Overview
- Apple made macOS Golden Gate publicly available Monday, September 14, 2026, and users with supported Macs can download it through System Settings → General → Software Update.
- Golden Gate runs only on Apple silicon Macs (M1 or later) and the A18 Pro MacBook Neo, leaving Intel Macs unsupported and gating some advanced on‑device AI features to newer chips.
- The centerpiece is a redesigned Siri that works like a chatbot, appears as a dedicated Siri app and in Spotlight, and can read screen content, access mail and photos, and complete tasks inside apps.
- New Apple Intelligence tools include Visual Intelligence for asking questions about selected screen areas, a system‑wide Write with Siri for composing and editing text, AI‑created Shortcuts, and Safari extension generation.
- Apple says the AI uses a hybrid model with private iCloud sync and reported cloud partners for heavier processing, which creates region and device limits, iCloud+ quotas, and ongoing gaps in some third‑party integrations.