GNOME 3 and up definitely isn’t “mac-like”, despite having been given that label by many. A few aspects have similar designs to macOS counterparts, but the resemblance is skin-deep at best. It more closely resembles iPadOS than anything.
When many people (like me) use that phrase, we're not referring to the UI/UX. It's instead a comment on GNOME's desire to have a controlled and universal design that is more focused on user ease and accessibility versus the componentized/customizable design of GNOME2, KDE, XFCE, etc.
