For over a decade, OS X has been the cornerstone of the technology industry. Ever since launching in 1998 alongside the original iMac, the operating system has continuously become more and more powerful, resulting in what is quite possibly the best operating system on earth.
Every year since 1998, Apple has been updating OS X to reach new heights and continuously stay on top of the operating system market. This year, however, is a little bit different.
This year’s update is called macOS Sierra, not OS X, the first name change of the OS in quite some time. While many believe it is time for Apple to do a full refresh of their desktop operating system, the new update, beyond a name change, is a typical update compared to the past few years.
The last few macOS updates have centered around making iOS and macOS harmonize together, and getting the point across that if you have one, you should really get the other. I’ve been using macOS Sierra for a while now and have gotten a chance to test out all of the new features. Here’s everything that I liked, and everything that I thought should have stayed the same:
The Good – This is an amazing thing. It appears Apple has made Siri for Mac more powerful than on other devices, which makes sense considering the Mac has more power. Siri on Mac can complete just about every instruction you could give it on a phone but additionally, can do more complex things for your computer. You can ask it for information about your processor speed and even ask for files.
The Bad – Siri and Spotlight seem fragmented, both capable of doing mostly the same thing but no connectivity between each other. Ideally, Siri should just have a type option and it would be the same as Spotlight.
Additionally, Siri File Search doesn’t appear to be working yet, and every time I launched Siri some weird application would pop up requiring a force quit each time to stop it from jumping.
iCloud
The Good – iCloud Drive now works exactly how it always should have. The service will now automatically sync your Mac’s desktop and documents folder across your devices, and if you have enough storage you could even tell the service to sync everything. Throughout the past few days, I’ve gone and gotten access to things on my phone that I would’ve normally had to go on my computer to get a copy of.
The Bad – I had quite a bit of trouble with setting up the new feature. When I told it to begin syncing the documents folder, it removed my previous one and put the local copy into the iCloud folder, and then began uploading everything. I didn’t have enough iCloud storage, and the OS wouldn’t let me move anything while syncing, so I had to restore from Time Machine to fix everything.
Apple Watch Unlock
The Good – When wearing an Apple Watch, your Mac will now automatically unlock, and be able to understand whether it is you or someone else trying to access your computer. A really nice way to get around the passcode.
The Bad – I’ve yet to get this to work once. All of my devices Handoff are set up correctly, and it is possible it’s entirely on my side, but It just isn’t happening. I presume that’ll be working by the time it hits the public, but for now, I haven’t tried it.
Universal Clipboard
The Good – Universal clipboard makes your clipboard harmonious between devices, meaning you essentially have one clipboard, and everything is synced with everything else. This way, you can find a picture on the internet on your phone, copy it, and paste it into something on your Mac. It works exactly how you’d expect it to, and when it works it work great.
The Bad – I also had a lot of trouble getting this to work. I did succeed sometimes but it was very finicky. I’ll also chop this up to beta-ness, but again not a good first impression.
Optimized Storage
The Good – macOS will now help you optimize storage in your drive. It does this through four main options – Storing in iCloud, removing iTunes and Email clutter, Erasing Trash automatically, and reviewing and deleting old documents.
There’s really nothing bad to say about this feature, it works and I succeeded in removing about 50GB of clutter from 500GB of data on my first go around.
Gatekeeper Tweaks
The Bad – As a developer, this is really a mostly unnecessary and bad change for consumers. Previously, to install unsigned apps, there was a simple menu to allow that process, and it was off by default. Now the process has become much more complicated.
Apple’s signing mechanism has some ridiculous rules, and some apps will now have to instruct users to jump through hoops to install apps.
iTunes / Apple Music
The Good – iTunes has received the new Apple Music update that will be joining all OS’s in the fall, and it works pretty well. The new Apple Music is certainly better than the old, and the interface is much cleaner and easier to use.
The Bad – Unfortunately, iTunes still desperately needs an overhaul, and little has changed from previous iterations of the app.
Photos
The Good – The Photos app has received the same overhaul as iOS, with a bigger emphasis on facial and object recognition and the new moments feature. This all works pretty well, and most users will probably be satisfied with the new updates.
Tabs
The Ehh – One thing that Apple spent an oddly medium amount of time on during their WWDC event a few weeks back was the addition of tabs across the OS. These new tabs are supposed to be available by default, and not require any extra development from the developer.
While I originally understood that to mean they’d be there in every app, it is clear that this does require the developer to push an update for the OS, just that it’s a core feature like windows and can be enabled easily. I personally don’t know what the big deal is; if an app would be better with tabs the developer would’ve likely put them in, to begin with.
Apple Pay
The Good – Apple Pay will now work in Safari on macOS, allowing users to purchase things by authenticating with their phone. There are no sites to try this out yet, but I presume it’ll work fine.
