macOS 27 Golden Gate’s biggest changes span Apple Intelligence, Safari, Photos, Shortcuts, family safety, accessibility, and a refreshed Liquid Glass design. Start with on-screen Visual Intelligence and the everyday app updates; Siri AI is still rolling out, and some features depend on your Mac, language, or region.
Assistant and on-screen help
1. Siri AI conversations
Apple describes Siri AI as an Apple Intelligence-powered assistant for natural conversations and open-ended questions. Its feature page calls it “more helpful than ever,” but that is Apple’s description, not an independent performance assessment. Access is in beta or rolling out, rather than guaranteed to be available to every user. Apple’s macOS 27 feature page and its macOS 27 update notes describe availability and requirements.
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2. Search your personal context
Ask Siri AI to locate information across supported personal content such as messages, email, photos, and notes. Results depend on the feature being available and on the relevant content being accessible on your device.
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Siri AI can carry out actions across supported apps, according to Apple. The scope is app-dependent; do not assume every app or task is supported.
#1 Best Overall
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
4. Keep a conversation in Siri’s dedicated app
A dedicated conversation app preserves Siri exchanges and syncs them with iCloud, giving you a place to return to earlier discussions.
5. Ask Siri from Spotlight
Spotlight can show Ask Siri as a top result, providing another route to the assistant without opening its app first.
6. Ask about what’s on your screen with Visual Intelligence
Select a window or capture a screenshot, then ask Siri about its contents, search for related information, or take an action such as adding an event. Apple documents the shortcut Shift–Command–Space bar for Visual Intelligence. See Apple Support’s macOS 27 update notes for the feature details.
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Browsing, passwords, and automation
7. Group Safari tabs by topic
Safari can organize tabs automatically into groups based on their subject, helping separate research, shopping, and other browsing.
8. Monitor a page for a change
Safari’s Notify Me feature can watch a page for changes such as a price drop or an item coming back in stock. Treat it as a notification aid, not a guarantee that every page change will be detected.
Rank #2
- BUILT FOR COLLEGE. AND BEYOND — MacBook Air with the M5 chip packs blazing speed and powerful AI capabilities into an incredibly portable design. And with up to 18 hours of battery life,* this thin and light powerhouse is ready to take on almost any major, just about anywhere.
- TEAR THROUGH TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS — With its faster CPU and unified memory, the M5 chip delivers even more performance and fluidity across apps, making multitasking and creative workflows smooth and responsive. A powerful Neural Engine and next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerators give you a powerful platform for AI.
- MAKE QUICK WORK OF YOUR TO-DO LIST — Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly — whether it’s for school or everyday life. With groundbreaking privacy protections, it gives you peace of mind that no one else can access your data — not even Apple.*
- UP TO 18 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Air delivers incredible battery life with amazing performance, so you can power through a full day of classes without worrying about plugging in.
- A BRILLIANT 13.6-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Air supports 1 billion colors, making photos and videos pop with rich contrast and sharp detail, and text appears supercrisp. So everything — from class presentations to movies to games — looks truly stunning.
9. Create a Safari extension from a description
Apple Support lists Describe an Extension, which lets you explain an extension you want Safari to create. Review what it produces before relying on it.
10. Get alerts about risky passwords
The Passwords app can identify weak or compromised credentials, helping you prioritize changes to accounts that may be at risk.
11. Update supported passwords with less manual work
Passwords can update some supported credentials on your behalf. Automatic changes are not available for every website or account, so check the result and finish any unsupported changes yourself.
12. Build a Shortcut from plain language
Describe a task in natural language and Shortcuts can assemble actions for it. Check the actions and run the shortcut carefully before trusting it with an important workflow; generated automations may need adjustment.
Photos and media
13. Reframe a spatial photo after capture
Spatial Reframing lets you adjust the framing of a spatial photo after taking it, rather than committing entirely to the original view.
Rank #3
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
14. Extend an image
Photos’ Extend tool expands an image beyond its original boundaries. Inspect the generated edges and details before sharing or using the result.
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Apple says Clean Up has been enhanced. It can help remove unwanted elements, but results depend on the image; check the edited photo for artifacts.
16. Refresh shared albums with more contributors
Shared Albums add easier contributions from Android and Windows users through iCloud.com, along with full-resolution sharing, filters, reactions, and invitations.
17. Watch and listen to podcasts in a more integrated way
Podcasts supports a more integrated experience for watching video and listening, making it easier to move between those forms of a show.
Family safety and accessibility
18. Let children request permission to browse new sites
Ask to Browse lets a child request approval before visiting a new website, giving parents a chance to decide rather than relying only on a blanket restriction.
