Apple Releases macOS 27 Golden Gate With New Siri AI Assistant
Apple officially launched macOS 27 Golden Gate on September 14, headlined by Siri AI, a new Google Gemini-powered assistant. The update is limited to Apple Silicon Macs, and several AI features remain in beta.
Apple began the official rollout of macOS 27 Golden Gate on September 14, marking its most significant attempt yet to weave artificial intelligence deeply into the Mac operating system. The update can be installed via System Settings > General > Software Update.
Limited availability
Golden Gate only supports Apple Silicon Macs, following last year's confirmation that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the final version to support Intel machines. Some of the more advanced features, including an improved voice mode, require an M3 chip or newer with at least 12 GB of RAM, excluding devices like the MacBook Neo and older MacBook Air models. Siri AI itself is currently English-only and won't be available immediately in the EU or China due to regulatory concerns.
A new Siri
Siri AI is now a systemwide assistant built on Apple's Foundation Models, which are based on Google Gemini, giving it stronger natural language processing, computer vision, and image generation. It can be summoned from anywhere on the desktop via right-click, is integrated into Spotlight search, and can analyze screenshots through Visual Intelligence. The feature remains in beta, is off by default, and is being rolled out gradually to users on a waitlist.
App and design updates
Safari now includes Topics, which automatically groups browser tabs by subject, along with a feature for creating custom extensions using natural language. The Shortcuts app allows users to build automations through plain-language descriptions instead of manually linking functions. Image Playground has been upgraded with Google Gemini's image-generation technology, enabling more photorealistic results and additional aspect ratios.
On the visual side, Apple continued refining last year's Liquid Glass interface with a new transparency slider, a more uniform toolbar, and colored sidebar icons. Apple also reports performance improvements and expanded support for higher-resolution and higher-refresh-rate external displays.
