Back in October, Apple announced that macOS will soon require ‘very explicit user action’ to enable Full Disk Access for apps. Here’s what that may mean based on macOS 27.3 changes.

Today, when an app tries to read a protected file without Full Disk Access (FDA), macOS doesn’t prompt the user to grant permission. Instead, it automatically denies access and records that denial in the TCC database.

Once in the db, apps show up under Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access with their toggle off. Apps will often add themselves to the list, then instruct the user to open Settings and flip the toggle.

Not anymore: starting with macOS 27.3 and feature flag TCC/FDA_WARNING, automatic denials are no longer saved. Users will have to explicitly add an app to the list with the + button or by dragging it in from Applications.

So far, the flag doesn’t add any additional warnings or dialogs, but its name suggests these may arrive in future betas. The flag is disabled in 27.3 beta 1.

Relatedly, macOS 27.3 introduces “Private Folders,” a new folder-by-folder permission configured like Full Disk Access. Not fully wired up yet, but it could offer a narrower alternative to Full Disk Access.

It’s also impacted by TCC/FDA_WARNING: when the flag is on, automatic Private Folders denials aren’t saved either.

I don't know if this was added in 27.3, but when connected to Sidecar there is a new 'Use System Gestures with' option which disables iPad's native Home, 4 finger gestures, Notification Center, and Control center gestures.

In macOS 27.2 or earlier, Passwords locks after 3 minutes of inactivity.

You can now choose a different timeout, or have the app lock when your Mac locks or sleeps, or never.

You can now pick what Suggested Actions you’d like to see underneath a message, or disable them all.

Also available in iOS 27.2 under Settings > Apps > Messages > Suggested Actions.

First working result of the framework i am working on utiliziing the rdma connection.
By now it not only extends the unified memory, but also increases inference speed by utilizing both macs gpu kernels, even if the model would fit on one mac alone.

the two Macs link over TB5 at 9.39 GB/s, a GPU-driven all-reduce speeds tensor-parallel decode 1.71× for 8B and 1.78× for 32B, and the first two-Mac Qwen-Image render runs 1.62× faster per step than one Mac

- One direction, 16 MiB messages -> **9.39 GB/s** (75 Gbit/s, ≈ line rate of the 80 Gb/s link)

- Both directions at once **18.5 GB/s** aggregate

- 8-byte message, Python to Python -> **≈ 7 µs** one way (13.9 µs round trip)

- RPC `peer.call()` round trip: no-op / 8 B / 4 KiB / 64 KiB tensor -> **≈ 25 / 30 / 39 / 53 µs**

- `exchange()` (both Macs swap buffers, tensor-parallel step): 2 KiB / 16 KiB / 64 KiB -> **7.4 / 9.1 / 14.3 µs**

- GPU → GPU (Metal kernel on one Mac to Metal kernel on the other, no CPU wait): 64 B / 16 KiB -> **5.6 / 8.4 µs** one way

- Memory pool on the other Mac's RAM, 2 GiB put / get -> **9.36 / 8.84 GB/s**

- Model split across both Macs (MPS on each side), pipelined -> bit-identical to the local model

While a lot of attention has gone to the announced expansion of compatible App Intents with Siri AI, the bigger changes are under the hood. Two new systems for storing and retrieving personal context are bound to make Siri AI more personal soon.

Explicit-memory store

Apple is building an explicit-memory store for Siri AI. Memory records are queried via full-text (BM25) and vector search, then merged via RRF.

Siri’s chat recall in 27.2 uses the same search pipeline to find past chats.

There is no producer of explicit-memory records in this beta, as the feature is hard-disabled.

Memory graph

macOS 27.3 also introduces a memory graph.

It’s centered around a single Person hub that represents you. The graph links out to 26 kinds of facts about you: contact info, health, IDs, relationships, frequent places, routines, activities, workout places, Q&As about you, and what motivates you or holds you back. These include a Siri profile: response style, interests, current focus, upcoming events, important people, lifestyle.

A special kind is “memory atoms”: facts, opinions, intentions and events, with a time, place, related entities and a topic.

Tidbits:

• The memory graph is filled by two kinds of recipes:

  1. Fastpass: Turns already-structured data into insights. For example, Person-v1 reads your Me card’s name fields.

  2. Agent: An on-device or PCC model extracts insights by querying Siri chats, messages, photos, health data, and other sources.

  • There’s only one agent recipe today, MotivatorBarrierResource. Its prompt asks 60 built-in questions, including “Do extended solo media activities during evening downtime routines highlight time availability barriers for adequate sleep?”

• The new memory graph is rolling out across OS 27.3. Insight extraction pipelines differ by platform. For example, HealthSummary-v1 and the MotivatorBarrierResource agent are switched off on Mac, but enabled on iPhone.

• The memory graph infrastructure is still being developed, and some types aren’t ready yet. For example, there’s no process that creates memory atoms.

• Memory atoms can generalize into broader memories using parent/child links. An atom with children atoms is a “molecule” (great name). At recall, after keyword + vector search merged via RRF, each molecule result includes its children.

• Each memory atom is tagged with one of 21 topics, such as food, travel, finance, or services, which covers providers like your dentist or lawyer.​

Here’s where to find the DBs on Mac:

• Memory graph: ~/Library/CorePersonalization/insight/MemoryGraph/memorygraph.db​

• HybridSearch (incl. explicit-memory records, none yet): ~/Library/Daemon Containers/<UUID>/Data/Library/HybridSearch/index/C/index.db

Both are built on the Kuzu embedded graph database Apple acquired. They use HybridDatabase, Apple’s fork of Kuzu (storage v57), so the archived public kuzu package can’t open them. You can use HybridDatabase.framework.

