---
title: "macOS 27 Golden Gate: Apple Unlocks Liquid Glass Adjustment, Trackpad Refresh Gesture, and Hidden Terminal Commands"
description: "Apple has released macOS 27 Golden Gate for Mac on Apple Silicon: Liquid Glass effect adjustment, trackpad refresh gesture, a full-fledged Siri app, and hidden Terminal commands."
date: 2026-09-16T13:38:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/macos-27-golden-gate-new-features-and-hidden-possibilities
tags: [macos-27, apple-silicon, liquid-glass, siri, safari, apple]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# macOS 27 Golden Gate: Apple Unlocks Liquid Glass Adjustment, Trackpad Refresh Gesture, and Hidden Terminal Commands

![Gold MacBook on a wooden table: trackpad and keyboard in the context of macOS 27 Golden Gate gestures](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/17/macos-27-golden-gate-novye-fishki-i-skrytye-vozmozhnosti/macos-27-golden-gate-novye-fishki-i-skrytye-vozmozhnosti-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- macOS 27 Golden Gate has been released for Mac on Apple Silicon, with an emphasis on stability and interface convenience
- A slider to adjust the intensity of Liquid Glass effects has been added in "System Settings"
- The two-finger trackpad swipe refresh gesture has appeared in Safari, Mail, Calendar, News, and Podcasts
- Siri has gained a full-fledged app with text input and screen area analysis (Command-Shift-6)
- Some features (windowed AirPlay, removing Ask Siri from the menu, arrow-key navigation of the panel) are activated with commands in Terminal
- Publications about the release are accompanied by a separate user report on update problems

Apple has released macOS 27 Golden Gate — a new version of the operating system for Mac computers built on Apple Silicon processors. According to the developers, this release focuses on stability, fixing accumulated bugs, and more convenient interface control. The Ukrainian edition RBC-Ukraine, citing Lifehacker, has systematized a set of "features" that the engineers in Cupertino have built into the new OS — from a slider for visual effects to hidden scenarios accessible only through Terminal.

### Stability and Liquid Glass Effect Control

The Liquid Glass effects and animations that appeared in macOS 26 sparked much debate among users: some of the audience found them excessive and distracting from reading. In macOS 27, Apple added the ability to adjust their intensity. To make the text more readable, you need to go to "System Settings" — the "Appearance" section and use the new slider in the Liquid Glass block to reduce the visual effects. This is the first time the company has given users direct control over its signature "glass" design, which had previously been fixed.

### Page Refresh Gesture and New Drawing Tools

The signature content-refresh gesture by pulling down, familiar from iOS, now works on computers as well. In Safari, Mail, Calendar, News, and Podcasts, it is enough to swipe down with two fingers (or up, if natural scrolling is disabled) on the trackpad to refresh the content. In addition, the Freeform and Apple Notes apps have gained a new drawing tool: by clicking the pen icon in the top bar, the user can create sketches, diagrams, and drawings using a mouse or trackpad.

### Siri as a Full-Fledged App and Screen Analysis

Interacting with the virtual assistant has become more convenient thanks to a full-fledged Siri app. When voice activation is disabled, opening the app immediately brings up a text input window — this is convenient for quickly creating timers, reminders, or searching for answers. With Siri AI enabled, you can analyze any image on the monitor: by pressing Command-Shift-6 and selecting a screen area, the user asks a question about the selected object, finds its analogs online, or saves a recognized phone number to contacts. In Safari, artificial intelligence can now automatically organize similar tabs; if you do not want automatic grouping, in "Safari Settings" — "Tabs" you can choose Show Related Tabs to receive only suggestions and group pages manually. A separate tool, Describe Extension, allows you to create your own browser extensions via a text description: in the menu with three lines in the address bar, you need to write the task — from automatically closing duplicate tabs to changing the style of web pages.

### Hidden Features and Terminal Commands

A number of functions in macOS 27 are hidden by default and are activated with commands in Terminal. For example, to open an AirPlay stream in a regular resizable window instead of fullscreen mode, you need to run the command to create the FeatureFlags directory and write the APReceiverInWindow parameter. The annoying Ask Siri item in the right-click context menu can be removed with a special sequence of commands followed by a system reboot. macOS 27 also introduced a hidden ability to move with the keyboard arrows from app menu items directly to the icons in the top bar — after enabling navigation via Terminal and rebooting, switching between app menus and panel icons is done with the left and right arrows.

### Contradictory Data

The positive picture of the release painted by review publications coexists with critical user reports. In particular, on the vc.ru platform, a personal account by one of the users was published under the headline "Why I Strongly Do Not Recommend Updating macOS to Version 27 (Golden Gate)," where the author describes the problems and "pain" associated with the transition to the new version. Thus, one side (review and technology publications) emphasizes the new features and the focus on stability, while an individual user report points to a negative practical experience of updating. The specific list of failures is not detailed in the open material, so the contradiction is a matter of the difference between the stated improvements and the subjective experience of a specific user; a final assessment of the release's stability should be made taking both viewpoints into account.

Altogether, macOS 27 Golden Gate looks like a "quiet" optimization release: Apple does not bet on flashy novelties but fine-tunes what is already there — it provides a slider for the controversial effects, ports a familiar mobile gesture to the desktop, and opens up hidden scenarios for advanced users. At the same time, the presence of public reports of update problems serves as a reminder that even a "stable" release should be installed consciously, with a backup of your data.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Top macOS 27 Hacks: How to Remove Siri from the Menu and Lighten the System](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/top-haki-macos-27-k-pribrati-siri-menyu-ta-1789563428.html) - Перечень функций и «фишек» macOS 27 (Liquid Glass, жест обновления, Siri, команды Терминала) по материалам РБК-Украина со ссылкой на Lifehacker.
- [Apple Released iOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate with New Improvements](https://www.computerra.ru/362451/apple-vypustila-ios-27-i-macos-27-golden-gate-s-novymi-uluchsheniyami/) - Подтверждает факт выпуска macOS 27 Golden Gate и направление на улучшения.
- [Apple Released macOS 27 Golden Gate: What's New](https://kod.ru/apple-macos-27-whats-new) - Обзорное подтверждение релиза и новых возможностей.
- [Why I Strongly Do Not Recommend Updating macOS to Version 27 (Golden Gate): My Personal Experience and Pain.](https://vc.ru/apple/3141309-problemy-obnovleniya-do-macos-27-golden-gate) - Отдельный пользовательский отчет о негативном опыте обновления; в открытом материале только заголовок, конкретные сбои не детализированы — отражено в блоке противоречий.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: Which computers is macOS 27 Golden Gate released for?
**A:** The new version is intended for Mac computers with Apple Silicon processors.

### Q: How do I reduce the Liquid Glass visual effects?
**A:** You need to go to "System Settings" — the "Appearance" section and use the new slider in the Liquid Glass block to lower the intensity of the effects.

### Q: How do I refresh content in Safari or Mail with a trackpad gesture?
**A:** Swipe down with two fingers (or up, if natural scrolling is disabled) on the trackpad in Safari, Mail, Calendar, News, or Podcasts.

### Q: How do I analyze an image on the screen via Siri AI?
**A:** Press Command-Shift-6, select a screen area, and ask a question about the selected object, find analogs online, or save a recognized phone number to contacts.

### Q: Can I remove the Ask Siri item from the context menu?
**A:** Yes, using a special sequence of commands in Terminal followed by a system reboot.

### Q: Is there any criticism of the new release?
**A:** Yes, on vc.ru a personal user report has been published that does not recommend updating to macOS 27; the specific failures are not detailed in the open material, so this is reflected as a separate viewpoint.