Apple has officially released macOS Sierra for download on the App Store – here are five new improvements Mac users will soon enjoy!
It’s no secret that iOS got the greater share of Apple’s attention this year – the company’s mobile operating system recieved its most sizaeble update – and graphical overhaul – since the introduction of iOS 7.
Now that iOS 10 has been released, it’s time to turn to Apple’s other product – the Mac. While the likes of the MacBook, iMac, or Mac Pro haven’t received a sizeable hardware update in some time – though that may soon change – we now have a new update to OS X to play with; the newly minted macOS Sierra.
Read: iOS 10 has landed! Here are all your iPhone‘s new features
macOS Sierra is now officially available for download from the App Store, and comes in the form of an installer file that’s roughly 4GB.
While 4GB is a lot to digest, there are five key pillars through which macOS will benefit in 2016. Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Siri, Siri, and more Siri
Did we mention Siri? The headlining feature on macOS Sierra is undoubtedly the long-awaited arrival of Apple’s digital assitant on the platform.
Formerly restricted to iOS, Siri’s landfall on macOS brings with it a host of improved search features. While the digital assistant won’t replace Spotlight, it remains a novel way to input search queries.
Users will be able to get the weather, news, areas of interest (should Siri be officially supported in their territory), sports scores, and stock prices. Sitting in the dock or menu bar, Siri can be activated by a keyboard shortcut or a single click, and can use either a dedicated microphone or the built-in microphone found on board a MacBook.
While Siri might feel somewhat trite on the full power of a desktop operating system, her addition brings macOS in line with Windows 10, which introduced its own virtual assistant in the form of Cortana.
iCloud gets better
One of the banalities of iCloud is the fact that the service arrives with a paltry free offering and can quickly reach its capacity. The bad news is that you’ll soon be using the service more – the good news, however, is that you’ll actually want to.
iCloud now comes with the ability to mirror a Mac’s desktop and documents directory across other client computers associated with the same account, which ensures that you’ll be able to reach whatever file you were working on if you happen to change computers.
Though not strictly associated with iCloud, storage options have been refined on macOS Sierra. Users will be able to order macOS to delete watched iTunes movies and TV series, empty the trash automatically, and order up a list of the largest files on their macOS device.
Handoff
Handoff is Apple’s lynchpin system which connects iOS and macOS devices together beyond the confines of iCloud. Handoff is the utility which enables iOS users to quickly open tasks (such as a Safari browser tab) on their macOS device, and visa versa.
With macOS Sierra, Handoff has been expanded with one crucial addition: a universal clipboard. As its name might imply, the update allows users to copy text on their desktop and then paste it on an active iOS 10 device.
The move is a great addition to the Apple ecosystem, through which users with multiple Apple devices will be able to chop and change their active writing tasks at will.
That segways to…
Unlock macOS through an Apple Watch
Up until now, the Apple Watch has been largely divorced from macOS; Apple’s wearable has been a companion device to the iPhone and little else. Now, in macOS Sierra, Apple has finally brought its timepiece into the fold.
The Apple Watch is the beneficiary of one simple yet awesome feature; owners of both the wearable and a macOS device will be able to unlock their computer simply by being in the vicinty of one another.
Granted, the move isn’t one that’s completely devoid of security measures; users will need to ensure both their macOS device and Apple Watch (running watchOS 3) are associated on iCloud and have a password and passcode enabled, respectively.
More messages, bigger Emoji
iOS’ version of Messages recieved a deluge of new features earlier this month, and now some of those capabilities have jumped ship over to macOS.
While macOS doesn’t benefit from the complete Messages experience (an odd decision indeed for Apple) the cross-platform execution of the service still remaims the envy of other platforms, such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Messages gets the ability to send large emoji, view Invisible Ink messages, and see a preview (but not the entire message) of messages sent through Digital Touch.
Other features
macOS Sierra brought with it several smaller features which users will enjoy; picture-in-picture video excises an HTML 5 video and displays it perenially in a corner of the screen, leaving you to enjoy whatever you were watching even while another app is in full screen mode.
Everything – and we mean everything – can be tabbed in macOS Sierra; Apple has introduced the capability for apps to feature multiple tabbed pages. One of the earliest demonstrations of is this Maps, where two or more sets of directions can be pinned alongside one another.
Apple Pay (though not yet available in South Africa) joins the fray on the web, though the service requires an iPhone or an Apple Watch to authenticate a transaction.
Lastly, Memories arrives on Photos, which allows the app to summon older images thanks to a facial-recognition engine.
Read: Apple is tipped to release new MacBook Pro, Air, and iMac models by October
Have your say!
What are your thoughts on macOS Sierra? Have you downloaded the latest update yet? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Follow Bryan Smith on Twitter: @bryansmithSA
