Last updated: September 17, 2026
Before you upgrade to macOS 27, the question that matters most isn’t what’s new. It’s whether the software and hardware you rely on still work. This page tracks the status of popular apps, utilities and peripherals, based on developer statements and consistent user reports.
How to use this tracker
- Start with the tools you can’t work without, not the whole page. Find each one in the tables below.
- Read the notes as well as the status. “Wait” can mean anything from a missing official statement to a known problem.
- If an app you depend on isn’t listed, use the five-minute check near the end of the page.
How to read the statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Supported | The developer has confirmed macOS 27 support. |
| Works, not certified | Generally working, but no official statement yet. Fine for personal use; wait on work machines. |
| Beta build | The standard version is broken or limited, and a separate Golden Gate build is available. |
| Known issue | Specific features are confirmed broken, by the developer or by consistent reports. |
| Wait | The developer is still evaluating, or advises against upgrading yet. |
| Not supported | Won’t work on macOS 27. |
A status for one app says nothing about its plug-ins, drivers or add-ons. Check those separately.
Menu bar managers
Golden Gate draws the menu bar as a single window, which broke every tool that hid icons by moving individual icon windows. See our explainer on why macOS 27 broke Mac utilities, and our guide to menu bar icons hidden behind the notch.
| App | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bartender | Beta build | Separate Golden Gate release. Groups are unavailable, and compatibility with apps that hide their own items, such as iStat Menus and Setapp, is still in progress. |
| Ice | Known issue | Doesn’t work on macOS 27. A bug report has been open since June with no maintainer response. |
| Thaw | Beta build | Community fork of Ice with active development. |
| Hidden Bar | Known issue | Broken on macOS 27; not actively maintained. |
| BetterTouchTool (menu bar features) | Known issue | Partial workaround available; other BTT features are unaffected. |
| Barbee, Sane Bar, Glow | Known issue | Broke on the first Golden Gate beta. Check each developer for updates. |
Built-in alternative: Golden Gate’s overflow button reveals menu bar icons that don’t fit.
Input and window utilities
| App | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mac Mouse Fix | Known issue | Actions for Mission Control, Spaces and other gestures don’t work, though clicks and scrolling do. A fix exists in the source, and the project has published a temporary build. |
| Other mouse and trackpad remappers | Known issue (likely) | Tools that simulate trackpad gestures are hit by the same change. Test Mission Control with the built-in trackpad to isolate the cause. |
| Text expansion utilities | Known issue (reported) | At least one popular app was reported not working at launch. Check for updates. |
Virtualization and Windows apps
| App | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Parallels Desktop | Works, not certified | Parallels reports that core virtual machine features work. Update to the latest version first. |
| VMware Fusion | Wait | Not yet on the official supported host list. Test shared folders, USB passthrough and networking before relying on it. |
| CrossOver | Wait | CrossOver 27 requires Apple silicon, macOS Sonoma or later and 64-bit bottles, and 32-bit bottle support is being removed. Game reports are mixed. |
| Boot Camp | Not supported | Removed. It only ever worked on Intel Macs, which can’t run Golden Gate. |
With Boot Camp gone for good, anyone who wants a Windows machine with strong NVIDIA graphics needs a Windows laptop. Our article on why RTX Spark won’t appear in a Mac explains why Apple isn’t going to follow that path.
Productivity and creative apps
| App | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apple apps | Supported | Included with macOS 27. |
| Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) | Supported | Current versions are compatible with the release. Update via Help > Check for Updates. Legacy Outlook support ends in October 2026. |
| OneDrive | Works, not certified | Make sure sync is complete before upgrading. |
| Adobe Creative Cloud | Wait | Not yet on Adobe’s official compatibility list for Golden Gate. Pro users with plug-ins should wait for confirmation. Version 27 of Premiere Pro, After Effects, Media Encoder and Audition requires Apple silicon. |
| Adobe InDesign | Known issue (reported) | Individual user reports of problems. Unconfirmed by Adobe. |
| Citrix Workspace | Known issue (reported) | A menu bar problem has been reported with a recent version. |
Pro video and AI-heavy workflows deserve a second look. If you’re weighing whether Apple silicon is enough for that kind of work, RTX Spark’s AI performance against Apple’s Neural Engine puts the numbers side by side.
