1. Mac Os High Sierra
2. Mac Os User Groups
3. Mac Os El Capitan
4. Macos Sierra User Manual

Mac Os High Sierra

MacOS Support. All the topics, resources, and contact options you need for macOS Mojave, High Sierra, and more. The Apple category of Mac OS X Downloads.

macOS Sierra (version 10.12)^[3] is the thirteenth major release of macOS (previously OS X), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. As the successor to OS X El Capitan, it was the first version of the operating system issued under the June 2016 rebranding as macOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada.^[4] Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri.

The first beta of macOS Sierra was released to developers shortly following the 2016 WWDC keynote on June 13, 2016. The first public-beta release followed on July 7, 2016. It was released to end users on September 20, 2016, as a free upgrade through the Mac App Store.^[5]

• 2Changes
  • 2.1System features
  • 2.2Application features
  • 2.3Security improvements

System requirements[edit]

macOS Sierra requires at least 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage space and will run on:^[6]

• iMac: Late 2009 or newer
• MacBook and MacBook 12-inch: Late 2009 or newer
• MacBook Pro: Mid 2010 or newer
• MacBook Air: Late 2010 or newer
• Mac Mini: Mid 2010 or newer
• Mac Pro: Mid 2010 or newer
• Xserve is no longer compatible.

Sierra is the first version of macOS since OS X Mountain Lion, released in 2012, that does not run on all computers that the previous version supported.^[7] Developers have created workarounds to install macOS Sierra on some Mac computers that are no longer officially supported as long as they are packed with a CPU that supports SSE4.1.^[8]

Changes[edit]

The default desktop picture is an image of Lone Pine Peak.

System features[edit]

Siri[edit]

The user can access the Siri intelligent assistant via the Dock, the menu bar or a keyboard shortcut and results are shown in a window in the upper-right corner.^[9] Siri can send messages, search the web, find files and adjust settings. Results can be dropped into other applications or pinned to Notification Center.^[9] For instance, pictures from search results can be dragged into a document.

iCloud Drive and Optimized Storage[edit]

iCloud Drive can upload the user's documents and desktop directories and sync them to other devices. The System Information application has a new section that gives the user detailed information about space usage per application or file and provides tools and suggestions for freeing up space. For instance, the user can let the system upload old files to iCloud Drive and remove their local copies, keeping them available on-demand in Finder. It can also remove old files from trash automatically. iTunes can delete watched, purchased films and TV programs from its library.^[10][11]

Auto Unlock and Universal Clipboard[edit]

Building upon Continuity, an 'umbrella term [for] features that facilitate the communication between [Apple devices]' using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, Sierra adds two features.^[10] With Auto Unlock, the user can unlock their user account by holding a paired Apple Watch close to the device. Time of flight is used to prevent relay attacks. Auto Unlock requires a Mac that was introduced in 2013 or later. With Universal Clipboard, the user can share the clipboard for cut, copy and paste between macOS Sierra and iOS 10 devices, including text and rich content, such as pictures or videos.

Tabs and Picture-in-Picture[edit]

Applications that support multiple windows can support multiple tabs within a single window, allowing the user to keep windows organized similarly to Safari.^[12] With Picture-in-Picture, videos can be played in a window that follows the user across the system.^[13]

Apple File System[edit]

Apple released a preview of a new file system in Sierra, called Apple File System (APFS), to overcome the limitations of HFS Plus. It is intended for solid-state drives and flash memory and will adopt several features found in modern file systems, such as snapshots and cloning, as well as native support for features that Apple already provides in HFS Plus through supplementary software, such as file-system encryption and TRIM support. The file system was released in macOS High Sierra.^[14]

Night Shift[edit]

Night Shift is new in macOS 10.12.4, with the same functionality as its iOS counterpart. Night Shift reduces blue light at night to aid sleep. This can be scheduled in the System Preferences app (in the Displays menu) and can be toggled on or off in the Notification Center or using Siri.^[15]

Since this feature relies on the Metal framework,^{[citation needed]} Night Shift is not available on all systems that support macOS Sierra.^[16]

Application features[edit]

Photos[edit]

Apple says it has improved the face recognition of the Photos application, adding object and scene recognition. It groups similar pictures together using faces, locations and object recognition to create 'memories'. Memories contain picture slideshows with transitions and music selected by the algorithm, which can be modified to the user's liking. The 'People' album organizes photos by the people in them, and Places shows all photos on a world map.

