macOS 27: What’s new in next Mac update being unveiled at WWDC Monday

macOS 27 release date: When will macOS 27 be available?

• First developer beta: June 8, 2026
• First public beta: July 2026
• Final version: September 2026

Apple will debut macOS 27 at WWDC26. Apple’s Keynote presentation will be on June 8, 2026, and the company will highlight the key features.

The official version of macOS 27 will not be available until later in 2027. In recent years, Apple has released macOS at the same time as iOS. The iOS release has been happening during the second week of September, so Monday, September 14, is our guess as to when macOS 27 becomes available to everyone.

When will the macOS 27 beta be released?

It isn’t necessary to wait until the fall to try out the new features in macOS 27, though. Apple will release a developer beta at WWDC – likely immediately after the keynote on June 8. Apple will then release a public beta in July.

The beta cycle includes several iterations as Apple refines the software. Here’s how you can participate in the beta program.

macOS 27 compatibility: Which Macs will support macOS 27?

• Apple Silicon only: macOS 27 ends support for Intel Macs

With the release of macOS 26 Tahoe last year, Apple announced that it would be the last version that supports Macs with Intel processors. That means when macOS 27 is released, you’ll need a Mac with an M1 processor or later to install it.

Foundry

Only M-series Macs will be able to run macOS 27.

The list of supported Macs is expected to look like this:

• MacBook Neo (A18 Pro/2026 and later)
• MacBook Air (M1/2020 and later)
• MacBook Pro (M1/2020 and later)
• iMac (M1/2021 and later)
• Mac mini (M1/2020 and later)
• Mac Studio (M1/2022 and later)
• Mac Pro (M2/2023 and later)

Users should also take note that macOS 27 will be released about six years after the first M1 Macs were released in November 2020. Apple’s macOS support cycle usually runs about seven years; after that, Apple starts the deprecation process that eventually leads to the end of support for the device. Apple has not stated if macOS 27 will be the last or next-to-last version of macOS that M1 Macs can support, but it’s possible that the first Apple silicon Macs could get cut off next year.

Should Intel Mac owners upgrade now?

Intel Mac owners should upgrade to Apple Silicon as soon as possible. The transition away from Intel hardware has reached a critical turning point, with software support rapidly vanishing and a new generation of affordable entry-level hardware making the switch more accessible than ever.

Apple has confirmed that macOS 27 will not support any Intel-based Macs. While a small number of Intel models may receive security patches for older versions of macOS until September 2028, they are already excluded from modern flagship features.

Those with Intel Macs also miss out on many features, including Apple Intelligence.

What the end of Rosetta support means

macOS 27 is also expected to end support for Rosetta 2, Apple’s translation technology that allows Intel-based Mac apps to run on Apple Silicon Macs.

The end of Rosetta 2 support marks the final stage of Apple’s transition away from Intel-based architecture, effectively terminating the ability of M-series Macs to run older software designed for Intel processors. Rosetta 2 has served as a “translator” or “transition layer” since 2020, allowing Apple silicon to execute x86_64 instructions.

The move further accelerates Apple’s transition away from Intel-era software. As of the macOS 26.4 update, users are already seeing Rosetta 2 warnings.

macOS 27 performance: Stability improvements

• Main focus on stability

macOS and the rest of the OS 26 releases last year introduced some of the biggest changes that Apple has made to its operating systems in recent history. Since it was such a big release, it follows that the xOS 27 releases this June won’t include a ton of feature changes.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple “is focused on improving the software’s quality and underlying performance… Engineering teams are now combing through Apple’s operating systems, hunting for bloat to cut, bugs to eliminate, and any opportunity to meaningfully boost performance and overall quality.”

In this case, Apple seems to be taking a cue from its release of Mac OS X Snow Leopard in 2009, which focused on battery life, stability, performance and modernized code, rather than new features, following 2007’s Mac OS X Leopard.

macOS 27 Siri: Will Siri finally get its long-awaited upgrade?

• Siri app
• Chatbot upgrades
• Google Gemini foundational model

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The main spotlight at WWDC26 is expected to revolve around Siri. The major overhaul Apple first previewed at WWDC 2024 has been delayed multiple times, with the company now targeting a rollout over the coming year. Some features could arrive first in beta. After months of setbacks, WWDC26 represents an important opportunity for Apple to demonstrate progress on its AI roadmap and reassure users that its next-generation Siri is still on track.

The delayed Siri features include personal context awareness, on-screen awareness, deeper app actions, multi-step automation, AI-powered Shortcuts, and a conversational Siri. Together, these capabilities are intended to transform Siri from a simple voice assistant into a more capable AI assistant that can understand what you’re doing and take actions across apps on your behalf. See: New Siri features coming in 2026.

