UPDATED 03:35 EDT / JUNE 14 2016

NEWS

New macOS Sierra gets Siri, Universal Clipboard, improved Photos, more

The keynote for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference has come and gone and we now know all the new features that will be rolling out for the company’s various operating systems.

In addition to revealing all the new features for iOS 10, Apple also announced new features for the renamed macOS at WWDC 2016.

We take an in-depth look at all the new features that are coming to macOS Sierra, including the addition of Siri and picture in picture for Mac, syncing of documents on all devices, the ability to use Apple Pay for online purchases, and more.

Siri comes to Mac

macOS siri

Siri, Apple’s digital assistant, is now available on the Mac. Use Siri to search for files, find information, add meetings to your calendar, send messages or start a FaceTime call. With Siri on the Mac you can also pin Siri search results into the Notification Center, drag and drop items from Siri search results into your documents or emails, search your Photos library, set reminders and adjust system preferences.  

“This is a great thing for Apple because it’s going to drive more interest in Apple Pay. However, it’s also a great thing for consumers because it will help make online shopping much safer,” said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, in an email statement sent to SiliconANGLE.

You can access Siri from the Dock, menu bar or keyboard.  

All documents on all devices

macOS iCloud drive

With macOS Sierra, you will be able to save files on your Desktop or within your Documents folder and be able to access them on your iPhone, iPad, iCloud Drive app, on iCloud.com or on the Windows iCloud app. If you log into a second Mac, all your files will also be available on the Desktop or in the Documents folder.

Universal Clipboard

Universal Clipboard brings continuity across all your Apple devices. Via iCloud the contents of your clipboard will be available across all your devices. Copy text on your iPhone and you will be able to paste it into a document on your Mac.  

Safari Tabs feature made available in Mac and third-party apps

macOS tabs

Tabbed windows come to Mac apps that support multiple windows, including Maps, Mail, Pages, Numbers, Keynote and TextEdit, as well as third-party apps.

Picture in picture comes to Mac

You can now multitask on Mac with the addition of Picture in picture. Start playing a video from Safari or iTunes and you can resize, drag and pin it to any corner of your screen.

Use Apple Pay on the web

macOS Apple Pay

Like iOS 10, macOS also gets the ability to use Apple Pay to make purchases when shopping on participating websites. Apple Pay users will merely have to look out for the Apple Pay logo on checkout and can then complete the purchase with Touch ID on their iPhone or with their Apple Watch.

New features come to Photos

macOS Photos

The first new feature for Photos is Memories. Using on-device facial, object and scene recognition, Photos can automatically create curated collections of your photos from specific events. The People feature will group photos into Albums automatically based on who is in the photos. While the Places feature will display all your photos on a world map based on where they were taken.

Photos also get a new editing tool called Brilliance. To enhance details throughout your photos you will be able to use the tool to add contrast and pull in highlights.

Privacy in macOS Sierra

Like iOS 10, Apple has also introduced Differential Privacy for macOS Sierra. The technology will allow Apple to discover the usage patterns of a broad range of users without compromising the privacy of individual users. Differential Privacy in macOS will improve autocorrect suggestions and Lookup Hints in Notes.

Additional macOS features

  • Optimized Storage: This feature will free up space on your Mac by storing old, infrequently used items in iCloud. The feature will also remind you to delete used app installers and will clear out duplicate downloads, caches, logs, etc.
  • Auto Unlock: If you are wearing an Apple Watch you can now simply walk up to your Mac and you will automatically be logged into your machine.
  • Apple Music: Updates to Apple Music will allow you to more easily discover new music and browse new releases.
  • iMessage: Like iOS 10, iMessage on macOS gets new features, including the ability preview web links and watch video clips within the app, use bigger emojis, and more.

macOS Sierra is currently available to developers who are part of the Apple Developer Program. A public beta of macOS Sierra will be available in July for users eager to give it a try. While all other Mac users will be able to download it for free in the fall.

Update: This post was updated with comments sent to SiliconANGLE from Matt Schulz .

Images via: Apple

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