Safari and Apple Pay[edit]

Safari provides an 'extension point' which enables developers to bundle Safari extensions within their Cocoa applications and communicate with them directly from the applications.^[17] Safari conceals the presence of installed 'legacy' plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash Player, Java applets, Microsoft Silverlight, and QuickTime – from websites and requires the user to enable a specific plug-in on a per-use or per-website basis.^[10]

Apple Pay allows vendors to embed an Apple Pay button on their websites. In Safari, users can click the Apple Pay button to check out, then complete a purchase using an iPhone or Apple Watch. Apple Pay requires a Mac that supports Continuity (2012 or later models) and either an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10, or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3.

Messages[edit]

The Messages app adds aesthetic effects to messages, such as three times bigger emojis and click back with hearts or thumbs-up on a message bubble.^[18] The ability to play YouTube videos and preview links in a conversation was introduced.^[19] Users can view interactive content added to iMessage in iOS 10. The app also allows you to turn on or off read receipts on a conversation by conversation basis.^[20][21]

iTunes[edit]

Apple Music within iTunes has been redesigned, making it simpler to find favorite songs and discover new ones. A new 'For You' tab has been added, which suggests new music the user might like (similar to the existing Genius).^{[citation needed]} A refined MiniPlayer with the ability to view lyrics while listening has also been introduced.^[22]

Notes[edit]

The Notes app allows the user to share and collaborate on notes. This is done by clicking on a share button at the top of the window.^[22]

Other changes[edit]

• Disk Utility regains the ability to format and manage RAID sets, after it was removed in El Capitan.^[10][23]
• Finder has an option to show folders always at the top of the view hierarchy, for instance in list views.^[10]
• Mail adds a control to the top of email lists to quickly filter them, for instance, by read status or the presence of attachments.^[10]

Security improvements[edit]

Gatekeeper[edit]

macOS Sierra slightly changes the Gatekeeperuser interface and adds two new mechanisms. A new default in System Preferences hides the 'Anywhere' option which allows the user to disable the mechanism and execute programs from any source without needing to approve each new one individually.

The first new mechanism allows developers to code-signdisk images that can be verified as a unit by the system. This allows developers to guarantee the integrity of external files that are distributed alongside the application bundle on the same disk image. An attacker could infect these external files with malicious code and with them exploit a vulnerability in the application, without having to break the signature of the application bundle itself. By signing the disk image, the developer can prevent tampering and force an attacker to repackage the files onto a new disk image, requiring a valid developer certificate to pass Gatekeeper without a warning.^[24]

The second new mechanism is 'path randomization', which executes application bundles from a random, hidden path and prevents them from accessing external files relative to their location. To avoid this, the developer has to distribute the application bundle and its external files on a signed disk image or in a signed installer package. The user can avoid this mechanism by moving the application bundle without its external files to a new location.^[24]

Directory permissions and sudo[edit]

The Unix permissions for writing to the /Volumes directory are now restricted to root and no longer 'world-writable'.^[25] Apple expanded System Integrity Protection to /Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC,^[26] a directory that contains a list of applications that are allowed to 'control the computer', and restricts write access to programs which were signed with an Apple 'private entitlement'. The file-hosting serviceDropbox has been criticized for manipulating the directory to add their Dropbox application to the list, rather than asking the user to do it for them explicitly in System Preferences.^[27]

The sudocommand-line utility with which a user can execute a command as another user, typically as root, is configured with the 'tty_tickets' flag by default, restricting the session timeout to the terminal session (such as a window or tab) in which the user authenticated the program.^[28]

Removed functionality[edit]

Sierra removes support for garbage collection from the Objective-Cruntime,^[29] a memory-management system that was added in Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5) and declared deprecated in favor of Automatic Reference Counting in OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8). ^[30][31] Applications that have been compiled with garbage collection will no longer run.

