Apple has officially released macOS Golden Gate to the public, bringing a major software update to compatible Macs. The new release introduces a smarter Siri AI, expanded Apple Intelligence features, customizable Liquid Glass, Visual Intelligence, improved iPhone Mirroring, and a range of performance improvements.

Unlike previous macOS releases, macOS Golden Gate requires an Apple silicon Mac. Compatible devices include Macs with an M1 chip or later, as well as the A18 Pro-powered MacBook Neo.

Liquid Glass Gets More Customizable

One of the biggest visual changes in macOS Golden Gate is a new Liquid Glass transparency slider.

Users can adjust the appearance of Liquid Glass between a clearer look that reveals more of the background and a more opaque option designed to improve readability. An intermediate setting is also available.

Apple has also refined the overall Liquid Glass design. Navigation bars and buttons better diffuse complex backgrounds, while darker edges and brighter highlights provide greater depth and separation between interface elements.

Toolbars, sidebars, and windows have also been redesigned for a more consistent appearance. Sidebars now extend edge-to-edge instead of floating, while sidebar icons once again use color.

Siri AI Comes to the Mac

The biggest feature in macOS Golden Gate is the new Siri AI.

Siri now works more like an AI chatbot and can handle significantly more complex requests. On Mac, users can access Siri directly through the redesigned Spotlight interface by pressing Command + Space.

Spotlight now features a unified “Search or Ask” field, allowing users to search for files and apps or ask Siri questions and request tasks.

Apple has also introduced a dedicated Siri app where users can view previous conversations and start new ones. Siri conversations can sync across supported Apple devices.

Siri can also understand what's displayed on the screen and access personal information such as emails, messages, and photos when needed to answer questions. It can search the web and perform certain tasks inside apps.

For users in the European Union, the Mac is currently the only Apple device that supports trying the new Siri AI experience.

Visual Intelligence Comes to Mac

macOS Golden Gate brings Visual Intelligence from the iPhone to Mac.

Users can ask Siri about content displayed on their screen by selecting the entire display or just a specific area. Visual Intelligence can identify objects, search for images, summarize and translate content, and answer questions about what's on screen.

It can also extract information and send it to apps such as Calendar and Reminders. New capabilities include identifying nutritional information from food and helping with tasks such as splitting a bill.

Write With Siri Goes System-Wide

Apple has expanded its AI-powered writing tools with a system-wide Write with Siri feature.

Siri can help compose emails and messages, rewrite text, suggest improvements, replace words, and perform other editing tasks.

Users can right-click selected text and choose the Siri option to request writing assistance. When starting with a blank document, Siri can also generate content based on a natural-language request.

For emails and messages, Siri can analyze previous communications to produce text that better matches the user's existing writing style.

Apple has also improved system-wide spell correction and added more grammar suggestions.

iPhone Mirroring Gets More Flexible

The iPhone Mirroring window can now be resized in macOS Golden Gate by dragging its corners.

Depending on the app, users may see a traditional portrait iPhone layout, while some apps support landscape or iPad-style layouts.

The update could be particularly useful with Apple's new iPhone Duo, but the improved window flexibility is also available for existing iPhone users.

AI Can Create Shortcuts for You

The Shortcuts app has received a major usability upgrade.

Instead of manually building a Shortcut step by step, users can describe what they want in natural language. AI can then create the Shortcut automatically.

Users can further refine the result with additional instructions or manually adjust individual actions. Shortcuts can then be launched through the app or with Siri.

Safari Can Generate Extensions

Safari also gets an interesting AI-powered feature that allows users to create simple browser extensions using natural language.

Through the Describe Extension option, users can explain what they want an extension to do, and AI generates the extension automatically.

Examples include creating reading-time badges, highlighting specific words, closing duplicate tabs, changing minimum font sizes, creating focus timers, saving recipes, or entering a website's design mode.

Smarter Safari Tab Grouping and Notifications

Safari can now automatically group related tabs into categories, making it easier to manage large numbers of open pages.

Apple has also added webpage monitoring. Users can choose to check a webpage hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly and receive a notification when its content changes.

macOS Golden Gate Improves Performance

Beyond the new AI features, Apple has made numerous underlying performance improvements.

Animations and interactions are smoother, while scrolling through Safari and other apps feels faster. Mission Control and Spaces also receive performance improvements.

Apple says AirDrop transfers are faster, browsing files on network devices is more responsive, and window positioning is more stable when using external displays.

Messages should also sync more quickly and reliably across Apple devices.

Apple has rebuilt parts of the search infrastructure behind Spotlight, Photos, Mail, and Messages, resulting in faster indexing and more relevant search results. Mail also gains improved ranking to surface the messages users are more likely to be looking for.

How to Install macOS Golden Gate

Compatible Macs can upgrade to macOS Golden Gate through System Settings.

Go to:

System Settings → General → Software Update

From there, users can check for the macOS Golden Gate update and begin the installation.

macOS Golden Gate System Requirements

macOS Golden Gate requires an Apple silicon Mac.

Supported devices include:

  ●Macs with M1 or later

  ●A18 Pro MacBook Neo

  ●Intel-based Macs are not supported

All Macs compatible with macOS Golden Gate support Apple Intelligence and Siri AI. However, some on-device Siri features, including natural voice selection and upgraded dictation, require an M3 chip or later.

macOS Golden Gate Is a Major AI-Focused Update

macOS Golden Gate represents a significant shift in Apple's Mac software strategy. Alongside the visual changes introduced by Liquid Glass, Apple is making AI a much deeper part of macOS through Siri, Visual Intelligence, writing assistance, Shortcuts, and Safari.

For Apple silicon Mac users, the update combines a refreshed interface with smarter system-level features and meaningful performance improvements, making it one of the more substantial macOS upgrades in recent years.

Source: Macrumors