Apple has released macOS 27 "Golden Gate", pairing a modest, well-received refinement of last year's macOS 26 Tahoe with the first major upgrade to Apple Intelligence since its 2024 debut, including a long-promised new version of Siri. Crucially, users can no longer disable Apple Intelligence or delete the AI models it installs, marking a shift from optional feature to mandatory system component. The update also ends an era, as it is the first macOS release since the mid-2000s to drop support for Intel-based Macs entirely.

Golden Gate requires at least an Apple M1 chip, meaning all supported Macs can now run Apple Intelligence, which never worked on Intel hardware. The system is powered by Apple's new AFM 3 Core model, developed in collaboration with Google, though a more capable "AFM 3 Core Advanced" model needs 16GB of RAM and either an M4 chip or newer, or an A18 Pro/A19 Pro chip, currently only enabling more expressive Siri voice features and improved dictation. This creates a split among Apple Silicon Macs, with older M1/M2 machines and 8GB M3 models excluded from the advanced tier, while owners of unsupported Intel Macs face a shrinking set of options, with security updates for macOS 15 Sequoia and macOS 26 Tahoe ending in autumn 2027.