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158The launch of macOS High Sierra affects Mac users and admins who have a compatible system and are planning on upgrading to the OS, or non-Mac users who are planning to purchase an Apple computer. Mac Hardware Requirements. For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen, choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS High Sierra: MacBook (Late 2009 or newer) MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer) MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer) Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer) iMac (Late 2009 or newer).
with 76 posters participatingEven by the standards of recent macOS releases, this year’s High Sierra is shaping up to be a low-key release with few high-profile user-visible improvements. Apple’s highlight page covers quite a few things, but in most cases they’re iterative tweaks that would mostly belong in the “grab bag” section of an overview of, say, Leopard or even Yosemite. Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to iCloud-backed iMessages and family iCloud storage plans, but support for tables in Notes and flight status updates in Spotlight aren’t exactly life changing (not unless your life is continuously interrupted by extremely small and specific problems).
But to call High Sierra a minor release is to ignore the big under-the-covers changes it brings to the Mac, some of which have been in the works for years now. New filesystems and graphics APIs may be hard to demo to more casual users, but there’s plenty in this release that lays the foundation for more visible changes somewhere down the line.
In lieu of a traditional preview of High Sierra, we’ve browsed the dev docs and talked with Apple to get some more details of the update’s foundational changes.
APFS
Longtime followers of Ars Technica’s macOS reviews will know that a new filesystem has been a long time coming. The current HFS+ is more than three decades old, and it’s showing its age despite all the features Apple has bolted onto it over the years.
Like iOS 10.3, High Sierra will convert your boot drive to APFS when you first install it—this will be true for all Macs that run High Sierra, regardless of whether they’re equipped with an SSD, a spinning HDD, or a Fusion Drive setup. In the current beta installer, you’re given an option to uncheck the APFS box (checked by default) before you start the install process, though that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that it will survive in the final version. It’s also not clear at this point if there are edge cases—third-party SSDs, for instance—that won’t automatically be converted. But assuming that most people stick with the defaults and that most people don’t crack their Macs open, most Mac users who do the upgrade are going to get the new filesystem.
If you prefer to be more cautious about things, Apple tells us that HFS+ isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. High Sierra can continue to boot from HFS+ partitions, and Disk Utility will retain the ability to format and work with HFS+ drives. It’s not clear when that will change—Apple may begin adding features that work best with (or work specifically because of) APFS, as it already appears to be doing in iOS 11—but it won’t be with this release.
When you installed the iOS 10.3 update, you may have noticed that the filesystem conversion meant that it took quite a bit longer to complete than a regular iOS update. That’s going to be true of the macOS conversion, too. Apple didn’t have specific time estimates to give me, but in the end it’s going to vary widely based on the size, type, and speed of your disk, the speed of your Mac, and how much data you have stored on it.
We've drilled down into some of the more esoteric technical aspects of APFS in other pieces (at least, APFS in its current Sierra beta form), so what I want to focus on here is what APFS is actually letting Apple do in macOS. One of the more obvious benefits, and the one Apple showed off on stage during its keynote, is the ability to copy files on the same disk without actually physically storing two different copies on the disk. Native support for solid-state drives and encryption is harder to quantify, but is nevertheless important given the increasing prevalence of both. But what Apple stressed to me in particular is how much more flexible APFS can be, both with current technologies and when it comes time to implement future tech.
Let’s take Fusion Drives as a good example, a feature announced in 2012 to solve what was (then) a new problem: SSDs were fast but small and expensive, while HDDs were large and cheap but really slow. Combining the two to get the best of both worlds totally made sense, and still does in desktops despite the increased capacity and lower cost of SSDs in 2017.
HFS+ has no idea what a Fusion Drive is. It can’t distinguish an SSD from a spinning HDD, nor is it even aware that Fusion Drives are actually two disks presented to the operating system as a single volume. Apple relies on an underlying technology called Core Storage to do the heavy lifting here—it’s Core Storage that combines the drives and presents them to the OS and the filesystem as a single disk, and it’s Core Storage that’s responsible for shunting data to and from your SSD depending on what apps and files you’re accessing.
