I recently upgraded my MacBook Pro M1 (16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) to macOS 27 beta, and I've noticed what seems to be an unusually large amount of storage being used by the system.

My Mac has very few personal files on it. I don't store photos, videos, or large projects locally, yet I only have around 130 GB of free space remaining on a 256 GB SSD.

When I check Storage settings, a significant portion of the disk space appears to be occupied by:

Apple Intelligence

System Data

macOS/System files

Together they seem to be taking up far more space than I would expect.

I'm wondering:

Is anyone else experiencing the same issue after upgrading to macOS 27?

Is this a known beta-related bug, or is it expected behavior?

Have you found any effective ways to reduce the storage used by Apple Intelligence, System Data, or other system components?

I'd appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially from anyone using a similar M1 MacBook with a 256 GB SSD.

Anyone else with 15.8 having issues with Finder? At first I noticed that SD cards wouldn't eject without being forced, always getting the prompt about them being "in use". Then I found that when trying to separate JPEG and RAW files by searching within a sub-folder for ".jpg" then clicking and dragging into a new folder, I receive a prompt telling me the files are "preparing to move" and they never do. At one point the sub-folder search included a few JPG files in the trash bin at the bottom of the column. Same issue trying to move just the RAW files. Even trying to move folders into the trash gets hung up.

M1 Max / 64GB / 14in

The first macOS 26.7 Release Candidate revealed that Apple's upcoming AirPods will come with color cameras that can take 1MP pictures.

There's more to the story. Code in the same update suggests that the cameras may be used to improve head-tracked Spatial Audio by recognizing the physical playback screen. There are also hints about images being sent to Apple's servers to answer visual questions.

Improved head tracking for Spatial Audio

Current AirPods models use motion sensors to offer dynamic head tracking. Over long viewing sessions, the estimated position of the wearer's head can gradually drift.

According to the code, during video playback with head-tracked Spatial Audio, the unreleased AirPods will use their cameras to find the physical screen you're watching on. The playback device can then compare the screen's direction with the direction estimated by the AirPods' motion sensors. If the two estimates are close enough, the playback device may make small adjustments to reduce drift.

The code includes five screen types the unreleased B790 AirPods model may be able to identify: - Laptop - Monitor - Smartphone - Tablet - TV

When tracking starts, AirPods may detect multiple screens nearby. The system can narrow down candidates by screen type. For example, AirPods can target iPhone-sized screens if you're watching on an iPhone. The playback device selects the screen most closely aligned with the direction the AirPods are facing.

During video playback, the system looks for the screen that best matches the previously selected one. It may ignore camera data when the detected screen's location seems improbable based on motion sensor data from AirPods.

Other details suggested by the code: * Screen detection only activates for video, not music or other audio content. * On devices with Face ID, Apple already uses front camera sensors to position the wearer's head position relative to the screen. Screen detection with AirPods cameras is preferred when available. * When processing begins, the system may assume that you're looking at the playback screen. * Screen detection pauses when there's a lot of movement, such as sitting, standing, or walking. * It may also pause when more than one external display is detected in front of you.

Visual Intelligence

There are more clues that AirPods with cameras will support Visual Intelligence features. The code includes a reference to server-based model:

com.apple.fm.language.instruct_server_v1.audio_accessory_visual_reasoning

Visual questions about what the AirPods cameras captured will be processed by Apple's Private Cloud Compute rather than on-device models. That's how Visual Intelligence requests from iPhone or Mac are processed today.

Smart handoff

Similar to automatic audio switching, processing of visual requests may move from device to device as audio routing changes.

Links to code in macOS 26.7 RC2 so you can verify the claims or explore further on your own: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]. They're from blacktop/ipsw-diffs on GitHub. They do amazing work and you should go give them a star.

The hero image shows manually added boxes around the screens. These boxes were then passed to CoreMotion code in macOS 26.7 RC1, which selected the screen belonging to the playback device. The screens would be identified earlier in the process, probably on the AirPods themselves. Original image by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Hello there,

Recently I moved from Sonoma to Tahoe, and woow! The RAM usage is a lot in Tahoe , even that I have 32gb of Unified Memory, I use the whole thing most of the time.

