A long-awaited detail
Among the 263 features listed on the WWDC 2026 keynote slide, one specifically concerns macOS Golden Gate: Ethernet connection status now appears in the menu bar, visible without opening System Preferences or Control Centre. This is a feature that desktop Mac users — iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, Mac Studio — with wired connections have been waiting years for.
Why its absence was anomalous
On macOS, the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar has always shown signal quality and provided quick access to available networks. Ethernet, despite being the preferred choice for users needing low latency and stable bandwidth, had no equivalent quick visual indicator. Checking its status required opening the Network panel in System Settings. macOS Golden Gate corrects this disparity.
Context within Golden Gate's design
The addition fits coherently into the menu bar and toolbar redesign announced with macOS Golden Gate, where Apple worked to unify and make the status indicator system more informative. The precise behaviour of the icon — whether it also shows connection speed or only active/inactive status — was not detailed in sources available at the time of publication.