Version of the macOS operating system | |
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![]() macOS Sierra desktop | |
Developer | Apple Inc. |
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OS family | |
Source model | Closed, with open source components |
General availability | September 20, 2016 |
Latest release | 10.12.6 (16G2136) [2] / September 26, 2019 |
Update method | Mac App Store |
Platforms | x86-64 |
Kernel type | Hybrid (XNU) |
License | APSL and Apple EULA |
Preceded by | OS X El Capitan |
Succeeded by | macOS High Sierra |
Official website | macOS - Apple at the Wayback Machine (archived August 30, 2017) |
Tagline | What can your Mac do now? Just ask. |
Support status | |
Obsolete, unsupported as of September 2019. iTunes is no longer being updated, but is able to download driver updates to sync to newer devices. [3] Drops support for Macs released from mid 2007 to mid 2009. |
Part of a series on |
macOS |
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macOS Sierra (version 10.12) [4] is the thirteenth major release of macOS (formerly known as OS X and Mac OS X), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name "macOS" stems from the intention to unify the operating system's name with that of iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada. Specifically, Lone Pine Peak is the location for macOS Sierra's default wallpaper. [5] 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 [6] and it was succeeded by macOS High Sierra on September 25, 2017.
macOS Sierra requires at least 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage space and is designed to run on the following products: [7]
Sierra dropped support for various Macs released from mid 2007 to mid 2009, the first version of macOS since OS X Mountain Lion, released in 2012, to do so. [8] Support for Xserve was also dropped in Sierra.
Developers have created workarounds to install macOS Sierra on some Mac computers that are no longer officially supported as long as they are packed with a CPU that supports SSE4.1. [9] This requires using a patch to modify the install image. [10]
Following the download of macOS Sierra (10.12) from the Mac App Store, the installer does not show under a user's "Purchased" tab in the Mac App Store app. Users can still re-download the Sierra installer by visiting the macOS Sierra page on the Mac App Store. [38]
macOS Sierra has received generally positive reviews. Users and critics have praised its functionality, including the addition of Siri and support for Apple Pay in Safari. [39] Macworld gave it 4.5 stars out of 5. [40] Engadget gave it a rating of 87 out of 100 praising the new features such as Siri integration, Universal Clipboard, and Apple Pay while criticizing the unreliability of Auto Unlock, that "Siri isn't always smart enough", and that some of the Messages features are only available on iOS 10. [41] Developers of apps that rely on the PDFKit library built into macOS have complained that radical changes to PDFKit introduced in Sierra are causing instability and potential data corruption. [42]
Timeline of Mac operating systems |
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OS X 10.11 was the last major release of macOS that supported the previously deprecated garbage collection runtime. Applications or features that depend upon garbage collection may not function properly or will not launch in macOS Sierra. Developers should use Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) or manual retain/release for memory management instead. (20589595)