macOS Sierra - Technical Specifications

General Requirements

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:

Feature Requirements

Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and Universal Clipboard

Supported by the following Mac models:

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:

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:

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:

Time Machine

Requires an additional hard drive or AirPort Time Capsule (sold separately).

Metal

Supported by the following Mac models:

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.
Learn more

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.
Learn more

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:

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:

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

Utilities

Languages

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: Jun 6, 2018