Apple announces macOS Golden Gate 27

Apple has announced macOS 27 Golden Gate, the next version of its desktop operating system. Alongside updates to Apple Intelligence, Siri, search, and parental controls, the new Golden Gate version of macOS brings a global slider to adjust the opacity of Liquid Glass UI effects, with a tighter corner radius of windows to give them a more unified look. And Apple is “reincorporating” previous elements of macOS design, like giving sidebar icons their color back.

Unlike in past keynotes, Apple didn’t spend much time on macOS-specific updates, instead focusing on cross-platform improvements. Many will be part of macOS 27, including updates to parental controls and Screen Time, a “bold new architecture” for Apple Intelligence, and Siri AI — including a dedicated Siri app.

Golden Gate also brings a rebuilt Search function, which has a new infrastructure to index all content on your device and add new content almost immediately. Search is also improved in Spotlight for Photos and Mail apps. You’ll be able to type Siri AI queries directly into Spotlight and select multiple files to ask Siri about them.

A prerecorded demo during the keynote showed a user selecting multiple PDFs — quotes for building a shed — and asking Siri to compare them with the prompt, “Compare these and help me pick one.” Siri created a comparison table using the information from the files.

Visual Intelligence is now also available on macOS, with a dedicated keyboard shortcut.

The new OS for MacBooks and Mac desktops is the follow-up to last year’s macOS Tahoe 26. Tahoe added some handy features, like a revised Spotlight search and a Phone app, but was controversial due to its bold (and often disliked) Liquid Glass redesign.

Tahoe was the last major macOS update for Intel-based Macs, and the upcoming version will leave them behind. Those with aging Macs still using x86 Intel chips were promised three years of security updates.