A name, a tradition
Apple sticks to the script: every year a new California landmark becomes the name of macOS, and this time it's the Golden Gate. Craig Federighi confirmed it during the WWDC 2026 keynote, complete with the classic skit of the marketing team disappearing and leaving a cryptic note with geographic clues.
macOS Golden Gate brings refined Liquid Glass, more uniform toolbars across apps, sidebars that stretch to screen edges, and a slightly tighter corner radius on windows, according to Engadget. On the performance side, Apple promises app launches up to 30 percent faster, AirDrop transfers 80 percent quicker, and photos appearing in the camera roll 70 percent faster than on macOS Sequoia.
End of Intel Macs, start of consistency
As previously anticipated, macOS Golden Gate also formally marks the end of support for Intel-based Macs. The system is now designed exclusively for Apple Silicon, a choice that simplifies optimisations but cuts off machines from 2020 and earlier.
The developer beta is available today, the public beta arrives in July, and the general release is expected in autumn alongside the new iPhone 18 lineup, as reported by wi-fiplanet.