Rank #4
- AN AMAZING MAC AT A SURPRISING PRICE — With an incredibly portable and durable aluminum design, up to 16 hours of battery life,* and the A18 Pro chip, MacBook Neo is ready to go wherever school takes you.
- FOUR STUNNING COLORS. ONE DURABLE DESIGN — Choose from four beautiful colors — Silver, Blush, Citrus, or Indigo — each with a color-coordinated keyboard. And MacBook Neo is made with a durable recycled aluminum enclosure that helps it reach 60 percent recycled content by weight — the most ever in any Apple product.*
- FLY THROUGH EVERYDAY ASSIGNMENTS — Whether you’re cramming for finals, using Apple Intelligence* to summarize class notes, creating presentations, or even playing the latest Apple Arcade game,* MacBook Neo delivers the performance and AI capabilities you need to get things done.
- UP TO 16 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Neo delivers all day battery life, so you can power through from early morning classes to late night study sessions without worrying about plugging in.
- A VIBRANT 13-INCH DISPLAY* — The gorgeous Liquid Retina display on MacBook Neo supports 1 billion colors, so photos and videos pop and text is crisp for easy reading.
19. Extend Communication Safety protections
Communication Safety expands Apple’s protections for children. The exact experience can depend on the settings and services in use.
20. Set time allowances and schedules
Parents can create category-based time allowances and schedules, which makes it possible to shape when and how long children use particular kinds of apps or activities.
21. Get richer VoiceOver image descriptions
VoiceOver gains richer image descriptions, which can provide more context about visual content to people who use the screen reader.
22. Generate synchronized captions and translate existing ones
A caption feature can generate subtitles synchronized with video and translate existing captions. Language support and availability may vary, so check Apple’s current requirements if a particular language matters to you.
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23. Adjust Liquid Glass readability and tint
Liquid Glass refinements include readability and contrast improvements, more uniform refraction, consistent toolbars, edge-to-edge sidebars, updated window shapes, and refreshed menu-bar icons. A control lets you move from ultraclear to fully tinted.
Best Value
- FAST RUNS IN THE FAMILY — The 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro or M5 Max chip brings next-generation speed and powerful on-device AI to personal, professional, and creative tasks. With all-day battery life, double the starting storage,* and a breathtaking Liquid Retina XDR display, it’s pro in every way.*
- BUCKLE UP — Along with a next-generation CPU, faster unified memory, and up to 2x faster SSD storage,* M5 Pro and M5 Max feature a more powerful GPU with a Neural Accelerator built into each core, delivering faster AI performance and on-device training capabilities. So you can blaze through demanding workloads at mind-bending speeds.
- BUILT FOR AI — Apple silicon, and every major component that powers it, is designed to run demanding on-device AI workloads like LLM inference and training. And Apple Intelligence helps you write, express yourself, and get things done effortlessly with groundbreaking privacy protections at every step.*
- ALL-DAY BATTERY LIFE — MacBook Pro delivers the same exceptional performance whether it’s running on battery or plugged in.*
- MACOS RUNS APPS FAST — All your go-to apps run lightning fast in macOS, including built-in apps like FaceTime and Messages. Plus, built-in virus protection and free software updates help keep your Mac running smoothly and securely.
24. Try higher resolutions on supported ultrawide displays
macOS 27 adds higher resolutions for some ultrawide displays. Apple’s feature description does not identify a required display model, so verify the options available with your particular display and Mac.
25. Look for quicker AirDrop transfers
Apple says AirDrop transfers are quicker. Its feature and support pages do not provide comparative benchmark figures, so the claim should not be read as a specific guaranteed speed increase.
26. Browse network files and Safari’s start page faster
Apple also describes faster network file browsing and faster loading of Safari start-page content. No quantified before-and-after measurements are provided.
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27. Create or edit Calendar events from a description
Calendar can create or edit events from a description, reducing the need to fill in event details one field at a time. Review the date, time, and other details before saving.
Check compatibility and availability before you upgrade
Apple’s supported Mac list includes MacBook Neo (2026); Apple silicon MacBook Air and MacBook Pro from 2020 onward; Apple silicon iMac from 2021; Mac mini from 2020; Mac Studio from 2022; and Apple silicon Mac Pro from 2023. Apple Intelligence requires a Mac with M1 or later, or a MacBook Neo with A18 Pro, with Siri and the device language set to a supported language. Some features have narrower hardware, language, or regional requirements, and server-side Apple Intelligence features may have usage limits. Check Apple’s macOS 27 feature page and Apple Support’s update notes for the current details. Apple’s support page, published September 28, 2026, also identifies macOS 27.0.1 as a bug-fix update.
Quick Recap
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