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419: Golden Gate

macOS 27 Golden Gate and the other 27 platforms arrive

419: Golden Gate

As expected, Apple published all the 27 platform upgrades this week. With the end of this particular beta phase, we also got a bunch of interesting posts from fellow Mac admins. We also got a somewhat oddly numbered 27.2 beta.

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Golden Gate

macOS 27 Golden Gate and all the other 27 platform upgrades were released right on schedule this week. This means that Apple device administrators either got to test whether their deferral settings were working or are watching counters of the 27 deployment ticking upwards.

Since the beta phase never ends, Apple also released the first beta for the 27.2 platform updates and Xcode. The numbering is somewhat confusing, so Apple actually clarified it in their Developer notes. The iPhone Duo will come with iOS 27.1 and developers will get Xcode 27.1 to be able to build and release apps for iPhone Duo. Xcode 27.1 beta “will be available later this month.”

The developer note does not state whether the new Mac mini and Mac Studio which will ship next week will ship with macOS 27.1, or a hardware specific build labeled 27.0 with a different build number. I wouldn’t mind if Apple started distinguishing hardware specific builds with their own version numbers.

Also new in the 27 platforms is volume purchasing for App Store subscriptions. Very untypically for Apple, they manage to call this feature by three different names in as many paragraphs in that note. (“Multiseat purchasing”, “Volume purchasing”, and ‘Group purchases”.) Note that the app developer and your device management service has to implement the support for these and the configuration requires the user account to be managed, which includes most shared device setups and even many current 1:1 deployment workflows. But now is a good time to start talking with your management service provider and the app developers on how to do this and provide (more) feedback to Apple for shared device support.

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📰 News and Opinion

Making Deployment Decisions: Good Luck, Don’t Die

Tom Bridge:

This year, I made a different decision: a short delay of 25 days.

🌉 27 Platform Updates

Apple 27 Platform Updates — September 2026

All the links to all the update support and security articles (and more) on Scripting OS X.

OS 27 Release: Key Takeaways for Educational Institutions

Mat Pullen, Jamf Blog:

OS 27 advances identity, autonomous management and visibility, plus family-focused tools shaping the future of education technology.

Enrolling macOS Golden Gate 27.0.0 virtual machines with MDM servers does not work correctly

Rich Trouton:

As part of testing macOS Golden Gate, it was discovered by myself and others that MDM enrollment does not appear to completely work [on virtual machines]

Intel apps and macOS Golden Gate

Rich Trouton:

As part of Apple’s ongoing transition from Intel processor support, Apple announced a transition timeline for macOS’s Rosetta 2 translation environment in 2026. At that time, Apple said that Rosetta 2 would continue in its current form for both macOS 26 and macOS 27. That means that macOS Golden Gate 27 is the last version of macOS which will offer Intel app support in its current form.

Suppressing the Liquid Glass screen with a configuration profile on macOS Golden Gate

Rich Trouton:

Over the years, Apple has introduced a number of screens which appear the first time you log into a Mac. Among those which appear as of macOS Golden Gate 27.0 is the Liquid Glass screen, which allows you to adjust the Liquid Glass settings.

App Privacy, Declarative Style: Reducing privacy prompt fatigue in macOS 27

Philip Ross:

Say goodbye to endless permission pop-ups with macOS 27 Golden Gate. An example of how using the new App Privacy declaration type can cut down the number of prompts seen by your users.

I find the new consolidated privacy prompt a step in the right direction by Apple and like that Philip documented its configuration. However: Screen Sharing/Recording is the privacy setting that most throws users, because it doesn’t show until you need it (presumably, because you want to share your screen over a conferencing solution) and then you have to restart app in question (I know that for some apps, you can ignore this prompt, but most users don’t know that.) This creates super stressful situations. So, guess which privicay setting cannot be consolidated with this setting? (Please file feedback with Apple.)

Also, why is this restricted to managed devices? I believe a consolidated prompt would be great for all users.

🔐 Security and Privacy

ClickFix attacks infecting PCs and Macs are going viral

Dan Goodin, Ars Technica:

The reality is that for more casual users, using computers and the Internet has become so difficult—think impossible-to-close interstitials, CAPTCHAs with an endless series of pictures to analyze, and constantly changing interfaces that bury the features they’re looking for—that they have grown desensitized to instructions that seem ridiculous and burdensome.

Beyond Prompt Injection: Hacking Apple's Private Cloud Compute

Sentry:

I found a path traversal in the code that provisions PCC nodes, darwin-init, that lets an attacker write files as root and compromises privacy and security guarantees in PCC.

🤖 Scripting and Automation

Stop Hunting for Bundle IDs & CDHashes: A Utility for Apple's New App Settings Declaration

Ant Darlow:

With OS 27 Apple is moving app restrictions to the new App Settings declaration, but building those configurations means finding Bundle IDs, CDHashes and other signing information first.

Transitioning gradually in Outset from sha256 to script signing

Alan Siu:

Script signing makes it so you don’t have to re-deploy a new version of the MDM profile every single time you change the contents of a script or deploy a new script. You can have the same MDM profile and just sign or re-sign the script.

Jamf's Platform API is now generally available - and what JamfUploader users need to know

Graham R. Pugh:

With the addition of so many different APIs, and the changes to the authentication method, I decided that rather than maintain an independent method of credential storage for Platform API, JamfUploader should instead take advantage of the utility of jamf-cli to handle it.

♻️ Updates and Releases

Introducing macOS LAPS in Iru

Mike Boylan, Iru:

we’re introducing macOS Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) in Iru

📺 Watch

September 2026 – MacAdmins Meeting

Marriott Library - Apple Infrastructure

🎧 Listen

North Korean Remote Job Infiltration, Apple Threat Alerts, and Stopping Gift Card Scams

Command Control Power:

Joe and Sam discuss a Wall Street Journal documentary on North Korean operatives using stolen identities, AI tools, and U.S. accomplices to gain remote jobs at American companies, including schemes where U.S.-based helpers host shipped laptops for overseas workers, raising financial and data-leak risks.

Breaking down the improvements and benefits of Parallels Desktop 27

Apple @ Work:

Dmitry Geynisman from Parallels joins the show to talk about all the new features in Parallels Desktop 27.

Chris Lo on Recruiting and Jobs

Mac Admins Podcast:

Chris Lo was a Mac Admin for a long time before he started a recruiting practice. We’re here to talk with him about the state of the job market, how AI has changed things for better and worse, and how to think about your next move.

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