Apple recently announced the latest version of its macOS operating system — macOS 27 Golden Gate. The macOS 27 update which is expected to release this fall will be the last version to include built-in DVD support, according to a report by Macworld. This new version of the OS will reportedly mark the end for physical media on the Mac. The long-standing DVD Player app and its underlying DVDPlayback framework are being removed, signalling Apple’s shift away from optical disc technology that once defined personal computing.
Apple’s DVDPlayback Framework Faces Obsolescence
The DVDPlayback framework has not received updates for several years, leading to diminished image quality and choppy playback compared to contemporary alternatives. With Apple’s ecosystem increasingly favoring streaming, downloads, and cloud storage, the relevance of DVDs is declining. Analysts point out that third-party applications like VLC offer significantly better performance, rendering Apple’s native DVD support largely unnecessary.
What it means for users
Apps open up to 30% faster, photos hit your library up to 70% faster after you take them, AirDrop is up to 80% faster, and shifting files to an external drive is now five times quicker—roughly Finder-on-Mac speeds, Apple claims. Sidebars stretch to the edge of the window with refraction continuing underneath them, sidebar icons keep their colour, and every window shares the same corner radius—even apps that haven’t been updated.
Apple’s macOS Golden Gate brings a Liquid Glass slider and faster performance Apple named macOS 27 “Golden Gate” at WWDC, and Craig Federighi did it via a fake handover note from the marketing team, who’d allegedly piled into a VW microbus and motored north before telling him. The Mac users who rely a lot on discs will need to transition to third-party software for playback. However, external DVD drives will continue to function, but macOS will no longer provide built-in playback tools. For those with large disc libraries, experts recommend digitising content to ensure long-term accessibility. That bit of theatre aside, the actual release is the first macOS in six years to cut Intel Macs loose entirely. M-series chips and the A18 Pro-powered MacBook Neo only. Federighi pitched Golden Gate as a sweat-the-details year, and the numbers back that up. A reworked CPU scheduler does the heavy lifting underneath. There’s now a transparency slider that runs from completely clear to fully tinted, so you pick your poison. App icons pick up extra Liquid Glass layers built directly into the artwork. Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.