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Apple Seeds Sixth Beta of macOS Sierra to Developers [Update: Public Beta Testers Too]

Monday August 15, 2016 11:44 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released the sixth beta of macOS Sierra, the newest operating system designed for the Mac, to developers. macOS Sierra beta 6 comes one week after the release of the fifth beta and two months after the software was first unveiled at Apple's 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Developers can download today's beta update using the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Apple Developer Center.

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macOS Sierra is a major update that brings Siri to the Mac for the first time, allowing users to conduct voice searches to quickly find files, look up information, and more. New Continuity features offer an "Auto Unlock" option for unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch and a "Universal Clipboard" for copying text on one Apple device and pasting it on another.

Deeper iCloud integration allows files stored on the desktop or the Documents folder of a Mac to be accessed on all of a user's devices, and Photos features deep learning algorithms for improved facial, object, and scene recognition. There's also a Memories feature for displaying photo collections, and Messages has rich links, bigger emoji, and "Tapback" response options.

Apple Pay is coming to the web in macOS Sierra, with payments authenticated through an iPhone or Apple Watch, and new features like multiple tabs, Picture in Picture multitasking, optimized storage, and revamped emoji are also available.

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macOS Sierra is currently available to developers and public beta testers, and it will see a wider public release this fall. For full details on all of the new features included in macOS Sierra, make sure to check out our macOS Sierra roundup.

Update: There's also a new version of macOS Sierra for public beta testers.
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mdelvecchio
30 months ago

I dock my iPhone next to my iMac, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who does that. Being able to use Touch ID instead of a password would save me time and wear on my keyboard.

wear on your keyboard? are you seriously worried about this??
Rating: 11 Votes
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hideous cheese
30 months ago

I wonder if I missed it somewhere, but it would be equally nice if we could do this with an iPhone too.


I believe the logic was that getting a phone out and using Touch ID is not any real convenience over conventional log in. Watch proximity, however, is seamless.
Rating: 9 Votes
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scottisloud
30 months ago

I wonder if I missed it somewhere, but it would be equally nice if we could do this with an iPhone too.

This isn't currently a feature and I don't expect it will be. The watch is always unlocked as long as it remains on the user's wrist, unlike the iPhone which is locked as soon as the display sleeps. To auto-unlock with the iPhone then, the user would still have to locate the iPhone (which may or may not be a big deal, depending on where the phone is at any given moment), authenticate with TouchID, and then they would have access to their Mac. For many people this isn't likely to save them a great deal of time over simply typing in their password. My phone is generally in my pants. I can type my computer user password faster than I can retrieve my phone from my pocket and touchID it.
Many people keep their phones in a purse or bag. That's an even bigger imposition than a pocket! Really the only people who would save time with auto-unlock via iPhone would be those people who happen to have the phone in their hands as they sit down to their computer. This is probably a lot of people at any given moment, but probably NOT a majority.
Rating: 7 Votes
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SandboxGeneral
30 months ago

New Continuity features offer an "Auto Unlock" option for unlocking a Mac with an Apple Watch

I wonder if I missed it somewhere, but it would be equally nice if we could do this with an iPhone too.
Rating: 6 Votes
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redheeler
30 months ago

I wonder if I missed it somewhere, but it would be equally nice if we could do this with an iPhone too.

Only 10% of iPhone owners have a Watch, and Apple has plenty of them to sell.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Rkuda
30 months ago

I dock my iPhone next to my iMac, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who does that. Being able to use Touch ID instead of a password would save me time and wear on my keyboard.


LOL. Come on, if we're making excuses lets not get carried away.
Rating: 4 Votes
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rasputin1969
30 months ago

I wonder if I missed it somewhere, but it would be equally nice if we could do this with an iPhone too.

The watch knows it's been worn continously since the passcode was entered. For the phone, you would probable need to take it out and unlock it - it would probably be faster just to log in as per normal.
Rating: 4 Votes
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tywebb13
30 months ago
Build number is 16A294a
Rating: 3 Votes
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tywebb13
30 months ago

Did MR jumped the gun again like last time?


Don't think so. Apple released a seed note too. So would you also say apple jumped the gun too?
Rating: 3 Votes
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MirekEl
30 months ago
It is available on the AppStore now
Rating: 3 Votes

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