macOS Sierra

macOS 10.12 Sierra
A version of the macOS operating system

macOS Sierra desktop
Developer Apple Inc.
OS family
Source model Closed, with open-source components
Initial release September 20, 2016 (2016-09-20)
Latest release 10.12.1 (16B2657) / October 27, 2016 (2016-10-27)
Latest preview 10.12.2 Beta 4 (16C53a) / November 28, 2016 (2016-11-28)
Update method Mac App Store
Platforms x86-64
Kernel type Hybrid (XNU)
License APSL and Apple EULA and Non-Disclosure Agreement
Preceded by OS X 10.11 El Capitan
Official website www.apple.com/macos/sierra
Support status
Supported

macOS Sierra (version 10.12)[2] is the thirteenth major release of macOS (previously OS X), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The successor to OS X El Capitan, it is the first version of the operating system issued under the June 2016 rebranding as macOS. Sierra is named after California's Sierra Nevada mountain range.[3] 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.[4]

System requirements

macOS Sierra requires at least 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage space and will run on:[5]

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.[6] Developers have created workarounds to install macOS Sierra on some Mac computers that are no longer officially supported.[7]

Changes

System features

Siri

A demonstration of Siri on macOS Sierra Beta

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. Siri can send messages, search the web, find files and adjust settings. Results can be dropped into other applications or pinned to Notification Center. For instance, pictures from search results can be dragged into a document.

iCloud Drive and Optimized Storage

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.[8][9]

Auto Unlock and Universal Clipboard

Building upon Continuity, an "umbrella term [for] features that facilitate the communication between [Apple devices]" using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, Sierra adds two features.[8] 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. 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

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

Apple File System

Apple released a preview of a new file system, 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. The file system is currently experimental and a release is planned for 2017. Apple plans to document and publish the APFS volume format.[10][11]

Application features

Photos

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

Safari provides an "extension point" which enables developers to bundle Safari extensions within their Cocoa applications and communicate with them directly from the applications.[12] 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.[8]

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

The Messages app adds aesthetic effects to messages, such as three times bigger emojis and tap back with hearts or thumbs-up on a message bubble.[13] The ability to play YouTube videos and preview links in a conversation was introduced. Users can view interactive content added to iMessage in iOS 10.

iTunes

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). A refined MiniPlayer with the ability to view lyrics while you listen has also been introduced.

Other changes

Security improvements

Gatekeeper

macOS Sierra slightly changes the Gatekeeper user 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-sign disk 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.[14]

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.[14]

Directory permissions and sudo

The Unix permissions for writing to the /Volumes directory are now restricted to root and no longer "world-writable".[15] Apple expanded System Integrity Protection to /Library/Application Support/com.apple.TCC,[16] 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 service Dropbox 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.[17]

The sudo command-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.[18]

Removed functionality

Sierra removes support for garbage collection from the Objective-C runtime,[19] a memory-management system that was added in Mac OS X Leopard and declared deprecated in favor of Automatic Reference Counting in OS X Mountain Lion.[20][21] 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.[22]

Releases

Previous release Current release Beta
Version Build Release date Darwin Notes Standalone download
10.12 16A323 September 20, 2016 16.0.0 Original Mac App Store release N/A
10.12.1 16B2555 October 24, 2016 16.1.0 About the macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Update macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Update
16B2657 October 27, 2016
10.12.2 Beta 4 16C53a November 28, 2016 16.2.0 General bug fixes & improvements N/A

References

  1. ↑ "macOS version 10.12 Sierra on Intel-based Mac computers". The Open Group. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Download - Apple Developer". Apple Developer. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  3. ↑ Loyola, Roman (7 July 2016). "macOS Sierra FAQ: What you need to know about the new Mac operating system". Macworld. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Majo, Benjamin (7 September 2016). "macOS Sierra will be released on September 20 for free to Mac owners". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "How to get macOS Sierra". Apple. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ Elliott, Matt (2016-06-13). "See which Macs will -- and won't -- work with MacOS". CNet. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  7. ↑ "MacOS 10.12 Sierra Unsupported Macs Thread". MacRumors Forums. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cunningham, Andrew; Hutchinson, Lee (September 20, 2016). "macOS 10.12 Sierra: The Ars Technica review". Ars Technica UK. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  9. ↑ Clover, Juli. "macOS Sierra: Save Disk Space With the New 'Optimize Storage' Option". Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  10. ↑ "Apple File System Guide". Apple Developer. 13 June 2016. Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Hutchinson, Lee (14 June 2016). "Digging into APFS, Apple's new file system". Ars Technica UK. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "Safari App Extension Programming Guide: Safari App Extensions". Apple Developer. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  13. ↑ "How to use Messages effects in macOS Sierra". iMore. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  14. 1 2 Cunningham, 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.
  15. ↑ Trouton, Rich (September 21, 2016). "macOS Sierra's /Volumes folder is no longer world-writable". Der Flounder. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  16. ↑ Gruber, John (September 20, 2016). "Dropbox's MacOS Security Hack". Daring Fireball. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  17. ↑ Pauli, Darren (September 13, 2016). "Dropbox apologies for clunky administrator account access on Macs". The Register. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  18. ↑ Trouton, Rich (September 21, 2016). "tty_tickets option now on by default for macOS Sierra's sudo tool". Der Flounder. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Xcode 8.1 Release Notes". Apple Developer. October 27, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  20. ↑ Siracusa, John (October 29, 2007). "Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: the Ars Technica review". Ars Technica. At section "Objective-C 2.0". Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  21. ↑ Siracusa, John (July 25, 2012). "OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion: the Ars Technica review". Ars Technica. At section "Objective-C enhancements". Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  22. ↑ "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.

External links

Preceded by
OS X 10.11		 macOS 10.12
2016 		Incumbent
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