscreen context, access current information from the web and take actions across apps.

Siri AI behaves more like a generative-AI chatbot than the Siri of old. It can answer questions directly, understand natural follow-ups and solve problems instead of simply directing users to web searches.

At a glance: What’s new with Siri AI?

• Conversational AI assistant: Siri can handle open-ended questions, brainstorming, research and natural back-and-forth conversations.
• Dedicated Siri app: A standalone Siri app keeps conversations in one place and syncs them through iCloud, allowing users to start a conversation on one Apple device and continue it on another.
• Personal context awareness: Siri can understand information in Messages, Mail, Notes, Photos, Maps and files to locate information and provide answers based on your personal data.
• Web-powered answers: Siri can access current information from the web, making it more useful for research, learning, interview preparation and questions about recent events.
• App actions and automation: Siri can perform tasks across apps such as Messages, Music, Reminders, Calendar and Maps using natural-language instructions.
• Spotlight integration: Siri AI is integrated with Spotlight, allowing users to type questions and receive AI-generated answers without opening a browser or separate app.
• Visual Intelligence: Visual Intelligence comes to the Mac for the first time, allowing Siri to understand selected images, documents, files, text and other content displayed on screen.

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• Writing Tools: Siri can generate text, rewrite drafts, summarise content and adjust wording or tone. Apple says it can also adapt writing to the way you typically communicate with particular contacts.
• Improved dictation: Systemwide dictation gains better speech recognition along with automatic punctuation, capitalization and formatting.
• Custom Siri voices: Users can choose Siri’s voice and adjust characteristics such as pace and expressiveness, although some of these capabilities require newer hardware.

A Siri AI contextural popover was discovered during beta testing. Selecting text brings up a small Siri icon offering contextual actions, including Writing Tools, summaries and key points, sending messages or emails, creating calendar events, opening locations in Maps, and tracking flights or packages. However, the feature is not enabled by default and requires Apple’s FeatureFlags system to activate. It remains unclear whether Apple intends to make it available as a consumer-facing feature.

Apple also appears to be taking a relatively restrained approach to AI behaviour. In our testing, Siri avoids presenting itself as human, excessive flattery and potentially harmful responses, while generally keeping its answers straightforward.

Siri AI has launched as a beta, so users should expect some rough edges and continued improvements.

Siri AI initially supports English, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish due in October. Availability will vary by region. Siri AI is available on Mac and Vision Pro in the European Union, although Siri AI remains unavailable on iPhone and iPad in the EU at launch because of issues related to the Digital Markets Act. It is also unavailable in mainland China while Apple works through regulatory requirements.

Which Macs support Siri AI?

Siri AI requires a Mac that supports Apple Intelligence, but some of its most advanced capabilities have higher hardware requirements. Apple says its most powerful on-device AI model, expressive Siri voices and advanced dictation require an M3 or later Mac with at least 12GB of unified memory. Macs that support Apple Intelligence but do not meet those requirements can still receive other Siri AI features, although the exact feature set may vary.

Safari features in macOS 27

Apple

Safari gets several Apple Intelligence-powered upgrades in macOS 27, including smarter tab organization, webpage monitoring, custom extension generation, and performance improvements.

• Automatic Tab Topics: Safari automatically groups related tabs by topic as you browse, helping keep research and projects organized. These groups can also be saved for later.
• Notify Me: Safari can monitor webpages for changes and alert you when something happens, such as a product coming back in stock or a price dropping, removing the need to keep refreshing pages manually.
• Describe an Extension: Users can create custom Safari extensions simply by describing what they want. Safari generates the extension from the text description and add it to the toolbar.
• Faster, more efficient browsing: Apple says Safari uses less power while improving page-loading speed, JavaScript performance, scrolling, animations and resizing of the Start Page.

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Messages and Mail features in macOS 27

Messages and Mail gain deeper Apple Intelligence integration in macOS 27, alongside improvements to search, syncing and everyday reliability.

Messages

• One-Tap Suggestions in Messages: Messages suggests useful actions based on the context of a conversation, such as creating a reminder or note without leaving the chat.
• Smarter Photo Suggestions: Messages surfaces relevant photos based on people, places and keywords mentioned in a conversation.
• Personalized Smart Reply: During the preview at WWDC Apple indicated that suggested replies can reflect your usual writing style and adapt depending on who you’re messaging. This was removed from the iOS 27 beta before launch and hasn’t arrived with macOS 27.
• Improved syncing: Messages should sync more reliably across devices, while failed messages automatically retry sending.