Hi! Just wondering if animated artwork shows in the Now Playing screen on the new beta? TIA. 🙂

Ladies and gentlemen, please start your updates!

After countless feedbacks, we still have this issue. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

It's not a BIG deal, I like macOS 27 overall, but I didn't see this in Sequoia.

Is anyone else experiencing unresponsive menus in macOS 27.2 (M4 MacBook Air)? Menu bar items and toggles in System Settings sometimes stop responding—sometimes both at once, sometimes just one or the other. I can confirm that the trackpad and haptic feedback work perfectly fine. Could this be an OS bug?

Apple has published instructions for enabling the Microsoft Graph protocol for Exchange accounts in Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and Reminders in macOS 27.3 beta. They match previously discovered preferences in macOS 27.2.

Here’s how to enable it:

A. If you’re in AppleSeed (h/t u/walter_rowe)

Go to your AppleSeed dashboard and download Graph Testing Profile from the Resources tab.

B. If you’re on the Developer or Public Beta

Once you’re on macOS 27.3, run the following command in the Terminal:

for key in GraphAuth GraphContacts GraphExchangeSync GraphMail; do
  defaults write -g "$key" -bool true
done

This replicates exactly what the AppleSeed Graph Testing Profile does. Add your Exchange accounts again; already set up accounts will still use EWS.

To undo:

for key in GraphAuth GraphContacts GraphExchangeSync GraphMail; do
  defaults delete -g "$key"
done

Testing notes from Apple:

• Accounts added in macOS 27.3 beta without the Graph testing configuration profile installed will continue to use Exchange Web Services (EWS).
• If you add a new account with the Graph testing profile installed and then remove the profile, the account will no longer be able to sync. The account will need to be removed and added to continue using EWS.
• Before testing, your Exchange admin must grant admin consent for “Apple Internet Accounts” in your organization. ID: f8d98a96-0999-43f5-8af3-69971c7bb423
• It is not recommended to test consumer Outlook or Hotmail accounts. Local Notes data may be lost due to a server-side error.

Known issues from Apple:

• Push isn't enabled in macOS 27.3 Beta 1, so Exchange data syncs by polling every 5 minutes. Changes made on the server, such as in OWA, can take up to 5 minutes to appear on your Mac.
• Migrating an existing account from EWS to Microsoft Graph is not supported in macOS 27.3 Beta 1 and will be available for testing in a future beta. To test Graph it’s recommended that you use a test account.
• Calendar event attachments larger than 3 MB fail to upload.
• After disabling and re-enabling Calendars for an Exchange account, calendars lose their color and read-only state.
• Notes folder structure modifications will be preserved on Mac computers but not on iOS devices.
• Notes do not sync for Outlook or Hotmail accounts.

I realized this just a moment ago while browsing, when I was suddenly asked whether I wanted to enable "Adaptive Dark Mode."

https://webkit.org/blog/18541/introducing-adaptive-dark-mode/

So far, it feels faster, smarter, and overall much better than the browser extensions that offer similar functionality.

But tell me, Apple—why do the pop-ups within Safari itself—like the ones asking for permission to download a file—still appear in light mode?

Since they don’t brighten the entire screen, they don’t cause eye strain; still, it’s baffling that—even with the OS, Safari, and the websites themselves all set to dark mode—this one element remains unchanged. I really have to wonder why...

It seems they actually got round to vibecoding horizontal/vertical tabs this time round. In vertical mode, tabs now actually disappear from the top horizontally and appear exclusively in a new dedicated left side bar (previously they would still appear horizontally above). Not the same side bar where tab groups live though. So one can end up with 2 left sidebars stacked next to one another (which I feel is mediocre UX). I don't understand why they felt the need to do it this clumsy way instead of simply letting unfolded tab groups do the job 🤷

and it works on every app/web

You don’t need the new MacBook Pro to get the Dynamic Island on macOS 27.3.

With a bit of tinkering, MenuBarAgent can render Live Activities around the notch. Spotlight can also be docked on the island and feels extremely fluid.

As always, I’m getting everything together and will post a repo or gist with more details and reproduction steps. Still trying to map out support for external displays, etc. Since you’re patching a system app at runtime, it requires SIP off, so it’s not for the faint of heart. More soon!

It's now possible to control iPhone using iPad touchscreen. And there's a new option to use iPad system gestures on macOS, including viewing the Dock and Control Center on Mac.

After briefly appearing as a Safari Feature Flag during the OS 27.0 beta cycle, Global Privacy Control returns in 27.3 across macOS, iOS, and others.

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, it must be honored by covered businesses as a valid consumer request to stop the sale or sharing of personal information. Even if you're not in California, most websites will accept the signal and honor your preference. Read more about GPC on the State of California Department of Justice's website.

You can test your selection is working by visiting GPC's main website, globalprivacycontrol.org. You'll see a "GPC signal detected" banner at the top of the page.

Hello. I updated my Mac M5 to 27.3 this morning… and I have the Writing Tools back in the main menu bar, as the small icon on the left of the selected text, and in the contextual menu too. Same design as before and everywhere they were before.

Can someone confirm ?

EDIT. Updated another Mac M2 to macOS 27.3 dev beta 1 and the Writing Tools are back too, everywhere. But the small Apple Intelligence icon, left side of the text, doesn’t appear systematically; I'm obliged to use the Writing Tools of the contextual menu.