Overview
- Apple’s developer beta for macOS 27 Golden Gate is limited to Macs with Apple Silicon and the official compatibility list names M1 and later models plus the 2026 MacBook Neo with the A18 Pro.
- Rosetta 2 will remain in macOS 27 to run Intel apps on Apple Silicon but Apple says future macOS releases will narrow Rosetta’s role, keeping it mainly for legacy uses such as older games.
- Intel Macs that stay on macOS 26 Tahoe will receive around two more years of security and Safari patches, while Macs on older branches such as macOS 15 Sequoia will get a shorter, roughly one-year extension.
- Apple Intelligence features will run on M1 and later machines including the MacBook Neo, and the most advanced on-device AI functions will require M3 or newer chips plus at least 12GB of unified memory.
- Community tools like OpenCore Legacy Patcher can let some unsupported Intel Macs run newer macOS builds, but those fixes are unofficial and will become harder to maintain as Apple narrows compatibility; the public release of macOS 27 is expected this fall as a free update.