macOS 27 Golden Gate: Everything New on the Mac This Fall

Apple has previewed macOS 27 Golden Gate, the next major release for the Mac, headlined by an all new Siri AI powered by Apple Intelligence.

The update is set to arrive this fall, with Siri AI itself coming to English speakers later in the year.

The preview spans a redesigned Siri experience, deeper Apple Intelligence features inside everyday apps, an expanded set of child safety tools, and a long list of system level refinements.

Here is a breakdown of what Apple has announced so far.

Siri AI

The centerpiece of Golden Gate is a reworked Siri that Apple is now calling Siri AI. According to Apple, it is a conversational assistant powered by Apple Intelligence, capable of richer answers, natural conversations, and tasks that the older Siri could not handle.

Siri AI will be available in beta later this year, in English to start. Apple notes it requires an Apple Intelligence enabled device and that it will not initially be available in the EU on iOS and iPadOS.

Natural conversations

Users can type or talk to Siri AI and hold a back and forth exchange rather than issuing one off commands. Apple says you can ask open ended questions, brainstorm ideas for work or creative projects, and keep a conversation going. When you search in Spotlight, "Ask Siri" can now appear as the top hit.

Personal context

Siri AI can surface results drawn from your own device. Apple gives examples such as finding a photo from years ago, locating an email buried in an inbox, or pulling up a saved note, all by asking in plain language.

Actions in more apps

Siri AI can take actions in apps including Messages, Music, and Reminders based on what you are doing at the time. Apple's examples include editing a message you just sent or adding a song from a show you are watching to a workout playlist.

World knowledge

Beyond the contents of your Mac, Siri AI can reference information online to answer questions on a wide range of topics. Apple frames this as useful for research, interview prep, or general curiosity.

A dedicated Siri app

Golden Gate introduces a standalone Siri app that collects conversations in one place. Apple says you can start a question on your Mac and continue it on your iPhone, pin conversations for quick access, or begin a new one.

Write with Siri

Siri AI can generate a draft from scratch or give feedback on existing text in most places where you type. In Messages and Mail, Apple says Siri AI can match your writing style, punctuation, and tone.

Customizable voice

Users can choose a Siri voice and then adjust its expressivity and pace. This feature has its own hardware requirements, which are detailed in the compatibility section below.

Apple Intelligence in apps

Alongside Siri AI, Apple is extending Apple Intelligence further into the apps people use most. These features are available in beta and carry their own device and language requirements.

Safari

Safari can automatically group tabs into topics so related pages are easier to find. A new Notify Me feature monitors a page for changes, such as a price change or a restock, and alerts you when it is time to act.

Passwords

The Passwords app can flag weak or compromised passwords and update them on your behalf.

Photos

Apple is adding several intelligent editing tools. Spatial Reframing lets you reframe a photo after it has been taken, the Extend tool expands a shot beyond its original borders, and an enhanced Clean Up tool can remove larger objects.

Image Playground

Image Playground can now create images in a wider range of styles, including photorealistic ones, and modify or transform images from a description.

Shortcuts

Apple says you can now build an automation simply by describing what you want, with Shortcuts connecting actions across multiple apps to carry it out.

Child safety

Golden Gate brings a set of new and expanded child safety features aimed at giving parents and guardians more control.

Ask to Browse

With Ask to Browse, children must request permission before visiting a new website. Parents can review the request in Messages before approving it. Apple notes the feature works in Safari and other WebKit browsers after Screen Time is upgraded, and that on watchOS and visionOS only approved websites are shown when it is enabled.

Communication Safety

Communication Safety, which helps protect children from viewing or sharing nudity in Messages, FaceTime, and other apps, now also steps in before a child sees gore or violence in shared images and videos.

Time Allowances and Schedules

Parents can set Time Allowances across categories such as Entertainment, Games, and Social Media. Apple says it provides age based guidance developed with clinical and child development experts, which parents can adjust. A Schedules feature lets parents choose which apps are available at different times or days.

Redesigned controls

Parental controls in System Settings have an all new design. Apple says parents can see at a glance how their kids have been using their Mac and adjust access with a click.

System improvements

Golden Gate also includes a range of refinements aimed at making the Mac more responsive and consistent.

Liquid Glass refinements

Apple is continuing to tune the Liquid Glass design language introduced in the previous release. Updates promise more uniform refraction and improved contrast for better readability, along with uniform toolbars, edge to edge sidebars, and updated window shapes and menu bar icons. A new slider lets you adjust how Liquid Glass looks, from ultraclear to fully tinted.

Faster performance

Apple cites quicker AirDrop transfers, faster network file browsing, and speedier loading of start page content in Safari.

Better Mail search

A new ranking system in Mail is designed to bring the most relevant results to the top, even when a message is buried deep in an inbox.

And so much more

Apple lists a number of additional features arriving in Golden Gate:

• Accessibility. VoiceOver gains new abilities for understanding onscreen content, including richer image descriptions. A new captioning feature can automatically generate synced subtitles for any video and translate existing captions into other languages.
• Calendar. You can add and edit events from a description, and editing that description adjusts the event details.
• Ultrawide display support. Higher resolutions are now possible on ultrawide displays, including 5K at 120Hz, and display arrangements are preserved between sessions.
• iCloud Shared Albums. It is easier for friends and family on Android or Windows to join and contribute on iCloud.com, with added support for full resolution sharing and new ways to filter and react to photos.
• Suggestions. Messages and Mail can suggest quick actions based on conversation context, such as adding a calendar event or searching for a photo. Coming in English.
• Call Context. When calling a business, Call Context can surface relevant information from your apps, such as a confirmation code from Mail. Coming in English.
• Enhanced Flyover in Maps. Flyover combines aerial imagery with Visual Intelligence models to render detail down to architectural fixtures and the shapes of individual trees.
• Swipe down to refresh. Apps including Safari, Mail, News, Podcasts, and Calendar support a swipe down gesture to refresh content.
• Video podcasts. An updated experience lets you switch between watching and listening to shows.

Compatibility

Apple lists the following Mac models as compatible with macOS 27:

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

Some features carry higher requirements than the base compatibility list.

Apple Intelligence requires a Mac with an M1 chip or later. Siri AI's customizable voice requires a Mac with an M3 chip or later and at least 12GB of unified memory.

Release timing

macOS 27 Golden Gate is coming this fall. Siri AI is expected to follow in English later this year as a beta, with additional languages and regions to come.

Apple cautions that features are subject to change and that some may not be available in all regions or languages.