macOS Sierra

macOS Sierra preview: Universal Clipboard + Desktop & Documents sync

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 23, 2016

Our ongoing macOS Sierra previews continue unabated as Andrew and I take a closer look at two new useful features in Sierra: Universal Clipboard and shared Desktop. You're definitely going to use Universal Clipboard quite a bit: in addition to being a great time-saver, it “just works”.

Universal Clipboard lets you copy and paste items across your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch devices and Mac computers like a boss. Sierra also puts your iCloud storage to good use by keeping any Desktop items along with the files within the Documents folder synchronized across your other devices.

Does your Mac meet minimum system requirements to run macOS Sierra?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 9, 2017

During his WWDC 2016 keynote segment, Apple's software boss Craig Federighi briefly flashed a slide listing Mac models that will be able to run the operating system out of the box when it releases publicly this fall (the macOS Preview webpage does not yet mention anything in terms of the minimum system requirements for the new OS).

It seems that Macs manufactured in 2008 and older models won't be eligible for the new OS. But if your Mac is not on Apple's list, an unofficial option might allow you to run macOS Sierra anyway, with some caveats.

Apple’s updated Photos app recognizes 7 facial expressions, 4,432 objects and scenes

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 20, 2016

During the WWDC keynote a week ago, Apple announced that iOS 10 and macOS Sierra will bring facial recognition features alongside a brand new Memories tab and other improvements in Photos for iOS 10 and macOS Sierra.

According to a Medium post by Redditor “vista980622,” Photos' facial recognition engine is capable of distinguishing between seven distinct facial expressions and detecting up to 4,432 searchable objects and scenes on your photos.

macOS Sierra preview: Siri comes to the Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 16, 2016

macOS Sierra brings the familiar features of Siri for iOS to the Mac with an attractive user interface, third-party integration and some interesting capabilities specifically designed for the desktop that are not supported on iOS. In addition to standard search queries, you can ask Siri to locate a specific document you worked on last night, add a meeting to your calendar, start a FaceTime call and more.

The Siri interface is interactive, letting you drag and drop items from search results into your documents.

You can even pin Siri searches in the Notification Center with live updating! Here's our quick video preview of Siri for Mac in action and a detailed overview of the supported features that Apple hopes will make you more productive.

CloudClip: Universal Clipboard for your Mac right now

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 16, 2016

Apple's newly-announced macOS Sierra is set to release to the public this Fall as the company revealed at WWDC 2016 this week, and it includes a variety of improvements that will make using your Mac even better than ever.

One of those improvements is Universal Clipboard, which is a Continuity feature that lets you share your clipboard between your iOS device(s) and your Mac.

But what if we told you that you didn't have to wait until the public release of macOS Sierra to enjoy a similar feature on your Mac?

Apple removes Game Center app from iOS 10 and macOS Sierra betas

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 14, 2016

Apple has removed the Game Center app from the first betas of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra. The change appears to be permanent, according to the iOS 10 Preview release notes. Although it's still available in Settings, “the Game Center app has been removed,” reads the document.

That doesn't mean that developers can no longer use the Game Center service or implement Game Center features—quite the contrary—it's just that the user-facing Game Center app is no longer available.