Along with iOS 27’s public beta, Apple has also released macOS 27 Golden Gate’s public beta build, so that early adopters can get their hands on the new features, including Siri AI, and provide timely feedback to help ensure a stable iOS launch in September.
If you’re sold on all the new features but don’t want to put your faithful MacBook through developer beta duty, a public beta offers a much more refined experience. To install macOS 27’s public beta, follow the steps given below.
So how do you actually install it?
- Head to beta.apple.com and enroll your Mac in the free public beta program; no developer account needed.
- Once you’re signed up, head to System Settings > General > Software Update.
- Next to Beta Updates, click the small “i” button.
- A dropdown will appear in the top-right corner, and from there you select macOS 27 Golden Gate Public Beta.
- Hit Done, and your Mac will start pulling down the update.
You should know that developer betas have been fairly solid so far, but there have been some Safari memory hiccups and occasional reliability issues with beta builds in general. Back up your Mac first, and think twice about installing it on your primary machine.
What’s actually new in Golden Gate?
Like iOS 27, Siri AI is the headline update here as well. It indexes your Messages, Mail, and other content so it can actually answer questions and take action instead of fumbling through web searches.
Spotlight search, which got noticeably flaky on macOS Tahoe, feels far more dependable in this build. Apple also tweaked the Liquid Glass look and unified window corner radii so things stop looking inconsistent across apps.
Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence both got smarter, and Safari now has an extension builder that works off plain-English prompts instead of code. Shortcuts got the same treatment. Expect a handful more betas before the final Golden Gate build ships alongside iOS 27 and the iPhone 18 Pro this September.