Compatibility
The Good – Surprisingly, Apple has not moved any Macs out of the upgrade pattern with this update. All iMacs and MacBook Pro’s from 2009+ will get the update, and all other Macs 2010 and later will receive it as well.
With macOS Sierra, Apple is clearly pushing for an even more continuous experience between Apple devices. By making all of your documents available everywhere, and allowing things like Apple Watch to unlock your Mac, Apple’s walled garden continues to become more interconnected.
Take a look at our beta download guide and get ready to take macOS Sierra for a test ride today!
Largely unimpressed with Sierra. Have not upgraded OS X for a few years as my workflow and stability were very good, but thought it was time for a change. Biggest issues are:
– Spotlight is really poor, erratic and not very functional
– Insane that this release (and last couple I’m told) have dropped the feature whereby the filing system doesn’t ‘remember’ the last folder you were in, if, say for example, you’re opening lots of files from similar folder locations
– Photos App has now made it difficult to open the original file of a photo in Finder
@Mark Mywords – I could not agree more. For me, it’s the final nail in the Apple coffin. I have been heavily invested in the apple ecosystem up until recently, but stupid prices, lack of functionality and a the sense of “profit before customer service” coming from Tim Cook has turned me off. Having “upgraded” to Sierra things have been markedly worse. I simply refuse to spend any more money with Apple until they start putting their customers first. The problems I currently have are largely wireless related – wifi drops constantly and bluetooth works only when it wants to. Perhaps it’s a faulty mac, I don’t know, but I won’t be replacing it. My Windows 10 laptop is working just fine – wifi is solid, bluetooth connects first time. Sorry Apple, but your products no longer work properly out of the box and are considerably more expensive than the alternatives.
What is disappointing upgrade from Mac. Did anyone of the idiots designing Sierra ever bothered to do testing ? Printers don’t work, problems with Emails. I can give an endless list. No wonder Mac are loosing support/customers. Offer me a Maverick CD and I will gladly buy it. Anything to get rid of Sierra.
An honest review? It is nothing of the sort. Absolute crap. Ive lost count of all the things that have gone wrong since I’ve upgraded.
Problems with time machine
Emails that won’t send.
Email account like yahoo, which simply don’t connect anymore.
Various bits that are simply ‘missing’.
Remember when Apple computers ‘just worked’
Well they don’t anymore.
Just a bundle of childish gimmicks, which no one in their right mind couldn’t live without
“…resulting in what is quite possibly the best operating system on earth.”.
It’s the most unstable operating system I’ve used since my old XP got infected with a virus that restarted it every few days. It’s missing significant functionality over both Windows and Linux desktops. I know you spent a lot of money on your shiny mac but you need to realise it’s not the poster boy anymore… it’s seriously behind the competition.
I don’t find anything good about Sierra. My computer was fine with El Capitan, and ever since installing Sierra, nothing has worked properly. Here’s a list:
Finder constantly crashes
Time Machine doesn’t work
Had trouble with a couple software programs. i.e.: either they don’t work or not supported. iTunes is one that won’t work
Had to force quit the computer several times
The computer is now very slow
I’m blaming the computer for frying my external hd as it worked fine until Sierra
If you really want to make the argument of Siri on Desktop = Cortana, Cortana = Siri, which was launched several years before Cortana. I prefer to embrace competition so we get the most out of all companies.
Universal clipboard = Google Keep is a ridiculous statement, and I assume you didn’t actually look into what the Universal clipboard actually is because there is no similarity.
“…if an app would be better with tabs the developer would’ve likely put them in, to begin with.”
No. Nope. Nope. Nope. NO.
Email needs tabs for different folders that you need open at the same time.
Calendars sure as hell need tabs, and have for 20 years, so you don’t end up with one horribly cluttered calendar, but instead can have, for example, each family member’s calendar on its own tab.
Photos needs tabs (checking albums against each other quickly). iTunes needs tabs (current playlist in one, keeping an eye on your iPhone sync in the other). Contacts needs tabs (Work and Home lists open at the same time). The Calculator needs tabs for running multiple totals at once. Pretty much any app in which you can’t CMD+~ between open windows needs tabs.
This feature is long, long, long overdue, if for no other reason than the Calendar. It’s unfathomable to me that nobody has created a tabbed calendar already.
My comment was directed more towards 3rd-party developers than Apple itself. If you believe Apple’s apps need tabs, than that’s not what this feature is. Apple including tabs as a standard in OS X means it wants developers to have them, and really has nothing to do with Apple’s stock apps.
As a matter a fact, as of the latest beta, none of the apps you’ve listed – Photos, iTunes, Contacts, Calendar, Calculator – support tabs, nor would I bet that they will by launch, because this is enabled in other apps already.
