Apple releases macOS Sierra 10.12.2

In record time, the new macOS Sierra update has become the talk of the town due to the controversial removal of the battery percentage in remaining-time format from the system, because what it displays is a result that “confuses” users, according to Apple. This is a topic that deserves separate study, but in the meantime, patch 10.12.2 offers quite a lot more than the aforementioned removal, which, for obvious reasons, is not mentioned in the release notes.

In addition to the usual general improvements in stability, compatibility and security of the Mac, which are rarely detailed, these are the changes already available for download from the App Store on all Macs with Sierra…

• Improves the reliability of installation and Auto Unlock.
• Allows adding a Chinese handwriting trackpad button to the Touch Bar.
• Adds support for taking screenshots from the Touch Bar using the Grab app or the Command+Shift+6 shortcut.
• Fixes an issue that caused the emoji picker to appear on the Touch Bar.
• Resolves graphics problems on late 2016 MacBook Pro models.
• Fixes an issue where System Integrity Protection is disabled on some late 2016 MacBook Pro models.
• Improves the setup and disabling experience for iCloud Desktop and Documents.
• Fixes an issue with the delivery of Optimized Storage alerts.
• Improves audio quality when using Siri and FaceTime with Bluetooth headphones.
• Improves the stability of Photos when creating and sorting books.
• Fixes an issue where incoming emails do not appear when using a Microsoft Exchange account.
• Fixes an issue that prevented the installation of Safari Extensions downloaded outside the Safari Extensions Gallery.
• Adds support for new installations of Windows 8 and Windows 7 using Boot Camp on compatible Macs.
• Fixes an issue that prevented some screen resolutions from being available on third-party displays.
• Adds support for more RAW formats from digital cameras.

As for content affecting businesses…

• Improves search performance in the global address list for a Microsoft Exchange account in Contacts.
• Improves calendar reliability when using delegated calendars and Microsoft Exchange events.
• Improves support for smart card authentication in the login window.
• Allows 802.1X clients configured to use system mode to automatically reconnect to the network when users have already logged in.
• Resolves an issue with VPN data pushed to MDM clients through a configuration profile.
• Improves management of background software updates and Safari plug-ins through configuration profiles.
• Allows administrators to disable the security feature that requires confirmation before connecting to certain network volumes.
• Fixes an issue that prevented delegated calendars from appearing in the Calendar contextual menu when Control-clicking an event.
• Fixes an issue that prevented the Disk Utility image partitioning feature from working when deploying a system image over the network.
• Fixes an issue in Xsan 5 where a failover could prevent Xsan clients from accessing files on the volume.
• Prevents a potential kernel panic when searching for a DFS namespace in Finder.

The patch weighs between 1.5 and 2 GB and requires restarting the Mac on which it is installed.