Apple Releases Second Golden Master of macOS Sierra for Developers

Apple today released an updated golden master (GM) version of macOS Sierra to developers, a week and a day after releasing the first golden master following its September 7 event. The golden master represents the final version of macOS Sierra that will be released to the public on Tuesday, September 20.

The golden master update can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center at this time, and it is not clear if it will be available through the Mac App Store. The new GM seed is build 16A323, while the build released last week was 16A320.


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.

macOS Sierra will be officially released to the public on September 20 and it will be available for free to all users with a compatible Mac. For full details on all of the new features included in the update, make sure to check out our macOS Sierra roundup.

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Top Rated Comments

ksnell Avatar
121 months ago
I thought Golden Master meant that was it?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
decimortis Avatar
121 months ago
I may be ignorant of what Golden Master actually means...

Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
skwood Avatar
121 months ago
This is not the second GM, so far we've seen build 319, 320, 322 and now 323. There have been no delta updates for any of these. You can download the latest by re-downloading macOS Sierra from the Purchased tab in the MAS.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JackieTreehorn Avatar
121 months ago
I may be ignorant of what Golden Master actually means...
Inconceivable!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
benjitek Avatar
121 months ago
It's actually the 3rd GM version, the 2nd version, 16A322, was quietly released on 9/13 and 16A323 launched today. Neither of these versions would update by clicking the [Download] button at the developers site, at least they wouldn't when I tried. The only way I could install them was by clicking [Download] in the AppStore purchase-history.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JackieTreehorn Avatar
121 months ago
I clearly can't choose the golden master in front of you.
I'm not a witch, I am your wife.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)