macOS Golden Gate

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 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.

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.

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.

macOS Golden Gate was formally announced at WWDC on June 8, 2026. The first developer beta was released the same day. The name "Golden Gate" was also previously used as the internal code name for macOS Big Sur.

Features

Apple said that macOS 27 Golden Gate focuses on user feedback for the previous release, fixing and refining features.

System features

• Window border shapes no longer vary depending on the app, reverting a change seen in macOS Tahoe.
• The mouse cursor has been redesigned, with it resembling a glove as in versions before Tahoe, but more rounded.
• The pull-to-refresh feature from iOS and iPadOS is available in Safari, Mail, News, Podcasts and Calendar.
• The iPhone Mirroring app can be resized.
• The Notes and Freeform apps now have Markup drawing tools to match iOS and iPadOS.
• "Ask Siri" Integration

Removed features

• Golden Gate uses the same wallpaper as iOS and iPadOS, but also includes a new Golden Gate wallpaper.
• Golden Gate removes support for Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), and Time Machine backups to AirPort Time Capsule routers no longer function. AFP is a core Macintosh technology dating all the way back to System 6.
• AirPort Utility, which is used to manage AirPort routers, is no longer included in new installations.
• Boot Camp, software for installing Windows, has been removed, as Golden Gate does not support Intel CPUs.
• Golden Gate no longer places icons next to menu items.

Supported hardware and features

macOS Golden Gate runs on all Macs with an Apple M1 or A18 Pro chip or later, which includes:

• 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. However, only those Macs with an M3 chip or later and at least 12 GB of RAM support on-device Siri AI.

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.

A consequence of ending support for x86-64 processors is the inability to make "Hackintoshes", which are non-Apple machines that run macOS. Since only Apple sells devices with M-series and A-series chips, newer versions of macOS will no longer be able to run on non-Apple machines.

Release history