It’s time for you to update your Mac computer, or is it? On September 20th, Apple released the macOS Sierra update which has many new features and upgrades, some of which are comparable to the iOS 10 update for iPhones and iPads. Although it has many great features, it still has a couple glitches like most new updates. Therefore, we recommend waiting a couple months before downloading it, especially if you do not have a newer computer. MacOS Sierra is compatible with: iMac (late 2009 or later), MacBook (late 2009 or later), MacBook Air (Late 2010 or later), MacBook Pro (Mid-2010 or later), Mac mini (mid- 2010 or later), and Mac Pro (Mid-2010 or later), but we recommend only using it on 2014 or later models.
What does the upgrade entail?
- Siri – Perhaps one of the biggest updates is adding Siri to your computer. Siri will open applications, answer questions, search files, set up Facetime calls, and control music on iTunes, all with your voice!
- Auto Unlock – If you have an Apple Watch, you can unlock your computer simply by wearing it in close proximity to your Mac. To set this up, make sure your Apple Watch has the watchOS 3 update. Then turn on 2-Factor Authentication for your Apple ID under System Preferences > iCloud > Account Details > Security tab. Then “Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac” under System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General Tab > checkmark Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac.
- Checkout using Apple Pay – When you use Safari and visit a website that supports Apple Pay, you can quickly check out by tapping the Apple Pay logo.
- iCloud Drive – If you use iCloud Drive, you can automatically sync your Desktop and Document folders with macOS Sierra. But be careful, this feature is still not fully ready, there have been reported cases of it wiping all data. Therefore, we recommend to use file storage applications such as Box or Sharesync. If you are a Hybridge client, we can help you set up one of these.
- Message Updates – The update for iMessage is similar to the iOS 10 iMessage update. You can watch videos, preview links from inside the app, and send larger emojis and message reactions.
- Optimized storage – Your computer will now automatically store files you rarely use in the cloud in order to optimize storage space. However, we do not recommend using this feature because it moves your files to iCloud without your approval to do so. In order to turn it off, go to Apple Menu > About This Mac > Storage > Manage.
- Photo App – Another feature that is similar to the iOS 10 update is the Photo App. It now creates “Memories” that pull together photos from similar locations and times.
- Picture-in-Picture – An update that came to the iPad in iOS 9 last year is now available on your computer. You can watch videos in Safari, iTunes, or YouTube that will float over other windows.
- Universal Clipboard – When your iOS device and macOS Sierra devices are near each other, you can copy content from one device and paste it in another even on a different app.
Despite the new and helpful features found in macOS Sierra, there have been a few reported problems. The most common problem is trouble with downloading the update itself. If you are a Hybridge client and are having problems with the new update, please contact us via email at info at hybridge.com or phone, 888-353-1763, and we will try to help you with the problem.
