MacOS Sierra review: Siri, unified clipboard and great iCloud integration

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Apple has released the final version of macOS Sierra, its latest operating system. There are not many changes, but all of them are of high quality and useful.

So the release of a new version of the operating system for Apple computers has taken place. The first noticeable innovation is already hidden in the name. OS X has been replaced by the more logical name macOS. It is dictated by the names of other software products of the company: iOS, watchOS and tvOS.

While OS X 10.11 was called El Capitan, macOS was named Sierra after the Sierra Nevada mountain range, continuing the tradition of naming California's famous natural sites. The serial number of the new version of the operating system is 10.12.

Supported Devices

MacOS Sierra still supports most Macs since late 2009:

• MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
• Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)

If your Mac meets one of the listed requirements, then you can update without problems by going to the Mac App Store and installing macOS Sierra.

It should be noted, however, that not all operating system functions will be available on older computers. You can read more about possible restrictions at.

Innovations

Siri

After several years of presence on the Apple mobile platform, the voice assistant Siri has finally made it to macOS. You will be prompted to activate the assistant at the stage of installing the operating system. Subsequently, Siri can be launched directly from the dock or menu bar, as well as using a preset keyboard shortcut. You cannot call the assistant by voice on Mac.

Siri's capabilities largely duplicate the iOS assistant, but contain some specific commands that are specific to computers. For example, you can ask Siri to find a specific file or open a specific folder. Quite complex commands containing various conditions are perfectly recognized. You can use the files as you like right from the Siri search results, for example, drag the found image into a new email.

In the "Notification Center", you can literally pin the results of calls to Siri in one click. This is very useful in day to day work. Otherwise, it's still the same Siri (the assistant's voice can now be masculine, like in iOS), which can send messages, show the weather and time in a specified city, turn on music, work with calendars and reminders, and also do many other unexpected things. but useful things.

One clipboard for all devices

MacOS Sierra takes all your Apple devices to the next level. We are already accustomed to easily starting work on one device and continuing on another, but now there is a really important feature - a single clipboard. You just copy the text on iPhone and paste it into Notes on Mac. Copy the image on your computer and paste it into your presentation on the iPad.

This feature does not require special keyboard shortcuts or additional settings. It just works on all devices within your account, which is very convenient.

Unlocking Mac with Apple Watch

Another new feature of the unified ecosystem of Apple gadgets is the ability not to enter a password when turning on the Mac, but just be at that moment in your Apple Watch. You will be logged in automatically. However, keep in mind that activating this feature will require two-factor authentication for your account.

ICloud Drive Desktop and Documents folders

Apple continues to push us to use more cloud storage iCloud Drive. MacOS Sierra already at the installation stage offers to activate the cloud desktop and the "Documents" folder. Both directories from now on will not only be available on your computer, but also synchronized with iCloud Drive. Hence, they will appear on your iPhone and iPad.

Thus, you do not have to worry that you have saved an important document or any other file on your computer and forgot to transfer it to the cloud. The two most popular folders in work are now automatically uploaded to your personal network storage. It remains only not to forget to keep track of the amount of available memory in iCloud Drive, so that one day you do not lose access to other important functions like backing up iOS devices.

Optimized storage

MacOS Sierra provides much more advanced storage management capabilities than previous versions of the operating system. Now, if you go to the "Storage" section in the system information window and click the "Manage" button, you can access an expanded set of tools, which includes detailed statistics on the space occupied by files of different types, various optimizations, and even the built-in macOS tool for deleting applications.

Photo

In macOS Sierra, the Photos app has received several changes. First, there is a function "Memories", which, as in iOS 10, independently groups pictures according to various criteria into interactive albums. In particular, the location and date are used. There are also advanced features for recognizing individual objects in photos, which can be found using Siri.

Secondly, the configuration of the sidebar has changed. It is now represented by links to various folders and categories of photos and videos in your library. This simplifies the navigation and search for individual images.

Posts

The Messages application did not receive the same features as its mobile counterpart in iOS 10. Therefore, to fully communicate with all sorts of stickers, applications, image search and access to various visual effects, you will need to use iMessage on your iPhone, iPad or even Apple Watch … MacOS Sierra is still out of work.

iTunes

All changes related to iTunes can be combined in a couple of words - Apple Music. Much like iOS 10, macOS Sierra has completely redesigned the music service. The developers have reshuffled the menu and the logic of interaction with Apple Music, but at the same time retained the capabilities of the player itself. Other elements of the media combine remained unchanged.

Notes

Notes in macOS Sierra has received exactly the same change as in iOS 10. From now on, you can give other users access to edit their notes and work on them together.

Tabs for most system applications

Easy-to-use tabs have long been used outside of web browsers. From Safari, they migrated to the Finder, where instead of multiple open windows, you could create a similar number of tabs in one window. Now this functionality has spread even further: to mail, TextEdit and other system applications. From now on, if you do not need a parallel view of two windows of one program at once, then it will be much easier and more convenient to create tabs.

Picture-in-picture for video

Videos playing in Safari or iTunes can now be presented in Picture-in-Picture mode. The image is taken out of the program window and placed on top of other windows. The size of the video window is determined by the user. In fact, this is an extremely handy feature for combining video viewing with any other activity on your computer. Unfortunately, it does not work with all video sources yet.

To activate this mode of watching a YouTube video, you must double-click on the active video with the right mouse button or use a similar combination on the trackpad to display the context menu. After that, select the "Enable Picture-in-Picture" item and, if necessary, adjust the location and size of the video window.

Apple Pay

While Apple is just preparing the payment system for launch in Russia, the company's latest operating system already supports payment for goods and services through it in the Safari browser. In the future, it will be much easier to pay via Apple Pay even in a browser than using traditional input of bank card information.

MacOS Sierra hasn't revolutionized. On the contrary, it is a logical continuation of the ideas that Apple laid in OS X Yosemite, and then developed in El Capitan. The cloud capabilities of the operating system have expanded, there are several convenient features that are useful in everyday work, the integration of the desktop system with iOS 10 has increased. In addition, Sierra has become even more stable. It's hard to see Apple's latest operating system crash because it runs like clockwork in most situations.

Is it worth updating? In the vast majority of situations, the answer will be unequivocal: yes, it is worth it. In recent years, a trend has been noticeable: Apple's new operating systems are getting worse and worse on hard drives, revealing in all their glory only on solid-state drives. And macOS Sierra is no exception. However, if your Mac with HDD successfully coped with Yosemite and El Capitan, then you have no prerequisites for abandoning Sierra. You will not experience performance degradation.

So feel free to head over to the Mac App Store, find macOS Sierra, and click the Download button.