14 DAY TRIAL // After teasing us with its next-gen Mac OS computer operating system earlier this summer during the annual WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference) event, Apple officially released today the final version of macOS 10.12 Sierra.
What's macOS, you might wonder? Yes, well, it is the new name of the operating system you most probably have installed on your Mac computer right now, whether it's an iMac, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, or MacBook Air. Apple decided to change the name from Mac OS X to macOS 10, and the new version is dubbed Sierra, after the Sierra mountains.
OK, so what's so special about macOS Sierra? Many things are special about the new macOS 10.12 Sierra operating system, which comes as a direct upgrade for Mac OS X 10.11.6 El Capitan and previous releases. It's not just the new naming method, which follows the same pattern as its little brothers, namely iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
Siri is now ready to take orders on your Mac
Yes, that's right, the new macOS 10. 12 Sierra operating system ships pre-installed with the Siri intelligent personal assistant that, most probably, you're already using on your iPhone. Therefore, after upgrading to macOS Sierra, Siri will be there for you and ready to take orders. You can use it to find files, open apps, play songs, and much more.
Other exciting new features of macOS Sierra are Picture in Picture (PIP) support, so you can watch a video online in a tiny window while you do other stuff on your computer, end-to-end encryption for more privacy and enhanced security of your most important files, and last but not least, Apple Watch authentication.
There will also be a new Universal Clipboard tool that lets you copy and paste images, photos, video, and text between multiple iOS and Mac devices, along with the ability to share specific documents or the entire desktop environment on all your devices. Additionally, all Mac apps that support multiple windows will now offer tabs.
"macOS Sierra is a major update that makes your Mac smarter and more helpful than ever with improvements to the apps you know and love and great new features throughout,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering.
Several of the default applications have been improved as well in macOS Sierra. These include the Photos app, which now supports the Memories feature and photo mapping functionality from iOS 10, new iTunes version with enhancements to Apple Music, and the Messages app with new emojis and other useful features.
How to upgrade to macOS 10.12 Sierra today
macOS 10.12 Sierra comes today, September 20, 2016, as a free update for all users running Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan or previous releases. The new version is available worldwide, so all you have to do to get it today is open the Mac App Store application, go to the Updates tab, and install the macOS 10.12 Sierra update.
As usual, please note that the update has approximately 6GB in size and it will take a while to download and install. Your Mac will be rebooted a few times for the update to be applied correctly, but it will definitely be worth the wait. Have fun using macOS Sierra, and don't forget to drop a comment if you run into any issues during the upgrade process.