But Core Storage has its own limitations. It’s not a filesystem, and it’s not actually aware of files—all Core Storage sees are blocks, and a block that contains essential system files looks the same as a block that contains, say, an application, or a spreadsheet. Fusion Drive keeps track of how often blocks are accessed, and it moves frequently accessed blocks to the SSD while keeping infrequently used blocks on the spinning disk.
APFS can avoid all of this. Like HFS+, it’s aware of files and capable of telling the difference between them, but like Core Storage it can also handle combining drives and moving data around in the background. That’s going to make Fusion Drives a lot smarter in High Sierra than they currently are.
For instance, APFS can tell the difference between different types of files. If you’re frequently accessing something that takes up a lot of space but doesn’t really benefit from extra storage speed—a video file, for instance—APFS can decide not to move that file to your SSD, freeing up more space for other things and reducing the amount of wear on the drive. APFS can also keep file metadata on the SSD while keeping files themselves on the spinning disk, speeding up Spotlight searches and quick trips to “Get info” windows.
APFS also has benefits for local Time Machine snapshots, something that can normally take up quite a bit of space. Because of APFS’ support for snapshots, Time Machine no longer has to save multiple full copies of a file to your disk—it can just keep track of the specific changes. If you’re editing a PowerPoint presentation, for instance, changing an individual slide with HFS+ means saving two copies of the file, one that records your new changes and one just in case you want to revert. Now, it can just save the original file plus a record of the differences between the original file and any updated versions, accomplishing the same task in substantially less space. And as with the Fusion Drive improvements, taking up less space on SSDs in particular means writing less data to the drive, which ultimately means a drive that’s going to last longer.
Apple says these changes won’t be extended to normal Time Machine backups, mostly because of the number of variables at play—the filesystem of the target drive, the file sharing protocol being used for backups to networked storage, and so on—but APFS at least opens the door to more efficient, more granular Time Machine backups at some point in the future.
That’s not everything that APFS does, but it’s a pretty good illustration of how Apple is planning to use it to modernize core Mac technologies behind the scenes. Most people couldn’t tell you what filesystem their computer was using if they were even aware of what filesystems were in the first place, but that doesn’t mean they won’t see the benefits from changes like these.
With High Sierra, version 10.13 of Apple's macOS operating system, the company added subtle updates to improve the privacy of web browsing in Safari, rolled out its new file system as standard, and introduced updates that would allow for the creation of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) content. While the updates may seem simple, they help set the stage for Apple's approach to computing in the future.
To help tech leaders and IT pros better understand macOS High Sierra, we've put together the most important details and resources in this cheat sheet. This is a 'living' article that will be updated and refreshed as new, relevant information becomes public.
SEE: All of TechRepublic's cheat sheets and smart person's guides
Executive summary
- What is macOS High Sierra? macOS High Sierra is version 10.13 of Apple's desktop operating system (OS) series, macOS. It builds on its predecessor, macOS Sierra, and includes updates to Safari, Mail, Photos, its file system, and more.
- Why does macOS High Sierra matter? As a version of macOS, High Sierra will define the user experience for Apple computer users across laptops and desktops in terms of featureset and UI.
- Who does macOS High Sierra affect? The launch of macOS High Sierra affects Mac users and admins who have a compatible system and are planning on upgrading to the OS, or non-Mac users who are planning to purchase an Apple computer in the future.
- When is macOS High Sierra available? The first macOS High Sierra public beta came out in June 2017, but the public release of High Sierra was made generally available on September 25, 2017.
- How do I take advantage of macOS High Sierra? High Sierra is available for download through the Mac App Store.
SEE: Apple's first employee: The remarkable odyssey of Bill Fernandez (PDF download) (TechRepublic)
What is macOS High Sierra?
