MacOS Golden Gate
2026 operating system version
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
macOS Golden Gate (version 27) is the upcoming twenty-third major release of Apple's macOS operating system. The successor to macOS Tahoe, it was announced on June 8, 2026, at WWDC 2026,[3][4][5] and will be released in late 2026. It is the first version of macOS to run exclusively on Macs with Apple silicon and the last version with full Rosetta 2 functionality.[6][7]
| macOS Golden Gate | |
|---|---|
| Version of the macOS operating system | |
 | |
 Desktop screenshot of macOS Golden Gate | |
| Developer | Apple |
| OS family | |
| Working state | Beta |
| Source model | Closed, with open source components |
| Latest preview | 27.0 beta 4[1] (July 20, 2026) [±] 27.0 public beta 1[2] (July 13, 2026) [±] |
| Update method | Software Update |
| Supported platforms | ARM64 (Apple silicon) |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (XNU) |
| License | Proprietary software with open-source components and content licensed with APSL |
| Preceded by | macOS Tahoe |
| Official website | apple |
| Tagline | More personal. More refined. |
| Support status | |
| In developer beta and public beta | |
| Articles in the series | |
| iOS 27 iPadOS 27 watchOS 27 tvOS 27 visionOS 27 | |
It is named after the Golden Gate, a strait between the Presidio of San Francisco and the Marin Headlands, which connects the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.[8]
Development
The development of the then-unnamed macOS 27 was confirmed by Apple at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025 during its Platforms State of the Union event when it outlined the conclusion of the Mac transition to Apple silicon. Apple stated that macOS 27 would drop support for Intel processors and be the last version with full Rosetta 2 functionality.[9]
macOS Golden Gate was formally announced at WWDC on June 8, 2026. The first developer beta was released the same day.[10] The name "Golden Gate" (specifically "GoldenGate", no spaces) was also previously used as the internal code name for macOS Big Sur.[11]
Features
Apple said that macOS 27 Golden Gate focuses on refining features introduced in the previous release based on user feedback.
System features
- Window border shapes are consistent across applications, reversing a change introduced in macOS Tahoe.
- The mouseover cursor again uses the glove icon found in versions prior to Tahoe but using a different design.[12]
- Pull-to-refresh is available in Safari, Mail, News, Podcasts, and Calendar.
- The iPhone Mirroring app supports window resizing.
- Notes and Freeform include additional Markup drawing tools.[13]
- "Ask Siri" integration.[14]
Removed features
- Support for Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) has been removed. As a result, Time Machine backups to AirPort Time Capsule routers are no longer supported.[15]
- AirPort Utility, used to manage AirPort routers, is no longer included with new installations, Apple warns that the support for AirPort Utility ended and the app is not guaranteed to work correctly.[16][17]
- Boot Camp, used to install Windows on Intel-based Macs, has been removed because Golden Gate no longer supports Intel processors.
Other changes
- Golden Gate includes the same default wallpaper as iOS and iPadOS, as well as a new Golden Gate wallpaper.[18] Beginning with macOS 27.0 beta 3, the Golden Gate wallpaper became the default.[19]
- Menu bar items no longer display icons by default, reversing a change introduced in macOS Tahoe.[20]
- Beginning with macOS 27.0 beta 3, Spotlight was removed from the menu bar in favor of Siri.[21]
Supported hardware
macOS Golden Gate runs on all Macs with an Apple M1 or A18 Pro chip or later, which includes:[22]
- MacBook Neo (2026)
- MacBook Air with Apple silicon (2020 or later)
- MacBook Pro with Apple silicon (2020 or later)
- Mac Mini (2020 or later)
- iMac (2021 or later)
- Mac Studio (2022 or later)
- Mac Pro (2023)
Apple Intelligence features are supported on all Macs, but only those with an M3 chip or later with at least 12 GB of RAM support on-device Siri AI.[23]
Golden Gate drops support for all Macs with an Intel CPU, including the Mac Pro (2019), the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, four Thunderbolt 3 ports), and the iMac (2020), ending support for x86-64 processors. Intel-based applications will still be able to be used with Rosetta 2.[9]
Release history
The first developer beta of macOS Golden Gate was released on June 8, 2026. The Golden Gate developer betas are available to anyone with an Apple Developer account, without needing a developer subscription.
| Version | Build | Release date | Darwin version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27.0 beta 1 | 26A5353q | June 8, 2026 | 27.0.0 xnu-13361.0.0.501.1~2 Wed May 27 02:13:13 PDT 2026 |
| 27.0 beta 2 | 26A5368g | June 22, 2026 | 27.0.0 xnu-13432.0.5.501.1~2 Mon Jun 15 22:59:39 PDT 2026 |
| 27.0 beta 3 | 26A5378j | July 6, 2026 | 27.0.0 xnu-13432.0.50.501.3~1 Mon Jun 29 21:25:23 PDT 2026 |
| 27.0 beta 3 release 2 (Public Beta 1) |
26A5378n | July 13, 2026 | |
Legend: Supported Latest version Preview version | |||
See Apple's official release notes.