Apple removed native support for the VPN protocol PPTP and made recommendations for alternatives that it considers more secure.^[32]

The 'time remaining' estimate has been removed in the 10.12.2 update after complaints of the battery life of 2016 MacBook Pros.^[33][34][35]

The Game Center app has been removed.^[22] However, the service still exists.

Reinstallation[edit]

Following the download of macOS Sierra (10.12) from the Mac App Store, the installer does not show under a users' 'Purchased' tab in the Mac App Store app. Users can still re-download the Sierra installer by visiting the macOS Sierra page on the Mac App Store.^[36]

Reception[edit]

macOS Sierra has received generally positive reviews. Users and critics have praised its functionality, including the addition of Siri and support for Apple Pay in Safari.^[37]Macworld gave it 4.5 stars out of 5.^[38]Engadget gave it a rating of 87 out of 100 praising the new features such as Siri integration, Universal Clipboard, and Apple Pay while criticizing the unreliability of Auto Unlock, that 'Siri isn't always smart enough' and some of the Messages features are only available on iOS 10.^[39] Developers of apps that rely on the PDFKit library built into macOS have complained that radical changes to PDFKit introduced in Sierra are causing instability and potential data corruption.^[40]

Releases[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'macOS version 10.12 Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers'. The Open Group. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
2. ^'About the security content of macOS Mojave 10.14.6, Security Update 2019-004 High Sierra, Security Update 2019-004 Sierra'. Apple Support. July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
3. ^'Download - Apple Developer'. Apple Developer. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
4. ^Loyola, Roman (7 July 2016). 'macOS Sierra FAQ: What you need to know about the new Mac operating system'. Macworld. Archived from the original on 15 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
5. ^Majo, Benjamin (7 September 2016). 'macOS Sierra will be released on September 20 for free to Mac owners'. 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on 8 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
6. ^'How to get macOS Sierra'. Apple. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
7. ^Elliott, Matt (2016-06-13). 'See which Macs will -- and won't -- work with MacOS'. CNet. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
8. ^'MacOS 10.12 Sierra Unsupported Macs Thread'. MacRumors Forums. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
9. ^ ^ab'How to use Siri in macOS Sierra'. Macworld. Archived from the original on 2017-02-04. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
10. ^ ^abcdefCunningham, Andrew; Hutchinson, Lee (September 20, 2016). 'macOS 10.12 Sierra: The Ars Technica review'. Ars Technica UK. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
11. ^Clover, Juli. 'macOS Sierra: Save Disk Space With the New 'Optimize Storage' Option'. Archived from the original on 2016-11-26. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
12. ^'macOS Sierra: Apps Gain Safari-Style Tabs'. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
13. ^'macOS Sierra: Picture in Picture Mode for Safari and iTunes Videos'. Archived from the original on 2018-01-26. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
14. ^'macOS High Sierra: You'll Hardly Notice You've Upgraded - The Mac Observer'. The Mac Observer. 4 October 2017. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
15. ^Clover, Juli. 'Apple Releases macOS Sierra 10.12.4 With New Night Shift Mode'. Archived from the original on 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
16. ^'How to Use Night Shift in macOS Sierra 10.12.4'. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
17. ^'Safari App Extension Programming Guide: Safari App Extensions'. Apple Developer. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
18. ^'How to use Messages effects in macOS Sierra'. iMore. Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
19. ^'10 tiny macOS Sierra features I love'. iMore. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
20. ^'7 hidden features in macOS Sierra you may have missed'. Macworld. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
21. ^'How to Use Read Receipts on the iPhone and Mac'. TekRevue. Archived from the original on 2016-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
22. ^ ^abcMatt Elliott (November 10, 2016). '10 hidden MacOS Sierra features you need to know'. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved 2018-06-09.
23. ^'How to configure a software RAID in macOS Sierra's Disk Utility'. Macworld. Archived from the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
