Apple released macOS 27 Golden Gate on 14 September 2026, making artificial intelligence the central element of its latest Mac software while also delivering a series of changes to Safari, Notes, Calendar and other built-in apps. The release, announced during WWDC26, arrived alongside iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and other operating systems.
The update is best understood as an effort to make Apple Intelligence a wider part of everyday computing on the Mac. That strategy relies on close links between Apple’s software and its hardware, which means the most capable new functions are available only on newer machines with sufficient memory.
macOS 27 Golden Gate introduces a new Siri app and an updated Siri AI system. Its most advanced features require Macs with M3 and later chips and 12GB or more in memory. Apple Intelligence more broadly requires an A18 Pro, M1, or later chip.
Siri AI is available in English at launch. French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish support is due in October. The service will not be available in China or in the EU because of regulatory issues, leaving the rollout uneven across regions despite Apple’s push to place the service at the centre of the release.
Apple has also extended natural-language controls into its Shortcuts app. The AI-powered version can build shortcuts from prompts written in ordinary language. Safari includes a feature called ‘Describe an Extension’, which allows users to create extensions through natural-language instructions.
Safari also gains Notify Me, a tool that watches webpages and alerts users when relevant changes occur. The browser now supports pull-to-refresh as well, adding a familiar gesture to the Mac version of Safari.
Several system apps have received more focused changes. Calendar can add, edit and update events from descriptions supplied by users. Notes now accepts trackpad-handwritten notes and sketches, adds copy-and-paste support for Markdown, and introduces Section Links.
Podcasts gains video podcasts and support for picture and picture playback. Messages consolidates tapback notifications and improves synchronisation across devices. Apple has also included improvements to iPhone mirroring.
Some of the changes reverse an earlier design decision. macOS 27 Golden Gate returns fixed-radius corners for windows and apps after macOS 26 brought in corner radii that changed dynamically.
The update also carries a consequential compatibility change. macOS 27 Golden Gate is the final macOS release to support Rosetta, ending Intel app compatibility on Apple silicon Macs. Apple has not provided a detailed timetable for how the removal will affect individual third-party applications in later releases.
The operating system is compatible with MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and MacBook Neo (2026) models with Apple silicon from 2020 and later. For owners of those machines, Golden Gate combines interface refinements and expanded system tools with a more demanding path to Apple’s newest AI capabilities. The differing requirements for Apple Intelligence and advanced Siri AI, together with limits in China and the EU, mean access will depend on both the Mac a user owns and where that user is based.
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