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Here's all the new stuff that's coming soon to your Mac

Jeff Dunn   

Here's all the new stuff that's coming soon to your Mac

tim cook with new macbook

REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Apple on Monday unveiled the next iteration of the OS X operating system at its annual WWDC developers conference in San Francisco. Here's what your Mac can expect with the forthcoming update:

  • OS X is dead. Long live macOS. As expected, Apple has officially dropped the platform's "OS X" nomenclature, and will instead refer to the software as "macOS" going forward.

    At least from a branding standpoint, this brings the OS more in line with other Apple ventures like iOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

    This marks the second time the company has changed the name of the software in recent years, as OS X was previously referred to as "Mac OS X" up until 2012's OS X v10.8 "Mountain Lion" update.
  • This year's update as a whole is named "Sierra."
  • The lockscreen is getting an adjustment, with an "Auto Unlock" feature that, as the name suggests, can automatically unlock a MacBook as you open it.
  • New storage optimization features aim to help reduce the amount of space you have being chewed up by onboard apps.
  • A new "Picture in Picture" mode does as the name suggests, moving a video into a smaller window that can be moved over other apps, even when in fullscreen mode.
  • A "Universal Clipboard" feature allows you to copy files from iOS devices and paste them onto Macs.
  • Apple Pay support is available on Macs through the web. It'll use your phone's fingerprint scanner for additional security.
  • Also as expected, the new update will bring Siri to the desktop. Access to the digital assistant had long been requested by Mac fans, and now, the OS has a formal competitor to Windows 10's Cortana assistant.
  • The update is available to developers today, with a public beta in July, and a wide release in the fall.

This story is developing. Check back for further updates.

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