24. ^ ^abCunningham, Andrew (June 15, 2016). 'Some nerdy changes in macOS and iOS 10: RAW shooting, a harsher Gatekeeper, more'. Ars Technica UK. Archived from the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
25. ^Trouton, Rich (September 21, 2016). 'macOS Sierra's /Volumes folder is no longer world-writable'. Der Flounder. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
26. ^Gruber, John (September 20, 2016). 'Dropbox's MacOS Security Hack'. Daring Fireball. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
27. ^Pauli, Darren (September 13, 2016). 'Dropbox apologies for clunky administrator account access on Macs'. The Register. Archived from the original on October 2, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
28. ^Trouton, Rich (September 21, 2016). 'tty_tickets option now on by default for macOS Sierra's sudo tool'. Der Flounder. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
29. ^'Xcode Release Notes'. Apple Developer. May 29, 2018. Section 'Xcode 8.3'. Retrieved June 9, 2018. OS X 10.11 was the last major release of macOS that supported the previously deprecated garbage collection runtime. Applications or features that depend upon garbage collection may not function properly or will not launch in macOS Sierra. Developers should use Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) or manual retain/release for memory management instead. (20589595)
30. ^Siracusa, John (October 29, 2007). 'Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: the Ars Technica review'. Ars Technica. At section 'Objective-C 2.0'. Archived from the original on November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
31. ^Siracusa, John (July 25, 2012). 'OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion: the Ars Technica review'. Ars Technica. At section 'Objective-C enhancements'. Archived from the original on November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
32. ^'Prepare for removal of PPTP VPN before you upgrade to iOS 10 and macOS Sierra'. Apple Support. July 16, 2016. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
33. ^Kahn, Jordan (2016-12-13). 'Why Apple is removing 'time remaining' battery life estimates following MacBook Pro complaints'. 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
34. ^Schroeder, Stan. 'Apple's Sierra update 'fixes' Mac battery woes by removing 'time remaining' estimate'. Mashable. Archived from the original on 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
35. ^O'Kane, Sean (2016-12-13). 'Apple removes the 'time remaining' battery estimate in new macOS update'. The Verge. Archived from the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
36. ^'How to download macOS Sierra'. Apple. October 17, 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
37. ^'MacOS Sierra review: Six big ways it's going to change your Apple experience'. CNET. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
38. ^'macOS Sierra review: Mixing iOS with OS X to make a better Mac'. Macworld. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
39. ^Wollman, Dana (September 20, 2016). 'macOS Sierra review: Mac users get a modest update this year'. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
40. ^'Sierra PDF Problems Get Worse in 10.12.2'. Tidbits. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-03-20.

External links[edit]

• Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived August 30, 2017)

When you upgrade to macOS Mojave, you’ll get a host of new features inspired by its most powerful users but designed for everyone. Stay better focused on your work in Dark Mode. Automatically organize files using Stacks. Take more kinds of screenshots with less effort. Try four handy new built-in apps, and discover even more in the redesigned Mac App Store. Now you can get more out of every click. Best of all, upgrading is free and easy.

Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Mojave.

Mac computers with Metal-capable graphics processors (GPUs) can be upgraded to macOS Mojave.

Make sure you’re ready to upgrade.

Before you upgrade, we recommend that you back up your Mac. Then, if your Mac is running OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS Mojave.

Upgrading is free. And easier than you think.

Visit the macOS Mojave page on the App Store. Click the download button and follow the onscreen instructions to begin your upgrade. If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store.

• OS X 10.8 or later
• 2GB of memory
• 12.5GB of available storage (OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 or later)*

• Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
• Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

Have an older version of OS X? Learn how to upgrade

Upgrading from OS X Snow Leopard or Lion

If you’re running Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or Lion (10.7) and your Mac supports macOS Mojave, you will need to upgrade to El Capitan (10.11) first. Click here for instructions.

