It's always exciting to see new features in a brand new operating system and this is no exception with macOS Sierra. But I still find it even more exciting to see all the little improvements made across the board that really add up to vastly improve the experience.
ContentsAccess Audio I/O from the Menu BarRearrange Third-Party Menu Bar IconsTabs, Tabs, and More TabsPicture-in-Picture Mode
In macOS Sierra, it's worth shining the spotlight on some of these lesser-known features. They are simply pleasant. Four in particular stand out as very useful for organization, office management, and multitasking. Once you upgrade, you won't know how you ever lived without it.
In macOS Sierra, you can now access and switch between audio inputs and outputs with just a few clicks right from your menu bar. First of all, if you click on the volume control icon, you will immediately notice that the menu has been redesigned. The volume slider is now horizontal and below you have a new possibility to switch between the outputs of your device. Simply click on an available one to change it.
If you press the Option while you click the volume icon, this menu will also show you your input devices. Again, click to select the one you want.
This is a drastic improvement over having to go to System Preferences to find Audio Outputs and Inputs. Access to the menu bar lets you control I/O in seconds.
It's probably more exciting for some than others, but if you've always had a lot of icons in the menu bar, you'll really appreciate being able to finally rearrange them.
Previously, OS X only let you rearrange system icons like time, Wi-Fi, and volume. You can now click and drag any icon. Simply press and hold Order before clicking on an icon and placing it where your heart desires.
You can now enable tabs in just about any app, even third-party ones. This way, you can open multiple windows for a single application without having to clutter your desktop or find where the window is. Simply switch between tabs as you would in Safari.
This setting is currently available under the Dock category in System Preferences. You will find a new drop-down menu that says Preference tabs when opening documents .
You can choose Manually , which basically means that this feature is disabled, Always to keep it or Full screen only. The latter will prefer to use tabs when an application is in full screen mode, but in normal desktop mode it will still open full windows.
I don't know what your priorities are in life, but in mine, picture-in-picture mode on Mac is a lifesaver. You might already know this feature from iPhone 6/6s Plus and iPad, but now Mac can also display videos so you can watch them while browsing.
All you have to do is control-click any supported video in Safari and click Enter picture-in-picture mode , or simply click the PiP icon in the toolbar. The video appears so you can drag it anywhere and resize it.
READ ALSO: 5 easy ways to optimize your computer's storage with macOS Sierra
