Apple announced macOS 27 Golden Gate at WWDC 2026, which marks the end of support for Intel Macs and introduces a significantly improved Siri AI powered by Google Gemini.
The new operating system is expected to be released this fall. Siri AI will be available in beta for English users later this year.
macOS 27 Golden Gate compatibility: Apple silicon only
macOS 27 requires Apple silicon, and all Intel Macs are excluded, including the four Intel models that still support macOS 26 Tahoe: the 2019 to 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 to 13-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 iMac, and the 2019 Mac Pro.
Compatible devices include:
- MacBook Neo (2026 and later),
- MacBook Air (2020 and later) with Apple Silicon,
- MacBook Pro (2020 and later) with Apple Silicon,
- Mac Mini (2020 and later) with Apple Silicon,
- iMac with Apple Silicon (2021 and later),
- Mac Studio (2022 and later), and
- Mac Pro (2023) with Apple Silicon.
Apple has committed to providing security updates for Intel Macs until 2029, but major OS feature updates will not be available on those machines after macOS 26 Tahoe.
The most advanced Siri AI features require at least an M3 chip and 12GB of RAM. This excludes the MacBook Neo and all Macs with 8GB RAM.
Siri AI: Gemini-powered assistant and Apple intelligence features
The biggest new feature in macOS 27 is Siri AI, which Apple says uses Google Gemini to provide more competent responses while maintaining Apple’s privacy focus.
Siri AI supports natural-sounding conversations, improved app controls, and the ability to draw on both Internet knowledge and personal context, including on-screen content.
Siri AI includes voice dictation that works across all apps with high accuracy and the ability to compose in almost any app in the user’s voice.
Spotlight Helper reduces the need to open the dedicated Siri app for questions. Right-click contextual menus on Mac and iPad provide direct access to Siri AI actions.
Apple’s macOS 27 introduces new features to Apple Intelligence beyond Siri AI. These include more advanced image editing tools, smart tab grouping in Safari, almost automatic fixes for weak or compromised passwords, and the ability to create shortcuts by describing what you want.
Liquid Glass improvements, performance improvements and EU availability
macOS 26 Tahoe introduced a new interface design called Liquid Glass. macOS 27 improves on that release by addressing legibility and stability issues through new refractions, buttons, icons, a tinting strength slider, more uniformly rounded window corners, and a sidebar that extends to screen edges.
Performance updates include faster AirDrop sharing, faster network file browsing, and reduced Safari start page load time.
Siri AI will be available on Mac in the EU from launch. This is notable because mobile Siri AI for iPhone and iPad won’t launch in the EU until iOS 27 is released.
Apple explained that the decision to split the rollout is due to requirements under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which the company says would force it to provide users with direct access to private data and apps without providing transparency or control.
macOS 27 Golden Gate is expected to arrive this autumn, although Apple has not specified an exact release date.
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