5 new features that make macOS 27 Golden Gate a worthwhile update

The future of Mac software is upon us after today’s reveal of macOS 27 Golden Gate. More than just an improvement to Apple Intelligence, this upcoming software update improves Liquid Glass and officially ends support for Intel Macs. Apple is also starting to limit what older Apple Silicon devices can do, as the ability to customize Siri’s sound is limited to M3 or newer Mac devices with at least 12GB of RAM, meaning even the all-new MacBook Neo won’t have this feature.

Unlike previous WWDC keynotes, instead of jumping from one software update to the next, Apple spent much of the stream focusing on Apple Intelligence, finally delivering on promises made a few years ago. Apple has spoken at length about Siri and Apple Intelligence, but has left many details up for developers and, potentially, public beta testers to discover.

At WWDC 2026, three core pillars were revamping Siri AI, bringing Apple Intelligence to more apps, and improving performance. Another major focus for Apple was child safety, as Screen Time was redesigned and improved to protect children.

macOS 27 Golden Gate aims to make Apple Silicon Macs run smoother. After complaints about the readability and general accessibility experience offered by macOS 26 Tahoe and the all-new Liquid Glass design, Apple kicked off the keynote address on this issue with a brand new slider setting that allows users to adjust the appearance of translucent or tinted liquid glass.

Beyond that, app icons are cleaner and some have been completely redesigned with additional layers to improve readability. Additionally, some interactions have been fixed so users can know that Apple has “paid attention to detail.”

For example, another complaint about the new Liquid Design was that the proportions of application windows were completely different. Apple is now creating a more unified experience and developers don’t even have to change anything on their end. According to the company, window shapes, menu bar icons, and even toolbars have been fixed, so everything will look more consistent. Although Apple still has a few months to finalize the design, it’s a step in the right direction.

Siri is an important part of iOS 27, and all of this is true for macOS 27. Apple calls Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, a “more personal assistant.” Only available in English at first, and legally barred from debuting in Europe and China for now, the Assistant can be found in the Spotlight menu, in addition to a brand new Siri app. Users can now ask questions directly from the Spotlight menu and the Mac will understand that it is a request to Siri. A chat box will appear where users can submit follow-up questions, brainstorm with the personal assistant, and more.

The new Siri is able to understand context, so it can help you find photos from a specific weekend, remind you of a podcast a friend sent you in the Messages app a few weeks ago, and even locate a message in Mail to give you the precise information you need. The new Siri can take control of your Mac to perform certain tasks, search for information online, and generate written drafts on the fly. The enhanced Visual Intelligence feature also lets Siri see and discuss anything that appears on your screen.

Safari, Passwords, Photos, Image Playground, and Shortcuts are some of the apps that will benefit from expanded integration with Apple Intelligence. In Safari, users can now create their own extensions using AI. The browser can also organize tabs proactively and notify you when a sold-out product is back in stock or if a concert ticket becomes available. Apple says Safari will send a notification when it’s actively monitoring web pages and you can take action from there.

For the Passwords app, Apple wants to do more to help you replace your compromised passwords. For some websites, Apple Intelligence may automatically sign in to your account, change your password, and update the password in the app. Image Playground now has the ability to create photorealistic images and other new styles. Apple says there will be daily image generation limits, but users can increase these limits with certain iCloud+ subscriptions.

Finally, the Shortcuts app will be easier to use, as Mac owners will no longer need to create a shortcut step by step. Instead, they can “describe a shortcut” to Apple Intelligence and let the AI ​​do all the heavy lifting. One example Apple provided was asking Apple Intelligence to set a different alarm each evening based on the first event on the next day’s calendar.

While macOS Golden Gate isn’t the most feature-rich update Apple has ever released, it should significantly improve the overall user experience. Part of this could be because Apple no longer needs to support Intel Macs, but a report from Bloomberg late last year also revealed that the company had always wanted to focus on fixing bugs and replacing existing code.

Needless to say, the report was proven correct on Monday, as Apple promises faster performance across its entire operating system. AirDrop, searching for files, and even loading times on Safari should be faster on macOS 27. Apple says the Mac feels “more responsive than ever,” meaning even the six-year-old MacBook Air M1 should get a boost.

However, Apple’s biggest promise might be that macOS Golden Gate will fix search. This has been a big problem with macOS Tahoe as well as recent versions of macOS. Search on Mac has become less reliable, finding relevant results in Mail has been difficult, and sometimes finding a file you just saved can take a while. With macOS 27, Apple says Spotlight suggestions are getting better, and that might be the most welcome change of all.

Finally, Apple spent a lot of time during the WWDC 2026 keynote discussing child safety features. Technology is an important and essential tool for children, but Apple wants parents to have a say in what their children see. With macOS 27 Golden Gate, parents have even more control over what their kids can access online, what apps they can download, and how they can spend their money. Parents can also customize their children’s schedules when their children are at school, at home studying, or away on the weekend.

According to Apple, kids can send their parents new “Ask to Browse” and “Ask to Download” messages through iMessage when they want to visit certain sites or download certain apps. As children grow older, their parents can gradually give them access to more websites, apps, and other experiences. Apple is also adding new ways to help kids communicate safely through FaceTime, iMessage, and more, protecting them from sharing or viewing nudity or violent content.

Apple says the new interface is intuitive for parents to control, and the new Screen Time page gives them insight into how their children use their Mac, iPhone or other Apple device. These new features are in addition to Apple’s previously announced protections, such as age-restricted apps, content and websites, so children aren’t exposed to inappropriate content.