#macOS

Apple will release macOS 27, named macOS Golden Gate, on Monday, September 14. It arrives on the same day as iOS 27 and the other 27 platform updates. A developer beta appeared in June and a public beta followed in July.

The update requires a Mac with an M1 chip or newer. According to MacRumors, supported systems include the MacBook Neo, Apple-silicon MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models from 2020 onward, the 2021 iMac, the 2020 Mac mini, the 2022 Mac Studio and the 2023 Mac Pro.

Four Intel Macs that run macOS Tahoe cannot upgrade: the 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 27-inch iMac and the 2019 Mac Pro. Apple says Intel Macs will receive security updates for three years.

The original Macintosh of 1984 placed a menu bar along the top of the screen, with an Apple menu on the far left. Unlike Windows, where menus live inside each window, the Mac bar belongs to whichever app is active and always sits at the screen edge.

There is a practical reasoning behind that. A target at the edge of a screen is easy to hit, because the cursor stops there, so users can fling the pointer upward without careful aiming. Interface designers often cite this principle, known as Fitts's law, as a reason the top-edge menu is efficient.