Apple has revealed details of macOS 27 Golden Gate — the next major update for Mac computers, which, according to reports, may be released as early as September 14, 2026, right after the company's traditional autumn event. The headline feature of the release is the deep integration of artificial intelligence: the Siri voice assistant is no longer just a set of voice commands but has become a full-fledged conversational AI chatbot capable of holding natural dialogues, recognizing on-screen context, and performing complex tasks within system apps. At the same time, the company announced a strategic break with the past: macOS 27 will be the first version to fully drop support for Intel-based Macs, and the last version in which Rosetta 2 works.
Siri becomes a conversational AI chatbot
The key change is the transformation of Siri. The assistant has gained its own app with conversation history that syncs via iCloud across all Apple devices. Siri can now analyze data in Mail, Messages, Notes, Photos, and Maps to find the information a user requests — in other words, work with personal context. The Visual Intelligence feature appears on Mac for the first time: the assistant recognizes selected images, documents, text fragments, and files directly on screen. Integration with Spotlight lets you ask questions in the search bar and get detailed AI answers without opening a browser.
AI tools in system apps
Artificial intelligence has also made its way into everyday apps. Writing Tools help generate text, rewrite drafts, change the tone of statements, and adapt the style to a specific recipient. Messages and Mail have gained Personalized Smart Reply, which suggests responses based on the user's personal communication style, while Mail has received faster search and improved indexing. Photos adds Spatial Reframing for automatic composition changes, an Extend tool for outpainting borders, and an enhanced Clean Up for removing unwanted objects. The Shortcuts app lets you create complex automations from simple text instructions, while Passwords, Weather, and Notes have their own AI features — from finding leaked and weak passwords to a detailed 10-day forecast and Markdown support.
Safari, automation, and Liquid Glass polish
The Safari browser has gained Automatic Tab Topics for automatically grouping tabs by theme, as well as a Notify Me tool that tracks changes on pages — for example, alerting you when an item is back in stock or its price drops. Users will be able to create their own browser extensions simply by describing them in text. At the same time, Apple has abandoned radical visual experiments and focused on polishing the Liquid Glass interface, making macOS 27 more of a logical evolution than a design revolution.
The end of the Intel and Rosetta 2 era
macOS 27 Golden Gate is a turning point in the company's history: it is the first version to fully drop support for Intel-based Macs. Moreover, it will be the last version with Rosetta 2 support — the translation technology that allowed older Intel apps to run on Apple silicon chips. In the next macOS 28, such programs will stop working, and in the current version Apple is already gradually removing native DVD disc playback support from the system. In effect, the company is closing a years-long transition period and fully moving the Mac ecosystem to its own architecture.
Game Porting Toolkit 4 and hardware requirements
The release of macOS 27 is accompanied by the launch of Game Porting Toolkit 4, which significantly improves the launch and adaptation of Windows games on computers with Apple silicon chips. According to the company, on a MacBook Pro with the M4 Pro chip, the frame rate for GTA V rose from 106 to 176 fps, and for Red Dead Redemption 2 from 60 to 75 fps, which, in Apple's assessment, proves that the main barrier to Mac gaming was precisely software optimization. At the same time, all supported Macs can run the basic Apple Intelligence features, but the most complex local AI models, advanced dictation, and Siri's "clear" voices will require an M3 or newer processor and at least 12 GB of unified memory.
Contradictory data
There are discrepancies in the wording across publications about the release. A number of outlets (in particular, 24tv) claim in their headlines that the new Siri will "replace ChatGPT," while in the basic description of the update and in other sources (sud.ua) the assistant is presented as a participant in a "race" with ChatGPT and Gemini — that is, a competitor, not a direct replacement. This is a difference in assessing Apple's ambitions, not in the facts about the features. In addition, the release date of September 14, 2026, is presented in sources as likely ("may be released"), not as finally confirmed, so the exact release day should be considered provisional until the official presentation.
