Apple on Monday seeded the seventh developer beta, and the sixth public beta of macOS Sierra for testing. The new beta of Apple’s upcoming Mac operating system comes just one week following the sixth developer beta release of the OS, which debuted at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2016, back in June.
The new beta is available for both developers and public beta testers via the “Update” tab in the Mac App Store, and is also available to developers via download from the Apple Developer Center.
Siri Comes to the Mac
macOS Sierra brings a number of new features to Mac users, including Siri. Apple’s virtual personal assistant makes her move to the Mac. The familiar features of Siri are now available with just a click of the mouse or a hotkey combination. The assistant is available from the Dock, Menu Bar, or the Mac keyboard.
Users will be able to use voice commands to search for information, find files and send messages. Siri will be able to find a specific document you worked on last night, add a meeting to your calendar, play music, start a FaceTime call, and much more.
Users can also drag-and-drop items from Siri search results directly into documents or emails. Siri results can be pinned in Notification Center, handy for sports scores and stock prices, and Siri can even adjust system preferences, set reminders, and search your Photos library.
Other New Features
macOS Sierra allows users to have all the files on their desktop and in their Documents folder available on any Mac, iOS device, or PC. Users simply save their files in their Documents folder, or on their Desktop, and the files will follow them across devices.
Continuity on the Mac gets a boost, with copy & paste between devices. Universal Clipboard will allow copy & pasting the contents of your clipboard across all your Apple devices, via iCloud. Copy & paste information between your iOS devices and Mac.
Mac users will be able to use Apple Pay to pay when shopping on participating websites. Just click the Apple Pay button on the website when you checkout, then authorize payment for the purchase via the Touch ID sensor on your iPhone, or by using your Apple Watch. Apple Watch users will also be able to unlock their macs via their Watch.
In macOS Sierra beta four, Apple debuted new, more diverse gender equal emoji and introduced a new look for many existing emoji, as well.
Availability
The macOS Sierra beta is currently available only to developers. However, the new operating system will be released to the general public later this year.
