FutureFive New Zealand - Consumer technology news & reviews from the future
Story image
Apple release new free OS update for Mac – hello Siri!
Wed, 21st Sep 2016
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Apple today announced their latest major update to the macOS. The biggest change? Siri is now on the Mac.

Deemed macOS Sierra, the free update includes Siri's intelligent and helpful features that all iPhone and iPad users will be familiar with, in addition to some unique features designed for the desktop.

Some of the things you can order your cherry servant Siri to do include help send messages and email, find documents, look up information, search your photo library, adjust system preferences and more.

Apple has also worked hard on making the macOS Sierra equipped to collaborate efficiently with other devices. Some of these features include:

  • Universal Clipboard - copy content from one app on one Apple device and paste it onto another app on a different Apple device
  • iCloud Desktop and documents - access the files on your Desktop from an iPhone or iPad
  • Auto Unlock - automatically log into your Mac when wearing an Apple Watch

Online shopping has also been enhanced, with Apple Pay on Safari enabling users to simply click the Apple Pay button at checkout on participating websites, before completing their purchase with Touch ID on an iPhone 6 or later or with Apple Watch – this is coming soon to New Zealand.

Photos has also had a tune-up. The app now has a feature called Memories that highlights favourite and forgotten moments in your library and has an all-new editing tool to make photos look richer and more vibrant.

Some of the other features include:

  • Updates to Messages, including the ability to preview web links and play video clips from within the app
  • Tabs now available across Mac apps that support multiple windows
  • Picture in Picture floats video from Safari or iTunes in a window over the desktop
  • Optimised Storage frees up space by whenever your Mac starts to fill up by moving infrequently used items in the cloud

The update is available as a free update starting today in the Mac App Store – will you be adopting Siri?