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Apple Releases macOS Golden Gate Beta 4

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Apple today provided developers with the fourth beta of macOS Golden Gate, with the update coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third beta.

macOS-27-next-to-MacBook-Pro-Running-macOS-27.jpg

Developers can download macOS Golden Gate by going to System Settings > General > Software Update. Beta Updates will need to be enabled, and a free developer account is required.

macOS Golden Gate includes multiple design improvements. Liquid Glass opacity has been improved to increase readability, there's a slider for controlling the level of transparency, and changes to shadowing make it easier to tell when a window is active. Apps now have uniform toolbars, edge-to-edge sidebars, and less rounded corners, plus there are fewer icons in menu bars.

Siri has been transformed into Siri AI, a chatbot-style assistant that combines general world knowledge, your personal data, and onscreen awareness to answer questions about anything and find information for you. Siri lives in Spotlight, and you can ask questions with the new Search or Ask interface.

There's also a Siri app where you can chat with Siri and view past conversations, and on newer Macs, you can set a custom voice for Siri with personalized pace and expressivity. Visual Intelligence is now on the Mac so Siri can answer questions about what's on your screen, and a Write with Siri feature lets Siri generate text or give feedback on your writing.

There are AI photo editing tools in the Photos app, AI tab organization in Safari, an option to use AI to automatically update weak passwords in the Passwords app, and a revamped Image Playground app that can generate photorealistic images.

More on all of the new features in macOS Golden Gate can be found in our macOS Golden Gate roundup.

Article Link: Apple Releases macOS Golden Gate Beta 4
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/07/20/apple-releases-macos-27-beta-4/
I hope this fixes the kernel_task from eating up more and more until it's running 200% of the CPU. At first I thought it was just Chrome doing Chrome, and Chrome is much worse while in macOS 27, which is saying something, but kernel_task slowly starts taking up more and more. I didn't even notice it on my test unit, a '21 M1 MBP, until I noted two things: 1. Fans running, which for what I do is rare, and 2. I could almost watch the battery percentage drop in real time.

The iOS 27 beta is a bit more stable but my phone's battery life isn't nearly what it was and getting some really weird behaviors, mostly in third-party apps, like audio that keeps playing after the app isn't in use, as in, shut down and closed, supposedly.

I've reported all these, mind you, but definitely for people looking at the betas, we're still early; installer beware.
 
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ImageWrangler said:
I hope this fixes the kernel_task from eating up more and more until it's running 200% of the CPU. At first I thought it was just Chrome doing Chrome, and Chrome is much worse while in macOS 27, which is saying something, but kernel_task slowly starts taking up more and more. I didn't even notice it on my test unit, a '21 M1 MBP, until I noted two things: 1. Fans running, which for what I do is rare, and 2. I could almost watch the battery percentage drop in real time.

The iOS 27 beta is a bit more stable but my phone's battery life isn't nearly what it was and getting some really weird behaviors, mostly in third-party apps, like audio that keeps playing after the app isn't in use, as in, shut down and closed, supposedly.

I've reported all these, mind you, but definitely for people looking at the betas, we're still early; installer beware.
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Mine was doing this in Beta 2 but was resolved for me in Beta 3. I haven't had a kernel panic since then.
 
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zemoleman said:
Anyone else not happy having all this AI embedded in the OS? WHAT could go wrong?
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So far all I have really seen AI do is give people something new to complain about on the internet. I'd complain about RAM prices, but then I would indirectly be one of the complainers I am complaining about.
 
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What is the experience like running this new OS on a (base) M1 MacBook Air? I don't install beta software (as I only own one Mac, and it's a daily driver for me) and I realize that beta software could be way different from the actual software someone like me (eventually) installs, but I wonder if all the under-the-hood work Apple did for this OS will translate into a better experience for those of us on older machines?
 
Thisismattwade said:
What is the experience like running this new OS on a (base) M1 MacBook Air? I don't install beta software (as I only own one Mac, and it's a daily driver for me) and I realize that beta software could be way different from the actual software someone like me (eventually) installs, but I wonder if all the under-the-hood work Apple did for this OS will translate into a better experience for those of us on older machines?
Click to expand...
I have it running on a separate partition on my M1 mini. It seems very responsive and stable for a beta, and will probably end up being an excellent upgrade for anyone running Sequoia or Tahoe. I’d recommend waiting for the official release though.
 
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Thisismattwade said:
What is the experience like running this new OS on a (base) M1 MacBook Air? I don't install beta software (as I only own one Mac, and it's a daily driver for me) and I realize that beta software could be way different from the actual software someone like me (eventually) installs, but I wonder if all the under-the-hood work Apple did for this OS will translate into a better experience for those of us on older machines?
Click to expand...
This beta cycle has gone pretty well for me so far. Haven’t really noticed any of the slowdowns, battery drain, or any other side effects of a typical DB install. I do have the 16gb ram option on my M1 air which I’m sure helps, but overall still a great machine for daily use even running DBs.
 
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I appreciate beta testers taking the arrows, but even after the Gold Master release, I may wait a month or more on this update across all devices. I'm curious how "x"OS 27 on hundreds of millions of devices suddenly hammering the same AI servers is going to work. If Google's Gemini is the only horse carrying this, $1 Billion is the steal of the century for Apple (if that's even true). I think we know way, way too little about all of these arrangements.
 
AzureSaturn said:
the build number is 26A5388g btw
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here are the others that came out today

macOS 26.6 RC 1 (25G70)
macOS 15.7.8 RC 6 (24G822)
macOS 14.8.8 RC 6 (23J619)

also

iOS 27.0 beta 4 (24A5390f)
iPadOS 27.0 beta 4 (24A5390f)
tvOS 27.0 beta 4 (24J5325d)
audioOS 27.0 beta 4 (24J5325d)
visionOS 27.0 beta 4 (24M5326g)
watchOS 27.0 beta 4 (24R5325h)
iOS 26.6 RC 1 (23G71)
iPadOS 26.6 RC 1 (23G71)
tvOS 26.6 RC 1 (23L772)
audioOS 26.6 RC 1 (23L772)
visionOS 26.6 RC 1 (23O770)
watchOS 26.6 RC 1 (23U67)
 
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Mission Control is so much better now, and the menu bar is great. However, windows no longer jump all over the place. (okay it take this one back, but it's much better then it was) This is the most stable beta all around.
 
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Since Beta 1 every time I drag a window to my external monitor and use the "Drag to top" gesture to maximize it, it darkens down my the screen background as well as the menu bar. Just a visual glitch but strange non the less.
Anyone else seeing this?
 
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