Key facts
- macOS 27 Golden Gate features an updated Siri AI with new contextual awareness and visual selection tools.
- The new Siri can respond to natural language requests to explain what's on the screen and search user's past personal context.
- Siri AI can directly interact with applications that support the feature.
- Users can generate Shortcut automations or Safari extensions from a prompt.
- macOS 27 Golden Gate includes design tweaks and quality-of-life improvements, with a slider for "Liquid Glass" design transparency.
- Siri AI features are primarily driven by Apple-developed models, including on-device AFM 3 models and cloud-based AFM 3 and ADM 3 models.
Apple has released its major annual operating system updates, including iOS 27 and macOS 27 Golden Gate, with a revamped Siri AI as the central new feature. This AI-powered assistant, referred to as Siri AI, is designed to be context-aware and capable of understanding on-screen content and user history, including past emails and text messages.
The enhanced Siri can interact directly with applications that have integrated support for the new features. Beyond conversational abilities, users can leverage Siri to generate Shortcut automations or Safari extensions based on prompts. The update also introduces additional photo editing capabilities.
On the macOS side, the "Liquid Glass" design introduced in previous versions has received refinements, including a slider to adjust transparency and opacity. Numerous small design tweaks have been implemented based on user feedback. Performance improvements and quality-of-life enhancements are also present across the operating system, such as HDR support for system UI elements and more robust external monitor compatibility.
Siri AI and other "Apple Intelligence" features are powered by a suite of Apple-developed models, including on-device AFM 3 models with varying parameter counts and cloud-based AFM 3 and ADM 3 models for more intensive tasks.
macOS 27 Golden Gate will be the final version to support Rosetta, Apple's translation software that enables Macs with Apple Silicon chips to run older applications designed for Intel processors. This means many older, unmaintained applications may cease to function on future macOS versions, though an exception has been made for older games developed for Intel Macs.