For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Mojave:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)

• Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013; Mid 2010 and Mid 2012 models with recommended Metal-capable graphics cards)

Siri

Requires a broadband Internet connection and microphone (built-in or external).

Hey Siri

Supported by the following Mac models:

• MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2018)
• iMac Pro (2017)

Dictation and Voice Memos

Requires a microphone (built-in or external).

Spotlight Suggestions

Requires a broadband Internet connection.

Gestures

Requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.

Force Touch gestures require a Force Touch trackpad.

VoiceOver gestures require a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, or Magic Trackpad.

Photo Booth

Requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built-in or external), or USB video class (UVC) camera.

FaceTime

Audio calls require a microphone (built-in or external) and broadband Internet connection.

Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built-in or external), or a USB video class (UVC) camera; and broadband Internet connection.

Continuity Camera, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and Universal Clipboard

Supported by the following Mac models:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
• MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (2012 or newer)
• iMac (2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)

Continuity Camera requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 12 or later.

Handoff requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 8 or later.

Instant Hotspot requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity with a Lightning connector and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.

Auto Unlock

Supported by Mac models introduced in mid 2013 or later.

Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later and an iPhone 5 or later.

Apple Pay on the Web

Supported by the following Mac models:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
• MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (2012 or newer)
• iMac (2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)

Requires MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or later, or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later.

Phone Calling

Requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.

SMS

Requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 or later and an activated carrier plan.

Home

Requires iPhone with iOS 12 or later and a configured Home app.

AirDrop

AirDrop between Mac computers and iOS devices is supported by the following Mac models:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
• MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (2012 or newer)
• iMac (2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)

AirDrop to iOS devices requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 7 or later.

AirPlay

AirPlay Mirroring requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later). Supported by the following Mac models:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)

AirPlay for web video requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).

Peer-to-peer AirPlay requires a Mac (2012 or later) and an Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later.

Time Machine

Requires an external storage device (sold separately).

Power Nap

Supported by the following Mac models:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
• MacBook Pro with Retina display (Mid 2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac Pro (2017)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)

Boot Camp

Allows Boot Camp installations of Windows 10 on supported Mac models.

Exchange Support

Requires Microsoft Office 365, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, or Exchange Server 2010. Installing the latest Service Packs is recommended.

App Store

Available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries and regions.

Mac Os User Groups

• Apple Books
• Apple News
• App Store
• Automator
• Calculator
• Calendar
• Chess
• Contacts
• Dashboard
• Dictionary
• DVD Player
• FaceTime
• Font Book
• Home
• Image Capture
• iTunes
• Launchpad
• Mail

• Maps
• Messages
• Mission Control
• Notes
• Photo Booth
• Photos
• Preview
• QuickTime Player
• Reminders
• Safari
• Siri
• Stickies
• Stocks
• System Preferences
• TextEdit
• Time Machine
• Voice Memos

• Activity Monitor
• AirPort Utility
• Audio MIDI Setup
• Bluetooth File Exchange
• Boot Camp Assistant
• ColorSync Utility
• Console
• Digital Color Meter

• Disk Utility
• Grapher
• Keychain Access
• Migration Assistant
• Screenshot
• Script Editor
• System Information
• Terminal
• VoiceOver Utility

Mac Os El Capitan

• Arabic
• Catalan
• Croatian
• Simplified Chinese
• Traditional Chinese
• Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• English
• English (Australia)
• English (United Kingdom)
• Finnish
• French
• French (Canada)
• German
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Hungarian
• Indonesian
• Italian

Macos Sierra User Manual

• Japanese
• Korean
• Malay
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Brazilian Portuguese
• Portuguese
• Romanian
• Russian
• Slovak
• Spanish
• Spanish (Latin America)
• Swedish
• Thai
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Vietnamese