At WWDC 2026, Apple announced a slew of updates coming to macOS 27, now called macOS Golden Gate. This OS update officially sees the end of the Intel era, but is more future-focused thanks to better AI and smoother performance.
Apple Intelligence and Siri are getting big upgrades for macOS 27, iPadOS 27, and iOS 27. Powered by Google Gemini, Apple's AI is now on par with competitors and is specifically designed to work with the Apple ecosystem.
While most of the updates for macOS Golden Gate are part of the company's greater AI efforts, features like on-device editing and a more conversational Siri should make using Macs more seamless and intuitive.
Here is everything announced for macOS 27 at WWDC.
macOS 27: Quick news
- macOS Golden Gate is the name for macOS 27
- Under-the-hood performance upgrades
- Smarter Siri and better Apple Intelligence
- Liquid Glass UI is more customizable
Siri AI and Apple Intelligence
Powered by Google Gemini, the new AI-infused Siri acts like a proper chatbot. It has features such as contextual awareness, conversational capabilities, improved natural-language support, and more.
You can use Siri AI through Spotlight to easily find files or messages you need. For example, you can ask or type to find a PDF invoice in one of your emails and add its contents to your Numbers budget spreadsheet. This should make Siri a true assistant rather than just an AI that helps you with recipes.
For writers, Siri AI can help you generate drafts from scratch and help proofread your work. And since it's powered by AI, it can learn how you respond to specific people, and even give you suggestions as you write. This should make it a better writing assistant, whether you're working on a big project or just checking in with friends.
Visual Intelligence with Siri is arriving on Macs for the first time. This feature lets you search visually, ask questions, and take actions on your screen. There is a dedicated keyboard shortcut that lets you select something on your Mac's display and type directly to Siri to get answers.
Liquid Glass
Liquid Glass was introduced last year as the big design overhaul for Apple's operating systems, but it didn't go over well with many Mac users. While Liquid Glass isn't going anywhere, it has been fine-tuned for better readability on Macs.
For instance, you now have finer control over its opacity and color. The edges of apps are also more defined, so they stand out more from the background. These updates should alleviate some of the issues users have had since macOS 26.
Smoother performance
Since macOS Golden Gate doesn't introduce major changes from macOS 26, the team was able to make more under-the-hood updates to help everything run more smoothly.
On iPhones, performance has apparently increased by 30%. We don't have exact numbers for macOS, but it should be in that range. This should also lead to better battery life, which would be interesting given how M-series MacBooks already have astonishing battery life.
macOS Golden Gate: Outlook
macOS Golden Gate primarily focuses on the latest updates to Apple Intelligence and Siri. While we didn't hear about any macOS-specific updates, what we're getting should create a more unified ecosystem across Apple's devices. Beyond all the AI updates, the claimed performance boost for Macs and other devices should be especially beneficial.
We'll update this post with the latest macOS Golden Gate news as we hear it, so stay tuned for more.
