The new OS X 10.12, or rather macOS upgrade is at the door and it’s full of amazing features you’ll probably want on your Mac right away. And we'll take a quick look at what’s going to be the best among the news in macOS Sierra. (In case you want to upgrade your Mac to macOS 10.13 High Sierra, check out.) First and foremost, Siri’s coming to Mac. This is great news for everyone who’s already used to her help on iOS. Then, there’s Watch unlocking for Mac, there’s one-click Apple Pay, tabs in apps, and cross-device copypasting. Just to name a few.
So, if you were on the fence about upgrading to Sierra, our advice is yes, do upgrade. It promises to be a great OS. Who can upgrade Mac OS to Sierra: macOS 10.12 compatibility list As with the previous versions, the latest macOS with be available on a limited list of Mac models. Here are the models of Macs that compatible with macOS 10.12 and can upgrade to Sierra: MacBook Pro MacBook Air Mac mini Mid 2010 or newer Late 2010 or newer Mid 2010 or newer Mac Pro ® MacBook iMac Mid 2010 or newer Late 2009 or newer Late 2009 or newer Version, Space, and Memory Requirements for Sierra If you’re running an OS version like Lion (OS X 10.7), you’re looking into a lot of upgrading before getting Sierra. To upgrade to Sierra from, say, Mavericks, you’ll have to consequently and then first. Check Your Mac OS for Sierra Compatibility These OS versions can upgrade to Sierra:. OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.
A new Accessibility Keyboard for macOS High Sierra brings an onscreen keyboard that has been designed specifically with accessibility users in mind.
OS X Mavericks v10.9. OS X Yosemite v10.10. OS X El Capitan v10.11 Here’s how to find out which OS version you’re running now:. Click Apple icon in the top left corner. Choose About this Mac. There you have it, in capital letters.
Memory (RAM): 2 GB (preferably 4 GB) Sierra is pretty lightweight, so you only need 2 GB of RAM to upgrade. Disk space: 8 GB of free space on drive. In the same About this Mac menu select 'Storage' tab.
In front of the multi-colored bar, you will see the phrase, 'X.XX GB free out of XX.XX GB.' If you don't have at least 8 GB of free space, you should delete some old files. Before you update Mac OS, don’t forget to: Clean up your Mac This is essential if you want a fast and effortless update, and glitchless work of your new macOS. And it’s also pretty easy. To give your Mac a cleanup, you need to get rid of system junk, uninstall extra apps, and clean some old caches. If that sounds like a lot of work, you can get a Mac cleaner like for the job.
How to prepare your Mac for Sierra with a Mac cleaner. CleanMyMac X for free. Hit Scan to find all the extra files you can delete. That will give your Mac a basic system cleanup, but CleanMyMac is going to come in handy after the update as well. It monitors your Mac’s health, helps you speed up the system and remove unnecessary apps (Trashing doesn’t fully uninstall apps, by the way). Back up your Mac This is basic common sense before any Mac software update you’d like to undertake.
Well, because sometimes updates happen less smoothly than you’d like them to. To make sure you have all your information and files saved up neatly, you need a backup. To back up your Mac, you need to activate Time Machine.
Open your Applications folder. Choose Time Machine. 'Select Backup Disk' Note: You may need to first choose to 'Set Up Time Machine.'
. Choose where you'd like to store your backup. Both an external drive or an Airport Time Capsule fit. Switch the toggle on the left, from 'OFF' to 'ON.' Right beneath the name of your storage device, you'll see 'Oldest backup,' 'Latest backup,' and 'Next backup' — Your backup will begin within 5 minutes. To speed it up, click the arrow clock icon next to the Date & Time at the top-right of the menu bar and select 'Back Up Now.' How to download macOS Sierra and install it MacOS Sierra is available since September 20, 2016.
If you’re thinking “That’s cool, but how do I update my Mac to it?”, no worries, it’s quite simple. To download the new OS and install it you’ll need to do the next:.
