The latest free upgrade of Apple’s MacOS operating system — now that’s a tautology — is Sierra, and as of this morning it’s rolling out to every ‘net-connected Mac around the world. It’s more than just a new name, though; here are five things that MacOS Sierra can do that should give you a good reason to upgrade.
Siri: Talk To Your Mac
Inheriting all the features you’ll already know from your iPhone or iPad, Siri on the Mac also gets some desktop-specific hooks. It’ll search the Web and use Safari in the background while you’re typing away, but it’ll also search through your files and dive into your system preferences too — like Spotlight, but controlled with your voice.
Auto Unlock
If you’re part of the Apple ecosystem already — and you have an Apple Watch paired to your iPhone — then you’ve got an even better reason than usual to move up to Sierra. Any time that you move within typing distance of your Mac, it’ll automatically unlock within a couple of seconds using your Watch’s low-power Bluetooth.
Universal Clipboard
It’s as simple as it sounds. If you have your Mac alongside your iPhone and your iPad, and you copy a section of text — or an image, or a link, or whatever — you’ll be able to access that on any of the devices in front of you. If you’re the kind of person that emails yourself photos all the time — like us — then this will be a godsend for you.
Apple Pay On The Web
If you’re one of the lucky lot in Australia that has access to Apple Pay on their iOS or WatchOS gadget, then you’ll be pleased to know that same straightforward feature is coming to Safari. Any site that has an Apple Pay button displayed through the checkout process will let you begin the payment process on your Mac, authenticating it securely with your iPhone or Apple Watch.
iCloud For Desktop And Documents
If you’re the kind of disorganised soul that saves things willy-nilly to their desktop without choosing a folder for it, this is going to be very convenient. Any files saved to your Desktop or Documents folders will be automatically uploaded to your iCloud storage, and then accessible on any other MacOS or iOS device that you already use.