Second macOS Golden Gate Public Beta Now Available

Wednesday July 22, 2026 10:39 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today released the second public beta of macOS Golden Gate, allowing non-developers to test the software ahead of its fall release. You can sign up to test the update on Apple's beta website, and then download it by going to System Settings > General > Software Update and toggling on the macOS 27 beta.

‌macOS Golden Gate‌ includes the same Siri AI features as iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, but you get to ‌Siri‌ through Spotlight with a Command + Space keyboard shortcut. ‌Siri‌ can search the web to answer questions, look through your personal data like photos, emails, and messages to help you find what you're searching for, and complete actions in and between apps. There is a dedicated ‌Siri‌ app, and you can hold ongoing conversations with ‌Siri‌.

Apple brought Visual Intelligence to the Mac, so ‌Siri‌ can look at what's on your screen and answer questions about it.

The Liquid Glass design introduced last year has been updated, and Apple added a slider for controlling overall system transparency. Liquid Glass opacity has been changed so it better diffuses complex content, and other design changes bring more depth and separation to the UI so it's easier to tell which window is active.

Apps now feature uniform toolbars with headings and controls that are easier to read, and windows no longer have such dramatically rounded corners. Sidebars are no longer floating and extend edge-to-edge, plus window positioning is more consistent across external displays.

Write with ‌Siri‌ is able to generate text from scratch, correct your grammar, or give you feedback on your writing, and there are new AI editing tools in the Photos app. In Shortcuts, you can create automations with natural language requests, and search has been improved in Mail and Messages. Apple made multiple performance improvements across ‌macOS Golden Gate‌ for a faster, smoother experience even on older Macs.

More on the new features in macOS 27 can be found in our macOS Golden Gate roundup.

Popular Stories

macOS Golden Gate Beta 3 Now Available for Developers

Monday July 6, 2026 10:25 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today provided developers with the third beta of macOS Golden Gate, with the update coming two weeks after Apple seeded the second beta. Developers can download macOS Golden Gate by going to System Settings > General > Software Update. Beta Updates will need to be enabled, and a free developer account is required. macOS Golden Gate includes multiple design improvements. Liquid Glass ...

macOS Golden Gate Gets New Wallpaper

Monday July 6, 2026 12:22 pm PDT by Juli Clover

With the third beta of macOS 27, Apple added new Golden Gate-themed wallpaper options to the Mac. There are new Golden Gate Sunset and Golden Gate Night options, both of which join the prior Golden Gate abstract wallpaper that Apple introduced with the initial beta. Golden Gate Sunset and Golden Gate Night animate when unlocking the Mac, and can be set as a screen saver. When used as a...

Apple to Drop Support for Encrypted Mac OS Extended Drives Next Year

Apple yesterday published a new support document warning that macOS 28 will no longer support encrypted Mac OS Extended (HFS+) volumes, meaning affected external drives will need to be decrypted or reformatted ahead of the update. Starting with macOS 28, "the Mac OS Extended file system format will be supported only for volumes (disks and other storage devices) that aren't encrypted." Any...