macOS Sierra (version 10.12) is the thirteenth major release of macOS (previously OS X), Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. As the successor to OS X El Capitan, it was the first version of the operating system issued under the June 2016 rebranding as macOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada. 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.
macOS Sierra - Technical Specifications
General Requirements
OS X 10.7.5 or later
2GB of memory
8.8GB of available storage
Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.
Mac Hardware Requirements
For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen, choose About This Mac, then choose More Info. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Sierra:
MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
Feature Requirements
Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and Universal Clipboard
Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
Mac mini (2012 or newer)
iMac (2012 or newer)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Handoff requires an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with a Lightning connector and iOS 8 or later.
Instant Hotspot requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity with a Lightning connector and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.
Auto Unlock
Supported by Mac models introduced in mid 2013 or later.
Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 and an iPhone 5 or later.
Siri
Requires a broadband Internet connection and microphone (built-in or external).
Apple Pay on the Web
Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
Mac mini (2012 or newer)
iMac (2012 or newer)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Requires an iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3.
Phone Calling
Phone calling requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.
SMS
SMS requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 or later and an activated carrier plan.
AirDrop
AirDrop between Mac computers and iOS devices is supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
Mac mini (2012 or newer)
iMac (2012 or newer)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
AirDrop to iOS devices requires an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with a Lightning connector and iOS 7 or later.
AirDrop between two Mac computers is supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum or newer)
MacBook Pro (Late 2008 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
iMac (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2009 with AirPort Extreme card, or Mid 2010 or newer)
Time Machine
Requires an additional hard drive or AirPort Time Capsule (sold separately).
Metal
Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Photo Booth
Requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder.
FaceTime
Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built in or external), a USB video class (UVC) camera, or a FireWire DV camcorder; and broadband Internet connection.
Boot Camp
Allows Boot Camp installations of Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 on supported Mac models. Existing Boot Camp installations of Windows Vista and Windows XP Service Pack 2 are also supported.
Exchange Support
Requires Microsoft Exchange 2013, Exchange Server 2010, or Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Update Rollup 4. Auto-setup requires enabling the Autodiscovery feature of Microsoft Exchange Server.
Spotlight Suggestions
Requires a broadband Internet connection.
AirPlay
AirPlay Mirroring requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later). Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Early 2011 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2011 or newer)
Mac mini (Mid 2011 or newer)
iMac (Mid 2011 or newer)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
AirPlay for web video requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).
Peer-to-peer AirPlay requires a Mac (2012 or later) with OS X Yosemite or later and an Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later.
Power Nap
Supported by the following Mac models:
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro with Retina display (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)
Gestures
Requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.
Force Touch gestures require a Force Touch trackpad.
VoiceOver gestures require a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, or Magic Trackpad.
Dictation
Dictation requires a microphone (built in or external).
Mac App Store
Available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries and regions.
What’s Included
Applications
Automator
Calculator
Calendar
Chess
Contacts
Dashboard
Dictionary
DVD Player
FaceTime
Font Book
iBooks
Image Capture
iTunes
Launchpad
Mac App Store
Mail
Maps
Messages
Mission Control
Notes
Photo Booth
Photos
Preview
QuickTime Player
Reminders
Safari
Siri
Stickies
System Preferences
TextEdit
Time Machine
Utilities
Activity Monitor
AirPort Utility
AppleScript Editor
Audio MIDI Setup
Bluetooth File Exchange
Boot Camp Assistant
ColorSync Utility
Console
Digital Color Meter
Disk Utility
Grab
Grapher
Keychain Access
Migration Assistant
System Information
Terminal
VoiceOver Utility
Languages
Arabic
Catalan
Croatian
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Malay
Norwegian
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Slovak
Spanish
Spanish (Mexico)
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese
Some features may not be available for all countries or regions. Click here to see complete list.
iCloud requires iOS 5 or later on iPhone 3GS or later, iPod touch (3rd generation or later), iPad Pro, iPad Air or later, iPad or later, or iPad mini or later; a Mac computer with OS X Lion 10.7.5 or later; or a PC with Windows 7 or Windows 8 (Outlook 2007 or later or an up-to-date browser is required for accessing email, contacts, and calendars). Some features require iOS 10 and macOS Sierra. Some features require a Wi-Fi connection. Some features are not available in all countries or regions. Access to some services is limited to 10 devices.
Published Date: March 23, 2021
