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Apple’s MacOS 27 announcement at WWDC 2026 on Monday might have focused on some trippy hippy visuals and strange “summer of love”-themed poetry, but the next desktop operating system update is more representative of sterile, clean design choices.
When it arrives this fall, MacOS 27 Golden Gate will overhaul the Liquid Glass visuals that were introduced last year and add support for ultrawide displays. Additionally, Apple promises a bevy of performance upgrades, including quicker AirDrop transfers, faster start-up page loading, faster file browsing and more. Of course, there’s also a healthy heaping of Apple AI features coming to the Calendar, Messages, Mail and other apps.
Not every Apple computer is going to be able to make the jump to MacOS 27, though. If your computer is too old and it has an unsupported processor, you’re going to be left behind. Here’s how to know if your computer will be able to update to Golden Gate later this year.
Every Mac computer that supports MacOS 27 Golden Gate
Unsure whether your Mac can run the latest version of Apple’s operating system? You probably don’t have anything to worry about — Golden Gate is supported on any computer with Apple silicon, including those with an M1 chip. The big news right now is that Macs with Intel processors are no longer supported with MacOS updates.
Here’s a detailed list of every Mac that can still run MacOS 27 Golden Gate, according to Apple’s announcement.
The MacBook Neo is based on a 13-inch Liquid Retina display.
MacBook Neo
Apple’s brand-new affordable MacBook will unsurprisingly be supported with operating system updates for a long while.
The A18 Pro chips inside of this 13-inch laptop may be repurposed from the iPhone and might not have the full processing power of Apple’s M-series silicon, but the MacBook Neo can nonetheless handle the upgrade to MacOS 27.
Don’t worry. You don’t need a MacBook with an M5 chip to run MacOS 27.
MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (2020)
Apple’s superlight and superexpensive laptops were both updated from Intel chips to Apple silicon in the same year. So long as you have a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro from 2020 or later, you’ll be able to update your operating system to MacOS 27 Golden Gate when it comes out this fall.
If you own a computer that can fit within the palm of your hand, make sure it has Apple silicon inside of it.
Mac Mini (2020)
Apple’s ultracompact desktop computer will also be able to make the jump to MacOS 27, provided you have a model that’s from 2020 or later. All of these models run on Apple silicon, which makes them eligible for an operating system update this year.
If your Mac Mini is a 2018 model, it might be time to think about upgrading your computer. Since this model has an Intel processor, it will no longer support the latest MacOS update.
The iMacs updated to M-series chips later than some of Apple’s other Macs.
iMac (2021)
Unlike the Mac Mini, the iMac desktop computer didn’t receive its Apple silicon update until 2021. That means 2020 models still run on Intel processors and are no longer eligible for new MacOS updates starting with Golden Gate.
If you have an iMac that’s from 2021, it contains an M1 chip, which enables your computer to update to MacOS 27. Any iMac model newer than that can also update to the latest operating system version without any issues.
If you own a Mac Studio, you’re good to go.
Mac Studio (2022)
The Mac Studio is a relatively new Apple product. As long as they’ve been produced, they’ve used Apple’s M-series processors — that means if you own one of these computers, you’re good to go. The oldest Mac Studio models use Apple’s M1 chips, so they’re eligible for an update to MacOS 27 Golden Gate.
The newest Mac Pro desktops have M-series processors, so they’ll be able to support MacOS 27.
Mac Pro (2023)
The latest Mac Pro desktop PC was released in 2023, and it featured an M2 Ultra chip. It was the first Mac Pro to feature Apple silicon, and it’ll therefore see continued MacOS support with the Golden Gate update. The previous Mac Pro, released in 2019, featured Intel Cascade Lake processors and won’t run MacOS 27.
MacOS 27 Golden Gate was just one of a slew of software announcements during Apple’s WWDC 2026 keynote. CNET experts will continue to cover every iOS, MacOS and Siri AI update over the course of the event.
