Apple has announced that macOS Sierra, the latest major release to its desktop operating system is now available as a free update.
macOS Sierra brings Siri to the Mac with intelligent features users know from iPhone and iPad, along with new capabilities designed for use on the desktop.
Features like Universal Clipboard, iCloud Desktop and Documents, Auto Unlock and Apple Pay on the web help a Mac work better with other Apple devices. Photos gets an update with a new Memories feature that automatically creates curated collections of photos and videos.
Apple provided the following information:
Siri on the Mac can help send messages and email, find documents, look up information, search a user’s photo library, adjust system preferences and more. Users can also drag and drop Siri results into documents or pin them into their Today view for later reference. Universal Clipboard allows users to copy content from an app on one Apple device and paste it into another app on a different Apple device. With iCloud Desktop and Documents users can now access the files on their Desktop from iPhone and iPad. And Auto Unlock lets users automatically log into their Mac when they are wearing an authenticated Apple Watch.
Apple Pay on the web makes the online shopping experience in Safari more convenient and secure than ever. Shoppers can now click the Apple Pay button at checkout on nearly 300,000 participating websites, including 1-800-Flowers, Gilt, Instacart, Lululemon, Warby Parker and more, and then complete their purchase with Touch ID on iPhone 6 or later or with Apple Watch. Users’ credit or debit card information is not shared with online merchants and strong encryption protects all communication between a user’s device and Apple Pay servers.
Photos introduces Memories, which highlights favourite and forgotten moments in users’ photo libraries by automatically creating curated collections of occasions like birthday parties or family vacations. Photos uses advanced computer vision to identify faces, objects and scenes in your images, so photos can be searched by who and what is in them. An all-new Brilliance editing tool brightens dark areas and pulls in highlights to make photos look richer and more vibrant.
Other great new features in macOS Sierra:
— Messages makes conversations more interesting, allowing users to preview web links and play video clips from right within the app; respond to messages with a Tapback like a heart, thumbs up and more directly onto a message bubble; and send bigger emoji for more message impact.
— Tabs are now available across Mac apps that support multiple windows, including Maps, Mail, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, TextEdit, and even third-party apps.
— Picture in Picture floats video from Safari or iTunes in a window over the desktop. The window can be resized, dragged and pinned to any corner of the screen so users can watch video while they work.
— Optimised Storage frees up space when a Mac starts getting full by storing infrequently used items in the cloud and helping users remove apps and files they no longer need.
— Apple Music in iTunes makes it even easier to discover new music and browse exclusives and new releases.
Availability
macOS Sierra is available as a free update from the Mac App Store. macOS Sierra supports all Macs introduced since late 2009. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages. For more information, please visit: www.apple.com/macos/sierra.
