MacOS Sierra: First Impression

The macOS 10.12 beta is now out for developers and everyone is excited about its new features and potential. The first noteworthy thing about this desktop OS is the fusion of Siri in it. You can now directly interact with the virtual assistant on your desktop. Whether you wish to acknowledge its presence or not, but Apple has configured this software in the desktop with utmost finish, accuracy, and simplicity. Whenever you need its assistance it will assist you with the best of itself.

You can either create a keyboard short cut for it (Fn+Space) or place it in the dock or the menu bar as per your convenience. The voice recognition ability of Siri is flawless and you can ask it to make all kind of browsing activities for you and get answer to all your questions. If you have every used Siri on iOS you will know how to use it on macOS. The best application of this software is finding particular files related to queries done in mother tongue of user. It is more like a voice-enabled iteration of Spotlight. You can access it any time by just clicking the top right corner of desktop or the Siri logo in your dock, give it a command and you will have the action accomplished. Unless you are giving it a highly weird query, it will help you with everything you need.

With the new version of macOS, you can also pin file search results and web browsing results in the Notifications pane, however, an action like this can overcrowd your desktop space. So, be careful. Other helpful activities include getting driving directions over Maps, playing specific music tracks from iTunes, composing emails, and changing Wi-Fi setting with the help from Siri. Only one thing that might trouble you a bit is that you will need to tap a switch for giving commands. You might want a forever listening mode over macOS like iOS where once you shout “Hey Siri!!” and your phone jumps to life.

Since Sierra is only the beta version of macOS, Apple still needs to work hard in order to integrate Siri with all desktop apps. Some of the commands work while a few other still need modifications. Support for third party applications is a distant thing for now. Even the chances of people using their macOS in public with Siri are little less. Reason being, it has no text box interface like Cortana. Spotlight is a little helpful but you can’t interact with Siri by typing messages simply. You will find ample use for Siri when you are working alone or too tired to press keys for small things like turning down volume or increasing brightness. However, some experts feel that Apple still has a long way to go and beta version has many loopholes. Siri has better usage over mobile than the desktops.

Another major update that this OS comes with is in terms of the iCloud that is capable of syncing and downloading everything automatically. It will ask for your permission for installation and once you confirm it everything will be downloaded in your document folder.