Apple Previews MacOS 27 Developer Beta Ahead of Fall Launch with New MacBooks

macOS 27 will go live with the new MacBooks this fall, but you can opt into the Developer Beta now. Here’s how.

At WWDC 2026, Apple announced MacOS 27 "Golden Gate," the latest operating system for MacBooks launching this fall. It's mostly centered around performance improvements and visual design optimizations, but the main draw is a redesigned Siri.  Although we have some time to go before Golden Gate is available to the public, you can download the developer beta now and try out the new features as they exist. Also: Apple WWDC 2026: Live updates on iOS 27, Siri, Apple Intelligence and more The reason is that this stage of the beta is technically reserved for developers to test out their apps — not the public. Features could still be unfinished, buggy, or underperforming.  Apple typically releases the public beta of MacOS in July, so if you don't want to pay, I'd suggest waiting until then. I'd also recommend not using your main driver for this, and, as always, backing up your data before making any system-wide changes.  Kerry Wan/ZDNETDetermine if your Mac is eligible  Golden Gate marks the end of Apple's support for Intel-based Macs, so you'll need at the bare minimum a device running Apple Silicon. That includes any of the following Macs:  Go to Apple's Developer site and register as an individual with your Apple account. As I mentioned above, the membership costs $99/year, so if you're just keen on taking a sneak peek at new features, I'd advise waiting until the public beta opens in July.  Once you're all registered, you just have to enable beta updates on your Mac. To do this, go to System Settings > General > Software Update and click the (i) icon to the right of "Beta Updates." In the window that pops up, click the "Beta Updates" menu and select "MacOS Developer Beta." Click Done, and then "Update Now."