It might seem like WWDC 2017 happened just yesterday, but WWDC 2018 is quickly approaching, so theres never been a better time to dive into all the things macOS High Sierra has to offer, especially with rumors about macOS 10.14 abound.Sure, macOS High Sierra has had some issues, like password vulnerabilities and other security problems, but those have mostly been fixed by Apple, and our time with High Sierra has been positive.
Even the few issues that initially lessened our experience with macOS High Sierra have been addressed by Apple at the time of writing.
And, with the new file system and built-in photo-editing tools, Apple has more than made up for any problems.However, macOS High Sierra is also victim to the same issue that plagued OS X Mountain Lion as it followed Lion: it introduces a bunch of new features, but fails to innovate in a tangible way.
We wont know until June whats next for Apple, but weve seen numerous reports of iOS apps making their way to macOS.In the meantime, here is everything you need to know about todays macOS High Sierra.Cut to the chaseWhat is it The 2017 edition of Apples Mac operating system, macOSWhen is it out Available to install nowWhat will it cost macOS High Sierra is free to downloadmacOS 10.13 High Sierra release dateApple revealed macOS 10.13 High Sierra at the WWDC 2017 keynote, which is no surprise, given Apples tradition of announcing the latest version of its Mac software at its annual developer event.Yet, it wasnt until September 12 that Apple revealed that the full release of High Sierra would launch little more than a week later, on September 25.
There was a developer version of the operating system you could enroll in leading to the final release, but luckily thats no longer required to take advantage of the latest features found in macOS 10.13.However, should you be interested in testing out features before theyre officially seeded, Apple has carried over the beta program post-release, which is now on version 10.13.4.
Now in its fourth beta, this version offers little more than the usual bug elimination and stability improvements.At the same time, it now uploads all Messages to the cloud and replaces iBooks with the newly rebranded Books app.
Theres also been a sweet smoke cloud wallpaper added across all systems that was formerly available only on the iMac Pro.For everyone else, the newest rendition of macOS as a whole is still 10.13.3 High Sierra, as we await the much-anticipated macOS 10.14.macOS 10.13 High Sierra featuresBeyond the Hackintosh users being reasonably worried about the newly enforced security checks on EFI firmware automatically implemented each week, Apple has revealed a number of awesome new features with macOS 10.13 High Sierra.These include improvements to Safari which will now stop ad-tracking and auto-playing videos in their tracks and a more expansive Spotlight Search in the Mail App.
Additionally, when youre composing emails, the app now allows split view for the compose window and, to make matters better, it uses up to 35% less disk space.The Photos app has been updated in macOS 10.13 High Sierra as well, with a better sorting tool to boot.
All of this is accompanied by a new layout, better facial recognition thanks to neural networks, and improved syncing across all Apple devices.Editing tools, too, have seen improvements, in turn making it easier than ever to enhance the quality of your photos without learning the ins and outs of Photoshop or Camera RAW.
And of course, you can count on Instagram-like filters being a part of this.One of the biggest changes that comes with macOS High Sierra is with the file system.
Its ditching the HFS which Apple has used for around 30 years, and is now using the Apple File System (APFS) instead.Every Mac that has been upgraded to macOS High Sierra will receive these file system updates automatically with the exception of those sporting Fusion Drives and older HDDs.
Similarly, all new Macs will ship pre-formatted for APFS.To be exact, APFS is a 64-bit file system that supports native encryption and faster metadata operation.
This may all sound a bit techy, but the bottom line is that this will make your Mac feel a lot faster, while also being more secure and more transparent about the nature of your files and folder contents.
Unfortunately, this comes with the caveat of Apples confirmation that 32-bit apps will be discontinued in later versions of macOS High Sierra.The update also brings HEVC, or H.265, video compression to the Mac.
Apple claims that this new standard can compress video files 40% more than the previous-generation H.264 standard.
The end result will be faster video streams at higher resolutions ahem, 4K and smaller video files sizes when stored locally.VR finally comes to the MacOne of the biggest bits of news surrounding macOS High Sierra is that it will finally bring support for virtual reality headsets officially.
Namely, the HTC Vive and Steam VR will work with Macs running the new OS this autumn.However, to use such a device, you'll need at least a 5K iMac or MacBook Pro or, any Mac that can run the new OS with an external graphics card box attached via Thunderbolt 3.
Support for such devices comes part and parcel with macOS High Sierra, but won't be an active function until spring 2018.The good news is that macOS High Sierra comes with a helping of refinements to its graphics API that make up for the scarce GPU support.
Metal was a step forward for hardware-accelerated 3D graphics, but with Metal 2, Apple promises less strain on the CPU as well as proper machine learning and better Xcode profiling/debugging in macOS High Sierra.Perhaps more important, though, is the fact that MoltenVK was recently brought to Mac by Khronos Group.
An implementation of the open-source Vulkan API, its said to bring frame rate gains of up to 50% in Dota 2.
As its cross-platform, too being supported by Windows and Linux as well as Apples devices MoltenVK is likely to be more widely adopted by creators.macOS 10.13 High Sierra compatibilityFortunately, in the act of creating a macOS iteration that only moderately shakes things up, the barrier to entry didnt change at all.
As long as youre rocking one of the following Mac models, youll be good to go with macOS High Sierra on day one:Bear in mind that if you want to take advantage of the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) benefits posed by macOS High Sierra, youll need a Mac donning at the very least an Intel sixth-generation Skylake processor.
Unfortunately, that discounts everything released prior to 2015, but on the bright side, everything else macOS High Sierra brings to the table is fair game.Joe Osborne and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this reportuMPtaVy7kMD2msd5YmMCBf.jpg#