Mail

• Personalized Smart Reply: Apple also previewed a feature in Mail whereby it could generates suggested responses that better match your writing style and the person you’re replying to, but this is absent from the first version of macOS 27.
• More relevant search: A new ranking system prioritizes the most useful search results, alongside improved search indexing.
• Faster and more accurate: Apple says Mail loads messages more quickly and provide more reliable unread counts.

Photos features in macOS 27

Photos has new AI-powered editing and organization tools in macOS 27, making it easier to improve images, find photos and manage an iCloud library.

• Spatial Reframing: Photos will intelligently recompose and reframe images after they’ve been taken.
• Extend Tool: A new Extend tool can expand an image beyond its original boundaries, filling in missing areas when changing the crop or aspect ratio.
• Enhanced Clean Up: Apple’s Clean Up tool is better at removing larger unwanted objects and distractions from photos.
• Better organisation and search: Photos adds keywords, star ratings, improved metadata search and other tools for organising a library.
• Faster iCloud syncing: iCloud Photos can begin uploads more quickly, with an option to prioritize syncing when needed.

Other new app features in macOS 27

macOS 27 also brings a wide range of smaller upgrades across Apple’s built-in apps, with a particular focus on automation, organisation, security and Apple Intelligence.

Passwords

In macOS 27 the Passwords app will automatically identify weak or compromised passwords and, with Apple Intelligence, visit supported websites, change the password and save the new credentials. This could remove much of the manual work involved in updating large numbers of old or leaked passwords, although questions remain over website compatibility, two-factor authentication and how consistently the feature will work. Read: Apple finally got rid of my biggest password headache.

This feature was not included in the initial macOS 27 release and may arrive in a subsequent update.

Image Playground

Image Playground gets a substantial AI upgrade, including the ability to create photorealistic images and make more convincing edits to existing pictures, such as changing colours, hair and other details. Apple continues to apply safeguards around real people, copyrighted characters and distinctive artistic styles. Support for embedding SynthID identification in most AI-generated or edited images is due in a later macOS 27 software update.

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Calendar

Calendar gains natural-language event creation, making it possible to describe an event rather than manually entering every detail. It can also make changes to multiple events at once.

Preview

Preview supports more document formats, improves PDF editing and saves PDF files more quickly.

Notes

Notes gains drawing tools for sketching with a mouse or trackpad, along with digital signatures, Markdown copy-and-paste and links to sections within notes.

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Freeform

Freeform adds drawing tools, collaborative folders and improved organisation, including the ability to sort boards into folders. Full dark-mode support also changes the appearance of the drawing canvas.

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Weather

Weather gets a clearer and more detailed forecast interface, with reorganised information tiles and enhanced 10-day forecasts showing precipitation probability and amount, as well as wind speeds throughout the day.

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Shortcuts

Shortcuts gains a redesigned editor, more automation capabilities and one of macOS 27’s more ambitious AI features: the ability to turn natural-language instructions into working automations.

Thomas Armbrüster

Parental Controls

Apple expands its family-safety tools with Safari’s Ask to Browse, improved Screen Time and Time Allowances, contact approvals, and broader Communication Safety protections. The changes give parents more control over what children can access and who they can communicate with without completely locking down the Mac.

Accessibility, Shared Albums and Suggestions

macOS 27 also includes accessibility improvements, expanded Shared Albums, and more contextual Suggestions throughout the operating system.

Game Porting Toolkit 4

Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit 4 arrives alongside macOS 27 and promises significant improvements for running and porting Windows games on Apple silicon Macs. Early beta testing suggests substantial performance gains. On an M4 Pro MacBook Pro, GTA V reportedly increased from around 106fps to 176fps, while Red Dead Redemption 2 improved from roughly 60fps to 75fps.

The results suggest software compatibility, rather than raw Apple silicon performance, is increasingly the main obstacle to better Mac gaming. Improvements to Game Porting Toolkit could make Windows titles more practical to run and easier for developers to bring to macOS.

Design and Interface Changes in macOS 27

Apple

macOS 27 Golden Gate refines the Liquid Glass redesign introduced in macOS 26, with Apple focusing on readability, consistency and usability rather than another major visual overhaul.

