macOS Golden Gate 27 is here: 10 new features to try
Apple has released macOS Golden Gate 27. This means that anyone with a compatible Mac can download the update. The new macOS version requires an Apple chip. Owners of a Mac with an M1 chip or newer, or a MacBook Neo, can therefore upgrade.
macOS Golden Gate includes Siri AI, and the Mac is the only device on which users in the EU can test Siri AI. It also offers numerous performance improvements, updates for Liquid Glass, and new Apple Intelligence features for apps like Photos, Calendar, Reminders, Home, and Safari.
macOS Golden Gate with Liquid Glass
Apple introduced a slider for Liquid Glass in macOS Golden Gate 27, allowing you to adjust its transparency. You can choose a lighter version where the background partially shows through, or a more opaque version for better readability. Since it’s a slider, intermediate values are also possible.
Apple has optimized the opacity of Liquid Glass, making complex content behind navigation bars and buttons more visible. Darkened edges and brighter highlights provide greater depth and better separation of the various UI elements.
Toolbars, sidebars and windows
Uniform toolbars across apps improve the readability of headings and control groups, and Apple has reduced the number of icons in menu interfaces. Windows uses the same corner radius for greater consistency, and app corners are no longer as heavily rounded.
Changes to window shadows and Liquid Glass updates make it significantly easier to identify which window is active when multiple applications are open.
The sidebars are no longer freely positioned, but extend across the entire width of the screen, resulting in a less distracting design. The icons in the sidebars are also back in color.
Siri AI
The biggest new feature in macOS Golden Gate 27 is Siri AI. Siri is smarter, more powerful, and functions like a chatbot. On the MacBook, you can ask Siri anything via Spotlight search, accessed with Command + Spacebar. Spotlight is now a unified search and question bar where you can search for files, apps, and other content, or ask Siri to perform tasks or answer questions.
You can also use Siri through the Siri app to view past conversations and start new ones. Siri conversations are synced across devices, and the Siri app is cross-platform.
Siri can recognize your screen content and access your personal data, such as emails, messages, and photos, to answer your questions. Siri can also search the internet and perform tasks in apps for you. This is a huge improvement over the previous version of Siri, and Siri can now do significantly more.
Visual Intelligence
Visual Intelligence, previously only available on iPhones, has finally arrived on the Mac with macOS Golden Gate 27. With Visual Intelligence, you can ask Siri questions about what’s displayed on the screen, selecting the entire screen or just a portion of it.
Visual Intelligence on Mac works when you press Command + Shift + Spacebar or Command + Shift + 6 to capture an area of the screen. Pressing Command + Shift + 5 (this key combination is also used for screen recordings and screenshots) allows you to click the Visual Intelligence icon to bring up a selection box for marking a screen area.
Siri can search for images, summarize text, translate, identify objects, insert information from the screen into apps like Calendar or Reminders, answer questions about what you’re currently viewing, and much more. The visual intelligence on the Mac offers the same functionality as the visual intelligence on the iPhone and also includes new features such as displaying nutritional information for food and splitting bills.
Write with Siri
There’s a system-wide feature called “Type with Siri” that goes beyond Apple’s intelligent writing tools available in macOS Tahoe. Siri can compose entire emails or messages for you, give you feedback on your text, swap words, and perform other editing tasks.
To use “Type with Siri” on your Mac, right-click in an app and select “Ask Siri.” If you select text before right-clicking, you can ask Siri for editing assistance. With a blank document, you can ask Siri to generate something for you. When composing emails or messages, Siri can analyze your previous communication and create text in your own writing style.
Apple has also expanded spell checking in macOS Golden Gate, and your Mac will offer grammar suggestions and corrections.
iPhone mirroring
In macOS Golden Gate, you can resize the iPhone mirroring window by dragging a corner. Depending on the app, you might be limited to the iPhone’s portrait orientation, but other apps also support iPad or landscape modes.
It’s probably a feature Apple added for the iPhone Duo, but it’s nice to have it for every iPhone.
Abbreviations
With macOS Golden Gate, anyone can easily create a shortcut in minutes. The Shortcuts app on your Mac opens a user interface that lets you describe the desired function of the shortcut in natural language.
The AI automatically creates a shortcut, which you can then refine with further voice commands or edit manually. You can activate your shortcuts via the app or with Siri commands.
Safari extensions
Safari in macOS Golden Gate offers a customizable extension feature. Using the “Describe Extension” option, you can specify the desired function of the extension. The extension is created using AI and is ready to use immediately.
To use this feature, click the settings icon to the right of the address bar and select the “Describe extension” option. Some examples from Apple:
- Display an estimated reading time as a symbol on the extension.
- Duplicate tabs pointing to the same URL will be closed when the extension is clicked.
- Highlight this word
- Create a 3-minute focus timer for the page.
- The minimum font size should be set to 14 pt.
- Draw me a flower every time I open a new tab.
- Clicking on website elements highlights and displays their dimensions.
- I want to switch to the design mode of a website so that I can edit the content.
- Save this recipe
Safari tab grouping and notifications
Safari also has a smart tab grouping feature. Tabs in related categories are automatically grouped in the tab view.
You can also configure Safari to monitor websites for updates. Hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly checks are available. If you set up this feature, you’ll receive a notification whenever the website’s content changes.
Performance improvements
In addition to introducing Siri and new Apple Intelligence features, macOS Golden Gate cleans up the underlying code. Apple has implemented numerous improvements to boost performance.
Animations and interactions are faster and smoother, and you’ll notice a difference when scrolling in Safari and other apps, opening Mission Control and Spaces, and using other Mac interface elements.
AirDrop transfers are completed faster, browsing files on connected network devices is quicker, and window positioning is more stable when using external displays. Messages are also synchronized faster and more reliably between devices.
Apple has fundamentally redesigned the search functions of Spotlight, Photos, Mail, and Messages, resulting in faster indexing. Recent content now appears much more quickly. In Mail, a ranking system ensures that the emails you’re looking for are found more quickly. Search indexing in Mail is more reliable than before, and Spotlight search suggestions are more relevant.
Installation instructions
macOS Golden Gate can be installed via your Mac’s System Preferences. Simply go to General > Software Update.
Full system requirements
macOS Golden Gate runs on Macs with an M1 chip or newer, as well as on the A18 Pro MacBook Neo. Intel Macs do not support macOS Golden Gate and therefore will not receive the new features.
Every Mac running macOS Golden Gate supports Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, but some on-device Siri processing features, such as choosing a natural voice and improved dictation, require an M3 or newer.