Audio and music production
| Product | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Logic Pro | Supported | Intel-only plug-ins may disappear because Rosetta isn’t installed after the upgrade. Install Rosetta manually. |
| Third-party plug-ins (AU, VST, AAX) | Wait | Check each developer. Retailers advise producers to hold off until vendors confirm. |
| Audio interfaces with drivers | Wait | Driver-based interfaces need vendor confirmation. |
| Per-app audio routing utilities | Known issue (reported) | Users of at least one popular tool warned others not to run it on Golden Gate until it’s updated. |
Displays, docks, printers and scanners
Display or dock trouble after upgrading? Our external monitor troubleshooting guide covers flicker, resolution and DisplayLink fixes.
| Product | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DisplayLink Manager | Supported | Version 16.2 supports macOS 27. You may need to re-approve the Screen Recording permission. |
| BetterDisplay | Works, not certified | Update first; test HiDPI, virtual displays and DDC controls. |
| AirPrint printers | Supported | Work without vendor drivers. |
| Vendor printer drivers | Wait | Many are Intel-only and will stop working in macOS 28. Try AirPrint as a fallback. |
| ScanSnap Home and related software | Wait | Ricoh lists it as under evaluation. Don’t upgrade a Mac used for business scanning yet. |
Security, VPN and system software
| Category | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| VPN clients | Wait | Golden Gate dropped support for extensions tied to old Intel-era components. Check vendor support pages. |
| Antivirus and endpoint security | Wait | Same as above. On work Macs, follow IT guidance. |
| NTFS and filesystem drivers | Wait | Affected by extension changes. |
| OpenCore Legacy Patcher | Not supported | Doesn’t work with Golden Gate, and unsupported Intel Macs can’t run macOS 27. |
| Asahi Linux (dual boot) | Known issue | Booting into Linux was reported broken during the beta, with data intact. Check the project’s status. |
Networking and storage
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AFP file sharing | Not supported | Removed. Switch NAS and shares to SMB. |
| Time Machine to AirPort Time Capsule | Not supported | Back up to an external drive or SMB share. |
| Time Machine to external drives and SMB | Supported | Run a backup before upgrading. |
| External APFS, HFS+ and exFAT drives | Supported | Drives that need vendor encryption or RAID software need checking separately. |
Intel apps and Rosetta
All 64-bit Intel apps still run on Golden Gate through Rosetta 2, which installs on first launch. In macOS 28, Intel apps won’t open, apart from some older games. Look under System Settings > General > About > Intel-based Apps for your list, and read our guide to finding every Intel-only app and plug-in on your Mac.
32-bit Mac apps haven’t run since macOS Catalina, and they still don’t.
Check your own apps in five minutes
- List third-party extensions with
systemextensionsctl listandkmutil showloaded | grep -v com.applein Terminal. - Review System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. Apps listed there modify system behavior and deserve a compatibility check.
- Check System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions.
- For every app you can’t work without, search the developer’s site for “macOS 27” or “Golden Gate”.
- Update everything before upgrading.
So, should you upgrade? A quick decision guide
- Upgrade now if every tool you depend on is Supported or Works, not certified, you’re on a personal Mac and you have a backup you’ve actually restored from.
- Wait a few weeks if something critical is marked Wait or Beta build. Developers tend to ship compatibility fixes soon after a release.
- Hold off for now if a tool you can’t work without is a Known issue or Not supported, or if you rely on VPN, security or driver software that hasn’t been confirmed.
For the full pre-upgrade routine, follow our checklist of 7 things to do before upgrading. If compatibility is pushing you toward new hardware instead, read NVIDIA RTX Spark in a MacBook or iMac before you buy, so you know what’s actually coming to the Mac lineup.
Help us keep this current
Found an app that works, broke or got fixed? Tell us the app and version, your Mac model and what happened. We verify reports before changing a status, and we update this page every week.