8 New Features on Mac OS Sierra

Mac’s new operating system was announced by Apple in June and if you chose to rely on the keynotes for the highlights then you’ve missed some amazing new features that have been flying under the radar. The update was rolled out officially late September.

Siri Steps Up
Siri performs as normal when compared to on iOS, with results pinned to the notification centre as well as dragged to other apps. However, Siri also performs commands that affect the Mac hardware directly. It can adjust the screen brightness, turn Wi-Fi on or off, adjust the volume, put your Mac to sleep, and even start the screen saver. It has access to system information such as processor speed, memory, serial number, and how much space is left on the drive.

Photos Take Shape
Mac gets the new machine, learning based image categorization that is now available on iOS, too. This detects animals, moods, scenes, and faces. It replaces the previous Faces feature and is more efficient than the old engine was.

You’ll see a new album labelled People, it automatically identifies faces and groups the same ones automatically. Additionally, if there is contact information attached to a picture Photos will use that to name them automatically. Adding a name from your contacts is easy, too, and it will allow those images to merge, which builds the facial recognition database.

URL Previews
Mac messages don’t allow for all of the same effects to be created like with iOS 11, however, it does play them back. When sending, or receiving a message containing URLs, the message with the load the name and image of the page. It’s a more attractive, and friendly, method of sharing links.

Note Sharing
Just at the top of the notes window, you will see a share button. Simply choose which method of sharing you’d prefer and share a link via Twitter, messages, or drop it on the clipboard. This is a great way for family and friends to operate, as once you have shared the note others can edit it at the same time as you are and the changes appear within seconds.

Apple Pay
It works on your iPhone or Apple Watch- but your Mac knows when an eligible device is nearby. When browsing a website that has Apple pay enabled you can simply use Apple pay, provided your phone or watch is in range. You can watch the Apple pay button vanish and reappear as you move eligible devices within range.

Picture in Picture
You can keep windows open while watching a video with no worry about your other screens covering it. You can opt to keep the video in the corner, or hold the command key and move it to where you’d like.

Photo Brilliance
There’s a new editing effect in photos- Brilliance. It can brighten dark areas, increase contrast, and drop highlights. It’s a new dimension in the automatic enhance tool, too, which changes how the tool works.

Compatibility
Previous operating system releases have included all Macs, with Sierra, however, the older Macs have finally been left out. Mac OS Sierra isn’t compatible with any Mac devices released in 2009 or earlier.

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