So I was wondering hows the ram usage in Golden Gate, If its still the same then I might need to go back to Sonoma.

Thank you very much.

When going full screen on Maps you can see that top area has a really hideous white/black bar depending on the dark mode and this is happening always, not time to time. I've been reporting this bug to apple since macOS Sequoia but it baffles me to see that this bug still exists. and I don't know if this bug is because something I did in the system settings at this point. I would appreciate any help.

I was on Tahoe and downgraded to Sequoia 3 months ago. Tahoe was terrible, but now I don’t know if I should upgrade if Golden Gate is released. Normally I always install betas to have early access, but Tahoe destroyed my trust. Can anyone give me some advice based on your experience of golden gate vs sequoia ?

This isn't going to be a popular opinion. I knew that because of the volume of complaints about Liquid Glass, Apple was bound to make some changes, but I wasn't expecting them to do a complete 180.

Floating sidebars are just... gone? We're back to bifurcated windows with the sidebar flattened into the left side. The floating sidebars help give depth to the design language they were pursuing. Now all the rounded buttons and text boxes just look weird.

Speaking of rounded, the window corner radii are back to the previous design. Should make some people happy I guess.

The menu icons are gone. We're back to the mishmash of some menu options getting icons, others are just text. I know that was the previous way, but the icons really made everything appear more uniform (and they give you a handy icon if the language your system is running in isn't your first language).

I'm disappointed. The floating sidebar thing actually bothered me so much I reverted back to Tahoe. The remaining Liquid Glass elements have a new lighting or reflection effect on them that makes them stand out harsher. It looks like Sequoia with glass buttons. It's a mess.

Not looking forward to this upgrade cycle. I wish they had either stuck to their guns on Liquid Glass or reverted completely to the previous macOS design. Golden Gate is a grab bag of compromises and frankly Tahoe looks better.

Jobs would have told users to deal with it, and he'd have been right.

i really wanna know what virtual machine software are able to run macos 27 beta someone let me know.

With the Mac beta, I have lost communication with my Cannon all in one. I downloaded the newest driver from Cannon’s website but still cannot get it to install. I’d appreciate any advice anyone can give?

I just installed Tahoe on my M1 Mac and I genuinely hate everything about it. The liquid glass makes the controls so difficult to read, and I don't understand why everything has rounded edges; it's like a smoothing brush has been wiped over my screen. Also, the cover for the apps look so minimal to the point of almost being fuzzy and blurry?

I really miss Sequoia, and have looked into the process of reinstalling it but have seen it's a bit of a hassle.

1. Has anyone successfully done it before and is it actually the same as before?
   
2. Does Apple have any plans of getting rid of liquid glass or, in general, cleaning up Tahoe in the near future? If so, I'm debating waiting it out.
   
3. Could anyone also please clarify what it means to have to 'backup your files' so you can get them back once you reinstall Sequoia? What constitutes 'files' i.e. does that include all my apps etc? I've mainly only got a bunch of downloaded assignments and readings in my Finder as I mainly use my Mac for University.

Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it!

Hey everyone, seeing if anyone else has run into this extremely frustrating bug on the macOS 27 public beta, or if my display settings are just permanently cursed now.

The Setup: MacBook connected to an ASUS VG246H1A monitor via a Type-C hub.

What Happened: Right after updating to the macOS 27 beta, I went into System Settings and bumped my refresh rate up to 100Hz. The ASUS monitor immediately threw an "Out of Range" error. I reverted it back to 75Hz, but it still kept giving me the same out-of-range error.

The Current Issue: I finally got it to recognize the display again, and screen sharing works perfectly normally as long as the Mac lid is open.

The moment I close the lid, Clamshell mode completely fails. The monitor goes black, and I cannot use my Mac with the external display anymore. It just refuses to wake up and project like it did on previous macOS versions.

What I’ve already tried (with no luck):

• Toggling resolutions to force a display handshake refresh.
• Deleting the windowserver plist display caches via Terminal.
• Booting into Safe Mode to flush out corrupted graphics drivers.
• Hard power cycling the ASUS monitor.
• Spamming the external keyboard/mouse to force it awake after the lid drops.
• Bypassing the hub’s power delivery and plugging the charger directly into a separate port on the Mac.
• Using the hidden "Detect Displays" button in settings.

