Although Apple’s revamped personal assistant is no doubt the headlining feature in macOS 27 Golden Gate, there are many other new features and refinements in this year’s update that don’t involve Siri AI. Read our post as I cherry-pick a few of my favorite new macOS 27 updates, and be sure to watch our video as I walk through them all.

App icon revamp: macOS 27 changes almost all of the built-in app icons in some way, with a few icons like Siri, Preview, and Chess undergoing complete redesigns. Other app icons, like Finder, Photos, and Reminders, also receive noticeable revamps, with a trend toward emphasizing the Liquid Glass design language. Few app icons were spared changes, but many updates are subtle.

Widespread HDR support: One of the coolest things about macOS 27 is its broad support for HDR across the OS’s visuals. Icons, toolbars, and other parts of the Liquid Glass design language gain support for additional dynamic range. To identify which elements have additional dynamic range, you can use macOS’ built-in Digital Color Meter utility. On displays like the Asus ProArt QD-OLED 32-inch 4K and Dell UltraSharp U3226Q, HDR elements pop.

Design updates: macOS Golden Gate features a ton of design updates to address complaints users raised about macOS Tahoe, including mismatched corner radii, floating side bars now edge-to-edge, revamped toolbars, and an improved Liquid Glass effect with a new transparency slider.