Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off on June 8, 2026, and the stakes for macOS 27 have never been higher. Microsoft’s Windows 12 continues to dominate the desktop, but a growing number of longtime Windows loyalists are eyeing the Mac for its build quality, ecosystem integration, and appeal to creative professionals. Yet, for many power users and gamers, the switch remains unthinkable without fundamental changes. Apple must tackle six glaring omissions if macOS 27 is to become a genuine home for Windows switchers.

1. Serious Gaming Compatibility

Gaming on the Mac has been a punchline for decades. Despite Apple’s custom silicon delivering impressive GPU performance on paper, the library of AAA titles remains threadbare. Windows enjoys near-universal support from developers, a vast back catalog, and robust tools like DirectX. For macOS 27 to compete, Apple needs more than a handful of Apple Arcade exclusives and a smattering of ports.

The first step is a concerted developer outreach program. Apple must fund and incentivize studios to bring day-one releases to the Mac, not just belated conversions. Native support for DirectX 12 Ultimate features—ray tracing, variable rate shading, mesh shaders—is essential. Metal 4, rumored for macOS 27, could bridge the gap if it offers a straightforward migration path from DirectX. But technology alone won’t suffice; Apple needs to prove it respects gaming as a first-class citizen.

Equally important is compatibility with popular anti-cheat software and storefronts. Many Windows games fail on Mac simply because their anti-cheat systems are unsupported. Steam runs on macOS, but the majority of titles remain Windows-only. Apple could adopt a compatibility layer akin to Proton on the Steam Deck, but a better long-term solution is to make Mac game development so effortless that native ports become the norm.

The gaming hardware story is also incomplete. While the M4 Max and Ultra can push frames, Apple offers no first-party gaming peripherals. A dedicated Apple game controller, perhaps with seamless AirPods spatial audio integration, would signal commitment. And let’s not forget eGPU support—killed in Apple Silicon’s transition—which remains a critical missing piece for users who want to upgrade graphics without buying a whole new Mac.

2. A Less Restrictive Mac App Store

The Mac App Store is a walled garden in a neighborhood of open lawns. Windows users are accustomed to downloading software directly from developers, using package managers like winget, or buying from multiple storefronts. By contrast, Apple’s store mandates sandboxing, prohibits many legitimate app categories, and takes a 30% cut (reduced to 15% for small developers, but still steep).

Apple must relax its sandboxing requirements to allow apps that need system-level access—utilities like keyboard customizers, disk cleanup tools, and advanced launchers. The ability to sideload applications without disabling System Integrity Protection is a baseline expectation for power users. Microsoft’s approach with Windows—warning users but not preventing installation—strikes a better balance between security and freedom.

Moreover, the Mac App Store’s review process remains opaque and inconsistent. Developers often report rejections for minor policy interpretations while outright scams slip through. A clearer, published set of guidelines and an appeals process would encourage more developers to list apps, increasing the store’s value. Apple should also reduce its commission to at most 15% across the board to match the Microsoft Store, which now takes just 12% (or 5% for apps using its payment system).

3. Better Low-Memory Performance

Apple’s base-model Macs still ship with 8GB of RAM, a figure that feels increasingly stingy as AI workloads, browser tabs, and creative apps bloat. Windows 12’s memory management has improved significantly, with smarter compression and a feature that offloads idle pages to NVMe drives nearly transparently. Yet macOS’s virtual memory system can still bring a system to its knees when physical RAM runs out, leading to the dreaded spinning beach ball.

iOS-style memory termination—where apps are silently killed in the background—is unacceptable on a desktop. Users want to keep dozens of apps open without fear of losing work. macOS 27 should introduce finer-grained memory controls, such as per-app priority settings and a visual indicator of memory pressure. It must also optimize its own processes; Spotlight indexing, Photos analysis, and software updates should never degrade foreground performance.

Apple’s integrated memory architecture (unified memory in Apple Silicon) offers a potential advantage: the GPU and CPU share the same pool, eliminating copies. Yet in practice, the system often reserves a large chunk for window compositing and other graphics duties. macOS 27 should dynamically allocate memory between CPU and GPU based on real-time demand, and it should let users disable graphical effects to free up resources. For developers, better memory profiling tools in Xcode would encourage leaner apps.