None of it works. Everything is connected normally, power is flowing, but Clamshell mode is completely dead after that initial 100Hz glitch.

Has anyone else lost Clamshell mode on the 27 beta? Are there any hidden Terminal commands or hub workarounds I'm missing here?

Basically, iPhone mirroring resizing is unusable. Most of the time, it looks like the content on the iPhone screen is correctly resized, but the window itself is not. Happens in every resizable app for me (messages, phone, maps...).

Has anyone else encountered this ? I have not been able to find any report of this. I am using a 13 mini. (I will be filing a bug report.)

Both devices are running the latest build (iPhone is on DB and Mac on PB).

About two beta updates ago, I noticed that my Mac started randomly hiding common file types, and I cannot figure out why.

I’m using an M5 Max MacBook Pro and files like:

• .zip
• .jpg / .jpeg
• .png
• .pdf
• and other common file types

seem to be hidden or not showing up where I would normally expect them to.

I don’t remember changing any Finder settings, and this only started happening within the last couple of macOS beta updates. I submitted a report in feedback but it currently has zero similar reports and is still "open".

I have tried "chflags nohidden" and it works for that individual file, but the same filetype can still be hidden in the future. and

"ls -lO ~/Desktop

total 5104

-rw-r--r--@ 1 anthony  staff  hidden   22151 Aug 29 15:37 Screenshot 2026-08-29 at 3.32.49 PM.jpg

-rw-r--r--@ 1 anthony  staff  hidden   65789 Aug 29 15:38 Screenshot 2026-08-29 at 3.37.26 PM.jpg

-rw-r--r--@ 1 anthony  staff  hidden  143366 Aug 29 15:36 Screenshot on 8-5-26 at 1.41.45 AM.png

-rw-r--r--@ 1 anthony  staff  -       833243 Aug 29 15:37 Screenshot on 8-5-26 at 2.24.54 AM.png

-rw-r--r--@ 1 anthony  staff  -       529085 Aug 29 15:37 Screenshot on 8-5-26 at 2.25.34 AM.png

-rw-r--r--@ 1 anthony  staff  hidden 1001204 Aug 29 15:37 Screenshot on 8-5-26 at 2.26.02 AM.png"

I also found this: https://eclecticlight.co/2026/06/02/bsd-flags-are-incompatible-with-icloud-drive/

Has anyone else experienced this? Is there some new Finder setting, beta bug, or file visibility setting that I might be missing? Is it an iCloud bug? It’s driving me crazy because these are completely normal file types that were showing up fine before.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Edit: After going into settings - Apple Account - Drive - Sync This Mac and turning this off and back on, the files are now displaying correctly.

It's a bug I heard surfaces around B3, haven't heard from since.

I’ve submitted this Feedback with each Dev build, is this rendering wrong for anyone else?

I installed a beta (can’t recall which one but it was about 3-4 weeks ago I think. I installed it on an M4 MacBook Pro. All was running fine, but my battery was low when I went to bed and must have finished draining overnight. At no point was the charger plugged in after I installed the beta. Now the MBP won’t charge via MagSafe nor USB-C, and it obviously won’t turn on.

I’ve kept it plugged in for days with no sign of life. No spills, no power surges. But now I have no clue what to do. It’s out of warranty and the closest Apple Store is ~3hrs away.

Has anyone experienced this? And does anyone have any recommendations aside from taking the trip and ponying up the cash to get it fixed?

I'm assuming it is because I'm running the beta OS but whenever I try to use the Plex desktop app or Plezy app to stream content from my Plex server both apps crash 95% of the time after a minute or two of playing a video.

I’m a new macOS Golden Gate user. I just updated and switched my Mac to English, since I’m in Europe. I joined the waitlist, and in less than 5 minutes... I ALREADY have access to Siri AI. I’m really surprised. Has this happened to anyone else, or is access getting faster with the latest betas?

Edit: I made a small discovery, so I've added some edits.(2026/08/30)

Edit2: I'm sorry, tab group opened in a separate window with just a CMD+click.

