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macOS Golden Gate

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macOS Golden Gate
Version of the macOS operating system
Image
Image
Desktop screenshot of macOS Golden Gate
DeveloperApple
OS family
Working stateCurrent
Source modelClosed, with open source components
General
availability		September 14, 2026; 13 days ago (2026-09-14)
Latest release27.0[1] (September 14, 2026; 13 days ago (2026-09-14)) [±]
Latest preview27.2 beta 2[2] (September 21, 2026; 6 days ago (2026-09-21)) [±]
Update methodSoftware Update
Supported platformsARM64 (Apple silicon)
Kernel typeHybrid (XNU)
LicenseProprietary software with open-source components and content licensed with APSL
Preceded bymacOS Tahoe
Official websiteapple.com/os/macos
TaglineMore personal. More refined.
Support status
Supported
Articles in the series
iOS 27
iPadOS 27
watchOS 27
tvOS 27
visionOS 27

macOS Golden Gate (version 27) is the twenty-third major release of Apple's macOS operating system. The successor to macOS Tahoe, it was announced on June 8, 2026, at WWDC 2026,[3][4][5] and it was released on September 14, 2026.[6] It is the first version of macOS to run exclusively on Macs with Apple silicon and the last version with full Rosetta 2 functionality.[7][8][9]

It is named after the Golden Gate, a strait between the Presidio of San Francisco and the Marin Headlands, which connects the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.[10]

Development

[edit]

The development of the then-unnamed macOS 27 was confirmed by Apple at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 during its Platforms State of the Union event when it outlined the conclusion of the Mac transition to Apple silicon. Apple stated that macOS 27 would drop support for Intel processors and be the last version with full Rosetta 2 functionality.[11]

macOS Golden Gate was formally announced at WWDC on June 8, 2026. The first developer beta was released the same day.[12] The name "Golden Gate" (specifically "GoldenGate", no spaces) was also previously used as the internal code name for macOS Big Sur.[13]

Features

[edit]

Apple said that macOS 27 Golden Gate focuses on refining features introduced in the previous release based on user feedback. It has most features from iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, alongside these features:

System features

[edit]
  • Window border shapes are consistent across applications, reversing a change introduced in macOS Tahoe.
  • The traffic light window control buttons have been redesigned to an Aqua-like Liquid Glass design similar to versions before OS X Yosemite.[14]
  • The mouseover cursor again uses the glove icon found in versions prior to Tahoe but using a different design.[15]
  • Pull-to-refresh is available in Safari, Mail, News, Podcasts, and Calendar.
  • The iPhone Mirroring app supports window resizing.
  • Notes and Freeform include additional Markup drawing tools.[16]
  • Screen recording now supports system audio.[17]
  • Many animations were changed, buttons now animate similar to iOS and iPadOS, top bars in apps now resemble the menu bars from iPadOS, the weather widget in the menu bar now has animation, and the Control Center now has a consistent closing animation.

Removed features

[edit]

Other changes

[edit]
  • Golden Gate includes the same default wallpaper as iOS and iPadOS instead of using a different one like previous macOS versions.[21] Beginning with macOS 27.0 beta 3, 2 real photos of the Golden Gate Bridge were added as wallpapers, being optional.[22]
  • Menu bar items no longer display icons by default, reversing a change introduced in macOS Tahoe.[23]
  • Beginning with macOS 27.0 beta 3, Spotlight was removed from the menu bar in favor of Siri for users that have joined the waitlist.[24]

Supported hardware

[edit]

macOS Golden Gate runs on all Macs with an M series chip or an A18 Pro chip, specifically:[25]

Apple Intelligence features are supported on all Macs, but only those with an M3 chip or later with at least 12 GB of RAM support the advanced Siri AI model, which includes more expressive voices, upgraded dictation and on-device processing.[26]

Golden Gate drops support for all Macs with an Intel CPU, including the Mac Pro (2019), the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, four Thunderbolt 3 ports), and the iMac (2020), ending support for x86-64 processors. Intel-based applications will still be able to be used with Rosetta 2.[11]

Release history

[edit]

The first developer beta of macOS Golden Gate was released on June 8, 2026. The Golden Gate developer betas are available to anyone with an Apple Developer account, without needing a developer subscription.