Reports also suggest Apple is planning a broader AI-focused reboot of Siri. Rumored additions include a redesigned interface, a ChatGPT-style chatbot experience and support for additional AI models such as Google Gemini. While details remain scarce, Siri appears to be headed for its most significant overhaul since its debut in 2011.

As of June 2026, Apple is reportedly testing a standalone Siri app, internally. The app is said to support persistent conversations, conversation history, file uploads, and synchronization across devices. It remains unclear whether the app will launch on macOS at the same time as iOS, but a Mac version would be a logical extension of Apple’s cross-platform AI strategy.

Another change could involve the AI models powering Siri. While OpenAI’s ChatGPT was the first third-party AI model integrated into Apple’s ecosystem, reports suggest Apple is expanding its approach to include multiple AI providers. Google Gemini is widely expected to join ChatGPT as an option for handling certain Siri and Apple Intelligence requests, while Apple will continue using its own in-house models for features such as Writing Tools, notification summaries, and other on-device AI tasks.

Many reports focus on iOS 27 rather than macOS 27, since Siri is primarily marketed as an iPhone feature. However, Siri has largely achieved feature parity across Apple’s platforms in recent years, making it likely that major Siri upgrades will also arrive on the Mac.

macOS 27 Apple Intelligence: What’s next for Apple Intelligence?

Along with the new Siri, reports claim that iOS 27 will have a lot of new Apple Intelligence features, and while many of those features are iPhone specific, there are several that are likely to make their way into macOS 27. Some Apple Intelligence features that could feature in macOS 27 include:

• AI-based photo-editing tools in the Photos app
• Text editing tools similar to Grammarly
• AI tools in Calendar
• Automatic tab groups in Safari

macOS 27 UI: Liquid Glass tweaks and touchscreen elements

• Liquid Glass refinements
• Touchscreen MacBook Pro preparation
• Dynamic Island

With macOS 26, Apple introduced a major revamp of the macOS interface, based on Liquid Glass. It’s not going anywhere, but Apple will use macOS 27 to make refinements. Gurman reported that macOS 27 will address “transparency quirks” and other design issues. The changes will “make Liquid Glass look the way Apple’s design team intended it to from the start,” according to the report.

Foundry

Additionally, Apple is expected to release a touchscreen MacBook Pro sometime during the macOS 27 cycle, which will include UI elements for touch. Gurman said in a report that macOS 27 will offer a “refreshed, dynamic user interface that can shift between being optimized for touch or point-and-click input.” A new menu will appear with touch controls when the user touches the screen, and menu items will expand to make touching them easier. Gurman also said that these new laptops will have a Dynamic Island similar to the one on the iPhone. It will not have Face ID, however.

It’s unclear whether macOS 27 will feature visible interface changes to accommodate the new touchscreen MacBook or if the interface will contain hidden elements that adjust for touch input.

macOS 27 name: What will macOS 27 be named after?

With macOS, Apple gives it a name that refers to an association in California. It’s a tradition that started in 2013 with OS X 10.9 Mavericks (referring to the surf break in the Half Moon Bay area).

macOS 26 was named after Lake Tahoe, and macOS 27 may also be named for a lake: Big Bear. The Big Bear name has been spotted in data attached to an image Apple shared on X. Big Bear Lake is a lake and adjacent city in San Bernardino County. Big Bear is also the name of an AI company that builds real-world AI systems for the U.S. Department of Defense.

If Apple has so little choice of Californian names that Big Bear sounds like a good idea, maybe it’s time to switch to another theme?

Here is a list of the names Apple has used for macOS since it started to use Californian landmarks then:

• 10.9 Mavericks
• 10.10 Yosemite
• 10.11 El Capitan
• macOS 10.12 Sierra
• macOS 10.13 High Sierra
• macOS 10.14 Mojave
• macOS 10.15 Catalina
• macOS 11 Big Sur
• macOS 12 Monterey
• macOS 13 Ventura
• macOS 14 Sonoma
• macOS 15 Sequoia
• macOS 26 Tahoe

Three years ago, a list of names that Apple had trademarked was posted to X. Here is that list of (then) trademarked named that have not yet been used:

• Condor
• Diablo
• Farallon
• Grizzly
• Mammoth
• Miramar
• Pacific
• Redwood
• Redtail
• Rincon
• Shasta
• Skyline
• Tiburon

It’s not clear if the trademark has expired on any of these names. However, it’s worth noting that the name “Big Sur” had expired before Apple decided to use it for macOS 11.