It may seem that WWDC 2017 has just ended, but WWDC 2018 is only six weeks away. Therefore, today is the best time to immerse yourself in all the things that macOS High Sierra has to offer, especially with the rumors about macOS 10.14 floating.
Sure, macOS has seen a lot of problems, such as password vulnerabilities and other security issues, but those have been mostly fixed by Apple, and their time with High Sierra has been mostly positive. Even the few problems that gave us pause with macOS High Sierra have been resolved by Apple as of this writing. And, with the new file system and built-in photo editing tools, Apple has compensated for any problems.
However, macOS High Sierra is also a victim of the same problem that plagued OS X Mountain Lion, as Lion continued: it presents a lot of new features, but does not manage to innovate in a tangible way. We will not know until June what will happen with Apple, but we have seen numerous reports of iOS applications that make their way to macOS.
Meanwhile, here is everything you need to know about today's high Sierra macOS. [19659005] Cut to the chase
- What is it? The 2017 edition of Apple's Mac operating system
- When does it come out? Available to install now
- How much will it cost? macOS High Sierra is free to download
macOS 10.13 Release date of High Sierra
Apple unveiled macOS 10.13 High Sierra at the inaugural conference of WWDC 2017, which is not surprising, given Apple's tradition of announce the latest version of their Mac software at their annual developer event.
However, it was not until September 12 that Apple revealed that the full launch of High Sierra would launch little more than a week later, on September 25. There was a developer version of the operating system that could be enrolled and that led to the final release, but fortunately it is no longer required to take advantage of the latest functions found in macOS 10.13.
However, if Si is interested in trying new features before the rest of the audience, Apple has transferred the post beta program to the publication, which is now in version 10.13.5. Now in its fifth beta version, this version reintroduces Messages in iCloud, which was extracted from macOS 10.13.4 before its release to the public.
At the same time, now it loads all the messages in the cloud and replaces iBooks with the new name & # 39; Application of books. A sweet smoke cloud wallpaper has also been added to all the systems previously only available on the iMac Pro.
For everyone else, the latest version of macOS as a whole is still 10.13.4 High Sierra, while we wait for the long awaited macOS 10.14.
macOS 10.13 High Sierra features
Beyond the fact that Hackintosh users are reasonably concerned about security controls recently implemented in the EFI firmware that are implemented automatically every week, Apple has revealed a number of new features and impressive with macOS 10.13 High Sierra.
This includes improvements to Safari, which will now stop ad tracking and autoplay of videos in its tracks, and a more expansive Spotlight search in the mail application. In addition, when you write emails, the application now allows a split view for the drafting window and, to make it better, it uses up to 35% less disk space.
The Photos application has been updated in macOS 10.13 Alto Sierra as well, with a better classification tool to boot. All this is accompanied by a new design, better facial recognition thanks to neural networks and better synchronization on all Apple devices.
The editing tools have also experienced improvements which in turn is easier than ever to improve 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 that are part of this.
One of the biggest changes that comes with macOS High Sierra is with the file system. It is abandoning the HFS, which Apple has used for around 30 years, and is now using the Apple File System (APFS).
All Macs upgraded to macOS High Sierra will receive these file system updates automatically, with the exception of previous Fusion Drives and HDDs. Likewise, all new Macs will be sent preformatted for APFS.
To be exact, APFS is a 64-bit file system that supports native encryption and faster metadata operation. It may seem a bit complex, but the bottom line is that it will make your Mac feel a lot faster, as well as being more secure and transparent about the nature of your files and folder content. Unfortunately, this comes with Apple's warning that 32-bit applications will be discontinued in later versions of macOS High Sierra.
The update also brings HEVC, or H.265, video compression for Mac. Apple says that this new standard can compress video files 40% more than the H.264 standard of the previous generation. The end result will be faster video transmissions at higher resolutions – ahem, 4K – and smaller video files when stored locally.
VR finally comes to the Mac
One of the most important news about macOS High Sierra is that it will finally bring support for virtual reality headsets officially. Namely, HTC Vive and Steam VR will work with Mac to run t
he new operating system this fall.
However, to use such a device, you will need at least a 5K iMac or MacBook Pro, or any Mac that can run the new operating system with an external graphics card box connected via Thunderbolt 3. The support for such devices comes in part with macOS High Sierra, but it will not be an active feature until the spring of 2018.
The good news is that macOS High Sierra comes with a series of improvements in its graphics API that compensates for the poor support of the GPU. Metal was a step forward for 3D graphics accelerated by hardware, but with Metal 2, Apple promises less CPU stress, as well as proper machine learning and better Xcode / debug profiles in macOS High Sierra.
Perhaps more important, it is the fact that MoltenVK was recently brought to Mac by Khronos Group. It is said that an implementation of the open-source Vulkan API brings frame rate gains of up to 50% in Dota 2. As it is also cross-platform, compatible with Windows and Linux, as well as with Apple devices, it is likely that MoltenVK will be more widely adopted by the creators.
macOS 10.13 Compatibility with High Sierra
Fortunately, at the time of creating an iteration of macOS that only shakes things moderately, the entry barrier did not change at all. While you are moving one of the following Mac models, it will be good to go with the High Sierra macOS on the first day:
Note that if you want to take advantage of the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)) benefits posed by macOS High Sierra , you will need a Mac with at least a sixth generation Intel Skylake processor. Unfortunately, that discounts everything that was released before 2015, but on the positive side, everything else MacOS High Sierra brings to the table is fair play.
Joe Osborne and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this report