macOS Golden Gate releases
Version Build Release date Darwin version
Latest version: 27.0 26A428 September 14, 2026 27.0.0
xnu-13432.1.9~1
Tue Aug 11 21:05:27 PDT 2026
Preview version: 27.2 beta 1 26B5086k September 16, 2026 27.2.0
xnu-13432.40.144.0.1~53
Fri Sep 4 23:26:57 PDT 2026
Preview version: 27.2 beta 2 26B5091g September 21, 2026 27.2.0
xnu-13432.40.162~92
Sun Sep 13 19:47:19 PDT 2026
Legend:
Supported
Latest version
Preview version

See Apple's official release notes.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Clover, Juli (September 14, 2026). "macOS Golden Gate Now Available With Siri AI, Visual Intelligence and More". MacRumors. Retrieved September 14, 2026.
  2. ↑ Clover, Juli (September 21, 2026). "Apple Seeds Second macOS Golden Gate 27.2 Beta to Developers". MacRumors. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference returns the week of June 8". Apple Newsroom. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ Clover, Juli (May 18, 2026). "Apple Announces WWDC 2026 Schedule, Sends Media Invites". MacRumors. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  5. ↑ Rossignol, Joe (June 1, 2026). "Apple Shares WWDC26 Wallpaper, Playlist, 'Get Ready' Video, and More". MacRumors. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  6. ↑ Clover, Juli (September 14, 2026). "macOS Golden Gate Now Available With Siri AI, Visual Intelligence and More". MacRumors. Retrieved September 14, 2026.
  7. ↑ Di Benedetto, Antonio (June 8, 2026). "Apple announces macOS 27 Golden Gate". The Verge. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  8. ↑ Hanson, Matt (June 8, 2026). "macOS 27 Golden Gate announced at WWDC 2026 — here's everything you need to know". TechRadar. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  9. ↑ Rossignol, Joe (September 14, 2026). "macOS Golden Gate Marks the End of an Era". MacRumors. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
  10. ↑ Elliot, Matt (June 8, 2026). "MacOS Golden Gate Gets Better Search, Smarter Siri, Greater Liquid Glass Control and More". CNET. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  11. 1 2 Cunningham, Andrew (June 9, 2025). "Apple details the end of Intel Mac support and a phaseout for Rosetta 2". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  12. ↑ Di Benedetto, Antonio G. (June 8, 2026). "Apple announces macOS 27 Golden Gate with Siri AI and revamped Liquid Glass controls". The Verge. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Remember that? We recap the features of every macOS Apple's released". Macworld. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  14. ↑ Hall, Zac (August 17, 2026). "macOS 27 Golden Gate beta 6 features redesigned traffic light window controls". 9to5Mac. Retrieved August 18, 2026.
  15. ↑ Sokolovsky, Mark (June 14, 2026). "macOS 27.0 Golden Gate". Low End Mac. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
  16. ↑ Rossignol, Joe (June 12, 2026). "iOS 27 Adds New Drawing Tool to Your iPhone's Messages App". MacRumors. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Club MacMost Exclusive: Record Internal Audio In Golden Gate". MacMost.com. August 21, 2026. Retrieved September 12, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Warning: Apple Says macOS 27 Won't Support AirPort Time Capsule Backups". MacRumors. June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
  19. ↑ Clover, Juli (June 22, 2026). "Apple Dropping AirPort Utility From the App Store With iOS 27". MacRumors. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  20. ↑ Mendes, Marcus (June 22, 2026). "Apple confirms AirPort Utility app is going away soon". 9to5Mac. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  21. ↑ "macOS Golden Gate Gets New Wallpaper". MacRumors. July 6, 2025. Retrieved July 6, 2025.
  22. ↑ Saini, Rajat (July 7, 2026). "macOS 27 Beta 3 Adds New Golden Gate Sunset and Night Wallpapers". The Mac Observer. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  23. ↑ Hillard, Wesley (June 8, 2026). "macOS Golden Gate menus revert to having no icons by each item, as it should be". AppleInsider. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
  24. ↑ Clover, Juli (July 6, 2026). "macOS Golden Gate Beta 3 Now Available for Developers". MacRumors. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
  25. ↑ "OS - macOS 27 Golden Gate". Apple. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  26. ↑ Cunningham, Andrew (June 8, 2026). "macOS 27 requires Apple Silicon, as Apple draws down the Intel Mac era". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
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