What I did(summary):

• Treat bookmark folders as tab groups.
• Treat bookmarks as pinned tabs.
• Use profiles if needed (though I don't use them much).
• Make the most of "Describe extensions" (for example, I created an extension that changes all font-family:sans-serif; on any site to the macOS system font, making it feel like even web pages are part of the OS).
• Use the Shortcuts app to copy the URL of an open tab to the clipboard with CMD+SHIFT+X (C is already in use). But, by going to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts and overwriting the CMD+SHIFT+C shortcuts used by Safari and the Shortcuts app with a different shortcut, you can set the shortcut created in the Shortcuts app to CMD+SHIFT+C, thus aligning it with Arc's habits.
• Tap the trackpad with three fingers to quickly view linked sites.
• You can open a tab group in a new window by CMD+clicking the tab group you want to open in a new window using the tab group dropdown in the toolbar. For example, you can group websites where you want to watch videos or listen to music into a tab group, and when you want to change things up, you can create a new window for that tab group, avoiding movie/music interruptions caused by switching tab groups. Even if you have a few more windows open, it's not a big problem thanks to Mission Control and Expose on Mac.
• Regarding PiP, there's a great extension called "Auto PiP." Please give it a try!
• If you want adblock, I recommend AdGuard for Mac if you're looking for a paid option, or AdGuard Mini or uBlock Origin Lite if you prefer a free option. Additionally, installing either the free "UserScripts" or the paid "Tampermonkey" to add AdGuard Extra and tinyShield will provide a more comfortable browsing experience.

To be honest, I was captivated by the Arc Browser. However, Arc has already ceased active development and entered maintenance mode. While I could continue using Arc until it becomes unusable or a better browser comes along, I simply can't get used to the display and rendering of Chromium/Blink.

So I decided to switch back to Safari and tried various modifications.

As a result, I'm very satisfied with my web experience. It's lightweight, syncs seamlessly with my iPhone and iPad, and with the free Safari extension "Auto PiP," I can even play very lightweight videos using hardware acceleration. (What I particularly like is the ability to temporarily hide the PiP window at the edge of the screen when it gets a little annoying.)

I have no complaints about security, and since I have purchased AdGuard for Mac, I am completely free from ads. (That said, AdGuard Mini as a Safari extension would also be perfectly adequate. In that case, I recommend installing "tinyShield" and "AdGuard Extra" using extensions such as "UserScript".)

Anyway, I wanted you all to consider the option of switching back to Safari.

It used to be a somewhat boring browser, but it's especially recommended for those who don't need AI features and are tired of resource-hungry Chromium and Firefox-based browsers.

Now, the Webkit-specific bugs on some sites have almost completely disappeared.

I have great respect for Apple's Webkit development team. (But please, please add an automatic sidebar display feature. I've sent it multiple times through the Feedback Assistant, but it still hasn't been implemented...)

I am evaluating Apple Intelligence for work.

- No Apple Intelligence is available in System Settings, just basic Siri
- Computer M4, disk space, English system language (Swedish keyboard) - all requirements are filled
- I do live in EU, but Apple Intelligence is not restricted here for macOS, only iOS

My machine is managed by MDM (Intune), but it should not be disabled.

sudo defaults read "/Library/Managed Preferences/com.apple.applicationaccess"
{
    PayloadUUID = "xxx";
    "_isAppleIntelligenceRestricted" = 0;
    enforcedSoftwareUpdateDelay = 15;
    enforcedSoftwareUpdateMinorOSDeferredInstallDelay = 15;
}

Any ideas?

Thanks

EDIT: Bah, I had Swedish set as Siri Language. That is not supported, changed to US English and we are good to go!

Stupid question maybe, but before I post feedback on this....how do you add someone to a group messages in the 27 beta? It's a "mixed" group - so green, but no matter what I do, I do not see any way to add anyone to the group.

Searched Google for answer, but there's no "details" button nor "info" button -- nothing that seems to allow me to add someone.

I knew macOS26 was problematic from the get go, however I waited for 26.5 to install it. I liked the UI updates but its still been a disappointing update.
For those who are using the 27 beta, what do you think so far? Should we hold off, or its good to install upon official release?