At its Worldwide Developer Conference this year, Apple announced the latest version of its OS for Mac – the macOS Sierra. The Cupertino-based company has made significant changes in the OS and has also given a new name to it.
Here’s a walkthrough of the new features of macOS Sierra.
OS X is Now Called macOS
Up until now Apple’s OS for their Macs has been called OS X, but things have changed. From now on it will be called macOS, and Sierra is the name of the version of the OS that the company has launched this year. The new name matches with the company’s other OSes – watchOS, tvOS, and iOS.
macOS Sierra Brings Siri to the Mac
Apple’s virtual assistant Siri has been running fine on iOS for years, and this update brings Siri to the Mac. You can now ask Siri for help on your Mac just like how you have been doing on your iPhone.
While Siri will do on your Mac what it has been doing on your iPhones, it now also has some Mac-specific features that allows it to use all of the macOS’s resources. Most of the time you will be using Siri to find files on your Mac – something you have been doing with Spotlight up until now.
You can launch Siri on your Mac by pressing the “Fn + Space” key on your keyboard; it will be ready to listen to your commands. You will also have an option to launch it with the “Hey Siri” command, so you won’t have to touch your keyboard to activate it.
Apple Pay Is Now Available on Your Mac
With macOS Sierra you can now use Apple Pay on your Mac to pay for your purchases.
Of course, that does not mean you will have to take your huge Mac to a retail shop to be able to make a payment. It will use the enhanced Continuity feature on your iPhone to help you make payments with your Mac.
Automatically Unlock Your Mac
With macOS Sierra installed, you can now have your Mac unlocked without requiring you to input your password. It does so by detecting when your iPhone or your Apple Watch is close to your Mac. It senses you are the owner of the Mac and unlocks it for you.
It will definitely save you from the hassle of inputting the password each time you wish to unlock your Mac, but it may not be as secure as the password method.
Copy with Mac and Paste to iPhone with Universal Clipboard
This new version of the OS brings a new cool feature – the Universal Clipboard. With this clipboard you can now copy something on one device and paste it on another.
For example, if you copy some text on your Mac and use the Paste option on your device running iOS, the text that you copied on your Mac will be the content that is pasted onto your iOS device. And it works vice versa.
Document Files Are Now Available on All Your Devices
With the iCloud Drive app on your iOS device, you can now access your Macs’ Desktop and Documents files on your iPhone or iPad.
The files that you place on the Desktop or Documents folder on your Mac will now be available in iCloud Drive, allowing your iPhone or iPad to access them.
The New Messenger App
You now have an improved version of the Messenger app with macOS Sierra. The new version of the app brings a web links preview, so you can preview a link before you open it. It also includes in-app video watching and some enhanced emojis.
If you happen to be using the Messenger app on your iOS device already, Apple has just given you a new reason to use that on your Mac.
Picture-in-Picture Videos on Your Mac
On your Mac you can now play your favorite videos while you work on something else. The video keeps playing whether your focus is on it or not, and you will also have the option to resize it so that it fits perfectly on your screen.
macOS Sierra Compatibility List
If you are wondering if your current Mac can support macOS Sierra, here is the compatibility list:
- MacBook Pro (2010 and later)
- MacBook Air (2010 and later)
- Mac Mini (2010 and later)
- Mac Pro (2010 and later)
- MacBook (Late 2009 and later)
- iMac (Late 2009 and later)
As long as your Mac is launched on or after 2010, you will be able to run macOS Sierra on it.
Conclusion
Apple has announced some cool new features with macOS Sierra, and the article above highlights some of those for you.
Let us know what feature you are going to like the most in this latest version of the OS and what features you had anticipated the most.
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Mahesh Makvana
Mahesh Makvana is a freelance tech writer who’s written thousands of posts about various tech topics on various sites. He specializes in writing about Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android tech posts. He’s been into the field for last eight years and hasn’t spent a single day without tinkering around his devices.
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