macOS Golden Gate is available in public beta this week, giving users an early look at Siri AI and a bundle of visual and functional changes ahead of the official rollout this autumn. Apple calls this beta more stable than some past previews, but still recommends installing it on a secondary device and creating a Time Machine backup so you can revert to macOS Tahoe if needed.
Interface redesigned: Liquid Glass and unified windows
The update introduces a new “Liquid Glass” setting with a transparency slider: choose a lighter setting to let the background show through or a more opaque option for improved legibility. Apple has also adjusted overall opacity and the diffusion of background blur behind bars and buttons, darkening edges and brightening highlights to better separate interface elements. Toolbars have been standardized to make titles and controls more readable, window corners now share a uniform radius, and sidebars move to an edge-to-edge design with colored icons rather than floating elements.
macOS Golden Gate: Siri AI moves to the center
Siri AI is the headline feature in macOS Golden Gate. On Mac, Siri is now accessible from the Spotlight bar (Command + Space), which becomes a unified “Search or Ask” field that also serves as a conversational interface. A dedicated Siri app stores conversation history and syncs it across devices. Siri can analyze what’s on the screen and access personal content (mail, messages, photos) to answer questions or perform tasks; it can also browse the web and control apps.
Visual Intelligence: ask questions about what’s on screen
Visual Intelligence arrives on the Mac with the same capabilities as on iPhone. It launches with Command + Shift + Space or Command + Shift + 6 to capture a region, and is available in the screenshot tool (Command + Shift + 5) via a dedicated icon that offers an adjustable selection. Visual Intelligence can summarize, translate, identify objects, extract details into Calendar or Reminders, provide nutritional information for a dish, or help split and share a bill.
Write with Siri and improved correction
The system offers “Write with Siri,” accessible from right-click > Ask Siri: the feature can draft emails or messages, give feedback on selected text, replace words, or generate content from scratch. Siri learns from your past writing to produce drafts consistent with your tone. Additionally, spell checking has been expanded: macOS Golden Gate now offers grammatical suggestions and more advanced corrections.
