macOS 27.3 Brings Live Activities to the Mac's Menu Bar

Your Mac is about to keep you updated without opening an app. macOS Golden Gate 27.3 brings Live Activities to the Mac for the first time, showing flight times, deliveries, sports scores and timers right in the menu bar.

Apple seeded the first developer beta of macOS 27.3 on November 3, alongside the first betas of iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, tvOS 27.3 and watchOS 27.3. The final release is expected in December.

Live updates, right from the menu bar

Live Activities, long a fixture on iPhone and Apple Watch, are finally coming to the Mac. With macOS 27.3, users will be able to track real-time activities right from the menu bar — a flight's departure time, a food delivery's progress, a sports score or a running timer — without switching to the app behind it.

Live Activities were introduced on the iPhone with the Dynamic Island and the Lock Screen, and Apple has steadily expanded where they appear. Bringing them to the Mac's menu bar puts them where Mac users look for at-a-glance information all day, alongside the clock, Control Center and other menu-bar extras.

Part of a bigger 27.3 update

The macOS update arrives as part of Apple's coordinated 27.3 beta cycle. On the Mac, Safari also gains the new Vertical Tabs layout and Adaptive Dark Mode, and Siri gains the ability to take action on tabs and windows. On iPhone, the same cycle brings back the redesigned Health app, adds Reachability to the iPhone Duo, and expands Siri to 23 new languages.

As with every beta, the feature set could change before the final release, and Apple may add or remove features across the remaining betas.

Sources

• MacRumors — First iOS 27.3 and macOS Golden Gate 27.3 Public Betas Now Available
• 9to5Mac — Apple releases first iOS 27.3 public beta with redesigned Health app and more
• Macworld — iOS 27.3 beta is out now with a new Health app, Siri AI expansion, and more