macOS 27 Golden Gate brings a smarter Siri and a visual refresh

The two most noticeable changes in macOS 27 Golden Gate are the newly updated Siri AI and design changes that make windows and icons more consistent. Siri AI offers the same features as on iOS 27, but on the Mac it gets access to different context and new ways to be useful — following a broader trend of apps and browsers trying to learn more about a user’s work to better answer questions or perform tasks; most major web browsers besides Safari now ship a sidebar AI assistant that can read open tabs for context, and third-party apps like Highlight, Caddy, and Littlebird do something similar with the current window.

The new Siri can be invoked anywhere on screen to answer questions about what it sees, summarize information, or surface details — for instance, showing alternative options for an item a user is browsing to buy. Instead of having Siri read the whole page, users can select a portion of it through Apple’s new Visual Intelligence features: pressing Command + Shift + Space adds the currently focused window to Siri’s context, while Command + Shift + 6 brings up a crosshair selection tool for asking a question or running an image search about a selected area, surfacing shortcuts like “Select,” “Add to Contact,” and “Look up Location” based on the selection.

Apple has also improved Spotlight Search, letting users ask Siri questions directly within it to get web answers, filter by Applications, Files, Actions, or Clipboard, run Shortcuts, or look up recent search history. Because Siri can access files, emails, and messages, users can search for things that weren’t previously possible; testing the feature, TechCrunch pulled up membership IDs without opening files, got details about an upcoming trip, and looked up an embargo date for an in-progress story. Siri can also help review documents or draft writing — selecting text and asking Siri to proofread, improve, or rewrite it, or drafting new text within any text box, a use TechCrunch found more useful on the Mac than on iPhone.

Safari has gained AI-powered page tracking, useful for monitoring price drops, privacy-policy changes, or new blog posts on pages without RSS support, plus automatic tab organization by topic. A smaller addition: the system now suggests a file name based on Finder or in-document context when downloading or renaming a file. Beyond Siri, macOS 27 Golden Gate brings new Liquid Glass icons, an adjustable transparency slider for the Liquid Glass design, a better window-move “diffuse” effect, more consistent app-window corner radii, edge-to-edge sidebars with colorful icons, and clearer active-window highlighting. Other additions include enhanced child safety controls, shared cross-platform photo albums, an updated eraser, better email search, app resizing for iPhone mirroring, and quick suggestions for adding calendar events.

macOS 27 Golden Gate is available starting today for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 2020 models with Apple Silicon or later, iMac with Apple Silicon (2021 or later), Mac Mini (2020 or later), Mac Studio (2022 or later), Mac Pro (2023 or later), and MacBook Neo, via System Settings > General > Software Update.

Why it matters

Apple building Siri’s usefulness around on-screen and file-level context, rather than just voice commands, signals it’s chasing the same “AI that understands what you’re doing” positioning that browser sidebar assistants and rival desktop AI tools have already staked out.