Changes include:

• Improved Liquid Glass: Stronger contrast, better readability and more consistent refraction effects across windows, menus and controls.
• Customizable transparency: Users can adjust the Liquid Glass effect in System Settings, from a clearer appearance to a more heavily tinted look.
• Cleaner Finder and toolbars: Finder sidebars are more clearly defined, toolbars are more consistent, and edge-to-edge sidebars replace some of the floating elements introduced in macOS 26.
• More consistent windows: Window corners, controls and active-window highlighting have been standardized to make the interface feel more coherent.
• Updated icons and menus: Menu-bar and app icons gain sharper outlines, improved contrast and more depth, while unnecessary menu icons have been reduced.
• Smoother window management: Mission Control and Spaces animations have been refined, and active windows should be easier to distinguish.
• New wallpapers and screensavers: Golden Gate-themed backgrounds include animated daytime and nighttime views of the bridge.
• Swipe to refresh: Supported Mac apps gain a swipe-down-to-refresh gesture.
• Improved iPhone Mirroring: iPhone Mirroring adds Control Center access, resizable app windows and support for DRM-protected video.

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Performance improvements and system changes in macOS 27

Apple says macOS 27 focuses on speed, efficiency and everyday usability, with improvements across apps, networking, displays and system tasks. Most of these changes do not require Apple Intelligence.

Changes include:

• Faster overall performance: Apps should launch more quickly, while an optimized CPU scheduler improves system responsiveness.
• Faster Spotlight and setup: Spotlight indexing and new user-account creation are quicker.
• Faster file transfers and networking: AirDrop and network file browsing are faster, while Ethernet status can appear in the menu bar.
• Thunderbolt and Bluetooth improvements: RDMA over Thunderbolt has been improved, alongside more efficient Bluetooth power management.
• Faster Safari: The Safari Start Page loads more quickly, with broader browser performance improvements.
• Better external-display support: New high-resolution and high-refresh-rate modes include 5K at 120Hz, alongside improved display-position persistence, HDR support for the macOS interface and 5K Mac mirroring.

Apple Intelligence powered changes:

• AI-powered file naming – requires Apple Intelligence: macOS can suggest filenames and folder names based on their contents, including in Pages, Numbers, TextEdit and Finder.
• Systemwide proofreading – requires Apple Intelligence: Apple Intelligence provides automatic proofreading and improved spelling and grammar suggestions throughout macOS.

Apple Intelligence privacy: Apple says AI processing happens on-device where possible, with Private Cloud Compute used for more demanding tasks. Data processed in the cloud is not stored or made accessible to Apple.

macOS 27 Compatible Macs

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Apple states that macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with:

• MacBook Neo (A18 Pro, 2026)
• MacBook Air (Apple silicon, 2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro (Apple silicon, 2020 and later)
• iMac (Apple silicon, 2021 and later)
• Mac mini (Apple silicon, 2020 and later)
• Mac Studio (2022 and later)
• Mac Pro (Apple silicon, 2023 and later)

All supported Macs can run Apple Intelligence, although some of the most advanced Siri AI features require an M3 or later Mac with at least 12GB of unified memory.

What about Intel Macs?

macOS 27 marks another major step in Apple’s transition away from Intel. macOS 26 Tahoe was the final version to support Intel Macs, and Apple is now encouraging developers to remove Intel code from their apps and focus on Apple silicon.

macOS 27 will also be the final version to support Rosetta, Apple’s translation technology for running Intel-only apps on Apple silicon Macs. Those apps will continue to work in macOS 27, but will stop working in macOS 28 unless developers release Apple silicon-native versions.

To help users prepare, macOS 27 includes an Intel-app checker in System Settings that lists Intel-based apps used during the past year. If you still rely on any essential Intel-only software, now is a good time to look for updates or alternatives before upgrading to macOS 28.

What happens to DVD support?

macOS 27 also begins the phase-out of Apple’s native DVD support. Apple has removed the DVDPlayback framework from the macOS 27 SDK and says it will disappear completely in a future version of macOS.

Golden Gate may still include the DVD Player app, but it is likely to be the last macOS release with Apple’s built-in DVD playback support. Users who still watch DVDs on a Mac will increasingly need to rely on third-party software such as VLC.