Open App Store. Click Updates tab in the top menu. You’ll see Software Update — macOS Sierra. Click Update. Wait for Mac OS download and installation.
Your Mac will restart when it’s done. Now you have Sierra. We hope this guide has been of use, and don’t forget to clean up your Mac and back it up before you get the new OS!
Apple's MacOS High Sierra update offers lots of behind-the-scenes changes that should make the Apple's desktop OS easy to use. High Sierra might disappoint those looking for whizzy new features, but Apple's focus on core improvements will make for a more responsive and more secure OS. Pros Flashy file system: With High Sierra, Apple switches to a new file system for MacOS flash storage. Called Apple File System, MacOS's new file system is now used across all Apple platforms - from the Apple Watch and Apple TV to the iPhone and Macs - to organize storage. Apple File System is tailored for flash storage and solid state drives and replaces HFS+, the hard-disk-drive file system Apple rolled out in 1998. The Mac's new file system will also focus on privacy and security, Apple said, and embrace full disk encryption.
And because the new file system is designed for SSDs, the system and apps should feel more responsive. Be aware that just Macs with SSD drives will get the new file system. If you have a Mac with a hard-disk drive or hybrid Fusion drive, you will stay on HFS+. And a note of caution: Because High Sierra incorporates a new file system, make sure you've got a complete and current backup of the contents of your storage device before upgrading to High Sierra in case the upgrade goes south. And unless you absolutely have to run High Sierra, consider holding off on moving to the new OS until Apple and early adopters have had a good chance to test it out. Photos gets more organized, with more powerful editing tools: Photos for MacOS High Sierra has an improved sidebar designed to let you more easily organize and access photos, including letting you reorder sections by dragging them around.
Apple also tweaked the toolbar so you can easily navigate to photos, Moments, Collections, and Years. And Photos gains a powerful collection of editing tools, including new filters, a new curves tool for tuning color and contrast, and a selective color tool for making changes to a specific color in an image. And you can add effects to Live Photos.
And if you have a favorite non-Photos editor, High Sierra lets you edit images in Photos in a third-party app; Photos saves your edits in a layer. Snappier browsing: Apple said it's made improvements under Safari's hood that will result in the fastest browser experience.
Safari will also give you better control over website tracking on autoplay videos. Better video: Apple is incorporating H.265 into High Sierra. That's High Efficiency Video Coding, a new video compression standard that should produce better-looking video and take up less space. More broadly, Apple is reworking how the OS handles graphics for high-performance games and VR. Nice changes throughout: High Sierra includes a basketful of updates to the standard collection of Mac apps: You can now check flight status in Spotlight; Siri gets a more natural sounding voice; you add tables to Notes; iCloud gains improved file sharing; you can capture Live Photos in FaceTime; and you have finer control over Family Sharing. Still free: It's easy to overlook now, but Apple used to charge for its OS. The first wobbly public beta of Mac OS X, for example, cost $29.95 17 years ago.
Apple can give away its OS by making money on its hardware and services and taking a cut of third-party app sales. Same system requirements as Sierra: You should be able to run High Sierra on the same Macs as its predecessor ran on: iMacs and MacBooks from late 2009 and later; and MacBook Airs, the MacBook Pros, Mac Minis, and Mac Pros from 2010 and later. Cons iTunes frustration: From selling movies to managing your music, iTunes tries to do it all. But having one app manage your songs, TV shows, movies, and podcasts can make you crazy. (At least Apple removed iOS app purchases.) iOS takes a more sensible approach, splitting iTunes into individual apps for music, video, and store purchases, so you know where exactly to look for your items. Limited iCloud backup: To make a local backup, Mac users have the handy Time Machine utility. But simple backup to the cloud - like what iOS offers through iCloud Backup - is lacking.
While Mac users can use third-party tools for remote backup, a built-in method from Apple that uses iCloud would be welcome. Bottom Line Apple continues to perfect its desktop OS with High Sierra.
Many of the improvements are under the hood, so the new OS may not look much different, but users will get a more stable, more secure, and more responsive MacOS.