What is it?
This is Apple’s latest Mac operating system.
It’s not named OS X anymore?
It will now be called macOS instead of OS X to bring it in line with its other siblings i.e. iOS, watchOS, tvOS.
When can I get it?
On or after 20 September 2016.
Is it free?
Yup, it’s a free update for Mac.
Can I install it on my Mac?
macOS Sierra is only available for certain computers:
- MacBooks released in late 2009 and later
- MacBook Pro released 2010 and later
- MacBook Air released 2010 and later
- Mac mini released 2010 and later
- iMac released in late 2009 and later
- Mac Pro released in 2010 and later
You’ll need the following minimum specs for the installation:
- 10.7.5 OSX installed,
- 2 GB of RAM, and
- 8.8 GB available internal storage.
Features
Siri’s on Mac! You are now able to use Siri as per how you are using it on your iPhone (e.g. finding directions, making appointments ). At the same time, Siri will be able to carry out complex tasks on Mac and is able to access some applications like iTunes.
Examples of Siri queries on Mac (macrumours.com):
- Show the PDFs in my downloads folder
- Just the PDFs I worked on last week (a refining request)
- Look up the score for tonight’s football game
- Get directions to the closest coffee shop
- How much free space is on my Mac?
- Locate all the files I worked on yesterday
- Play some 80s songs (Apple Music subscription required)
- What’s the weather like in San Diego?
- Show me photos I took last year
- Send a message to John
It’s now easier to navigate between Apple devices. Apple is strengthening integration across Mac and its other applications/devices. With Universal Clipboard on macOS Sierra, users will now be able to copy-paste content easily from one Apple device to another.
Other than that, Auto Unlock allows users to unlock their Mac easily with Apple Watch through close proximity.
Making online purchases on Mac will get a lot easier as well with Apple Pay now available on this OS for participating websites. Through this new feature, users will not have to key in their credit card details. Purchases are authenticated through either the Apple Watch or Touch ID on iPhone.
Integrating iCloud seamlessly for more storage and easier accessibility. With Optimized Storage on macOS Sierra, rarely used files will be moved to iCloud to help you free up storage space when you’re running out. At the same time, all files saved to your Desktop and Documents folders will be sync to iCloud, making them accessible across multiple devices.
Check out this article for more new features on macOS Sierra.