4. Improved Window Management

Windows 11 and 12 have raised the bar with Snap Layouts, Snap Groups, and a taskbar that intelligently groups and previews windows. macOS, by contrast, forces users to rely on Mission Control—a cluttered, unintuitive bird’s-eye view—or third-party utilities like Magnet or Rectangle. Stage Manager, introduced in macOS 13, was a half-step that few power users adopted.

macOS 27 needs a native window-snapping system that matches or exceeds Windows. Dragging a window to the edge of the screen should suggest tiling layouts, with the ability to resize adjacent windows simultaneously. Keyboard shortcuts for moving and resizing windows should be customizable. And the green traffic-light button—still primarily a full-screen toggle—should offer more granular options, including a true maximize that fills the screen without hiding the menu bar and Dock.

Multi-monitor support is another sore spot. Windows remembers window positions and display arrangements flawlessly; macOS frequently forgets them when disconnecting and reconnecting external displays. A more robust display-handling stack, with persistent per-display Spaces and window restoration, would eliminate a daily annoyance for users who dock and undock their MacBooks. Support for MST (Multi-Stream Transport) over USB-C for daisy-chaining monitors, long standard on Windows, is overdue.

5. Finder Overhaul

A file manager is the heart of any operating system, and Windows Explorer has evolved into a powerful tool with tabs, quick access, and deep OneDrive integration. Finder, despite a visual refresh in recent years, remains maddeningly inconsistent. Column view is brilliant for drilling into folders but cumbersome for large file operations. The path bar is hidden by default, and copying a file path requires obscure shortcuts or third-party add-ons.

Mac users have long complained about the inability to cut and paste files—Copy, then Move Item, is a kludge. Finder should adopt the standard Ctrl+X / Ctrl+V paradigm (or Cmd+X / Cmd+V) that every Windows user expects. Tabs, finally added in macOS 15, need to be detachable and draggable between windows. And the sidebar should be fully customizable, with support for pinned network locations and cloud storage services beyond iCloud.

For Windows switchers, the lack of a proper "My Computer" equivalent is disorienting. The Desktop and Documents folders float in an abstract hierarchy; users want a clear, physical-volume-based view of their storage. An enhanced Disk Utility, integrated into Finder, could show drive health, space usage, and mount points at a glance. And Time Machine backups should be browsable directly in Finder, not through a separate cosmic interface.

6. Customization and Personalization

Windows thrives on user choice: from third-party shell replacements to deep registry tweaks, it lets you make the OS your own. macOS, conversely, locks down the interface: the menu bar is fixed, the Dock can only be placed on three sides, and system icons are largely unchangeable. For Windows power users accustomed to Rainmeter, StartAllBack, or even just dark mode done right, macOS feels rigid.

Apple should introduce a theme engine in macOS 27. Let users choose accent colors beyond the eight pastel options, apply dark mode on a per-app basis, and—most importantly—allow replacement of system fonts and icons without disabling SIP. Widgets on the desktop, a beloved Windows feature, should be freely placeable, not confined to a side panel.

The menu bar, a hallmark of Mac, could be modernized. Allow it to auto-hide, or replace it with a compact, taskbar-like strip on demand. And the Control Center, while a useful consolidation, should be fully customizable like Windows’ Action Center, letting users add or remove toggles and shortcuts. For accessibility and productivity, these aren’t just cosmetic wishes—they reduce friction and let users optimize their workflow.

The Bigger Picture

Apple has shown it can adapt when it wants to: the move to Apple Silicon, the redesign of System Preferences, and the embrace of widgets all demonstrate a willingness to evolve. But attracting Windows switchers requires more than iterative refinements; it demands a cultural shift. Apple must acknowledge that some users want to tinker, to game, to run software from outside its curated ecosystem, and to tailor the interface to their exact needs.

The rise of cloud-based tools and browser-based apps has weakened platform lock-in, but local OS experience still matters. A user who can’t play their favorite games, manage files intuitively, or run a critical utility without jumping through hoops will quickly retreat to Windows. With Windows 12’s own issues—privacy concerns, update frustrations, and a fragmented UI—there’s an opening for Apple to capture disillusioned users. macOS 27, if it delivers on these six changes, could be the first Mac operating system that truly welcomes the Windows faithful.

WWDC 2026 is Apple’s best chance to signal that macOS is no longer just for the faithful. The keynote promises to unveil macOS 27 alongside updates to iOS, watchOS, and visionOS. All eyes will be on Craig Federighi’s demo to see if Apple finally listens to the longest list of Windows-switcher demands.