Largely unimpressed with Sierra. Have not upgraded OS X for a few years as my workflow and stability were very good, but thought it was time for a change. Biggest issues are:
– Spotlight is really poor, erratic and not very functional
– Insane that this release (and last couple I’m told) have dropped the feature whereby the filing system doesn’t ‘remember’ the last folder you were in, if, say for example, you’re opening lots of files from similar folder locations
– Photos App has now made it difficult to open the original file of a photo in Finder
@Mark Mywords – I could not agree more. For me, it’s the final nail in the Apple coffin. I have been heavily invested in the apple ecosystem up until recently, but stupid prices, lack of functionality and a the sense of “profit before customer service” coming from Tim Cook has turned me off. Having “upgraded” to Sierra things have been markedly worse. I simply refuse to spend any more money with Apple until they start putting their customers first. The problems I currently have are largely wireless related – wifi drops constantly and bluetooth works only when it wants to. Perhaps it’s a faulty mac, I don’t know, but I won’t be replacing it. My Windows 10 laptop is working just fine – wifi is solid, bluetooth connects first time. Sorry Apple, but your products no longer work properly out of the box and are considerably more expensive than the alternatives.
What is disappointing upgrade from Mac. Did anyone of the idiots designing Sierra ever bothered to do testing ? Printers don’t work, problems with Emails. I can give an endless list. No wonder Mac are loosing support/customers. Offer me a Maverick CD and I will gladly buy it. Anything to get rid of Sierra.
An honest review? It is nothing of the sort. Absolute crap. Ive lost count of all the things that have gone wrong since I’ve upgraded.
Problems with time machine
Emails that won’t send.
Email account like yahoo, which simply don’t connect anymore.
Various bits that are simply ‘missing’.
Remember when Apple computers ‘just worked’
Well they don’t anymore.
Just a bundle of childish gimmicks, which no one in their right mind couldn’t live without
“… an honest review”.
“…resulting in what is quite possibly the best operating system on earth.”.
It’s the most unstable operating system I’ve used since my old XP got infected with a virus that restarted it every few days. It’s missing significant functionality over both Windows and Linux desktops. I know you spent a lot of money on your shiny mac but you need to realise it’s not the poster boy anymore… it’s seriously behind the competition.
I don’t find anything good about Sierra. My computer was fine with El Capitan, and ever since installing Sierra, nothing has worked properly. Here’s a list:
Finder constantly crashes
Time Machine doesn’t work
Had trouble with a couple software programs. i.e.: either they don’t work or not supported. iTunes is one that won’t work
Had to force quit the computer several times
The computer is now very slow
I’m blaming the computer for frying my external hd as it worked fine until Sierra
randomperson says
JULY 13, 2016 AT 5:27 PM
max os is advanced, but its in its beta, when It comes out it will be polished and have practically no flaws
Just like the 3 last os x releases…
We hope not, or we will have to finally give up on Apple like we gave up on Microsoft and give linux a go instead.
Universal clipboard = Google Keep
Siri on Desktop = Cortana
The innovation is over whelming in this release.
Hello Alvin,
If you really want to make the argument of Siri on Desktop = Cortana, Cortana = Siri, which was launched several years before Cortana. I prefer to embrace competition so we get the most out of all companies.
Universal clipboard = Google Keep is a ridiculous statement, and I assume you didn’t actually look into what the Universal clipboard actually is because there is no similarity.
“…if an app would be better with tabs the developer would’ve likely put them in, to begin with.”
No. Nope. Nope. Nope. NO.
Email needs tabs for different folders that you need open at the same time.
Calendars sure as hell need tabs, and have for 20 years, so you don’t end up with one horribly cluttered calendar, but instead can have, for example, each family member’s calendar on its own tab.
Photos needs tabs (checking albums against each other quickly). iTunes needs tabs (current playlist in one, keeping an eye on your iPhone sync in the other). Contacts needs tabs (Work and Home lists open at the same time). The Calculator needs tabs for running multiple totals at once. Pretty much any app in which you can’t CMD+~ between open windows needs tabs.
This feature is long, long, long overdue, if for no other reason than the Calendar. It’s unfathomable to me that nobody has created a tabbed calendar already.
Hi Rob,
My comment was directed more towards 3rd-party developers than Apple itself. If you believe Apple’s apps need tabs, than that’s not what this feature is. Apple including tabs as a standard in OS X means it wants developers to have them, and really has nothing to do with Apple’s stock apps.
As a matter a fact, as of the latest beta, none of the apps you’ve listed – Photos, iTunes, Contacts, Calendar, Calculator – support tabs, nor would I bet that they will by launch, because this is enabled in other apps already.
Thanks for reading!
max os is advanced, but its in its beta, when It comes out it wil be polished and have practically no flaws
Apple Watch Handoff was not released in this preview.
Closed beta software acts like closed beta software. Duh.