Apple's macOS 10.13 High Sierra is the latest Mac operating system, designed for use on iMac desktops and MacBook laptops. It was announced at the 2017 WWDC event in San Jose by Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi.
One of the biggest updates unveiled with the High Sierra macOS version is that the Apple web browser, Safari, will now block AutoPlay videos, so users won't encounter videos automatically playing when they open a web page. While the feature will improve the browsing experience for many users, it will make it more difficult for Apple to compete with advertising giants Google and Facebook.
High Sierra brings Intelligent Tracking Prevention for Safari, a new feature that blocks trackers of user data. 'Now your privacy, your browsing history is your own,' Federighi said at WWDC.
Mail search on Mac is also improved with High Sierra, while Photos received a new design and layout. Apple is known for its photo features, such as live photos in iOS and content management options in iCloud Drive, and High Sierra offers better facial recognition support for improved organization and more.
High-efficiency video coding (HEVC) H.265 will be supported by macOS High Sierra. H.265 is a next-generation video compression standard that basically allows video files of the same quality to be compressed to a smaller size. The standard is also supported on mobile starting with iOS 11, meaning the videos a user takes on their iPhone or iPad will remain high quality without taking up as much space.
With the announcement of macOS High Sierra, Federighi said that the Apple File System (APFS) would be the default for all Macs moving forward. APFS allows macOS users to more easily manage space between multiple volumes, in that they can easily add and delete volumes on solid-state drives (SSDs) within the Disk Utility.
'APFS-formatted volumes automatically grow and shrink—you never have to repartition an SSD drive again,' an Apple support page said. 'To see the format of a volume, select it in the Disk Utility sidebar—its format is displayed underneath the volume name in the middle of the window.'
Metal 2, which makes it easier to leverage GPU computing on a Mac, and will support more VR and AR content, was also announced as part of macOS High Sierra. Metal 2 offers external GPU support as well.
Additional resources: My passport for mac portable external hard drive manual.
- Apple macOS High Sierra kills AutoPlay in Safari, uses machine learning to improve privacy (TechRepublic)
- macOS High Sierra Preview (Apple)
- 7 best features of MacOS High Sierra (CNET)
Why does macOS High Sierra matter?
With an ever-increasing amount of work being done online, the refinements to Safari in High Sierra could help position Macs as a more viable business machine for certain industries. Additionally, Apple boosted the browser's speed. 'Safari is the world's fastest desktop browser with High Sierra,' Federighi said at WWDC.
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The additional privacy measures will help Safari—and, thus, High Sierra—win over some other users as well. New Safari Reader features will improve the readability of some web pages and articles by eliminating ads and unrelated content.
In the Notes app, tables can now be added to make quick graphical representations of something a user is working on. Business travelers can track flights in the Spotlight search window in High Sierra, making for a more efficient and productive process.
In keeping with its reputation as a powerhouse for creatives, Apple added some new features for its Photos app. Improved facial recognition shows that Apple is investing in the underlying technologies—like machine learning—that power artificial intelligence (AI), which is an area it has been lagging behind in relative to competitors like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. In High Sierra, Photos will integrate with other editing tools like Photoshop and Pixelmator, which could help draw more creatives deeper into Apple's proprietary ecosystem.
High Sierra is Apple's first major foray into AR and VR technologies. Metal 2 will make it easier for users to utilize GPU compute, but it will also support VR content creation—a first for Macs. Unity, Epic, and SteamVR integrations, along with Final Cut Pro X support for 360 video will help attract the next generation of creatives to Apple machines.
Additional resources:
- Mac users, meet APFS: macOS's new file system (ZDNet)
- MacOS High Sierra has some really cool new features (CNET)
- macOS High Sierra delivers advanced technologies for storage, video and graphics (Apple)
- Research: Virtual and augmented reality in the enterprise (Tech Pro Research)
Who does macOS High Sierra affect?
On a high level, the debut of macOS High Sierra matters to current Mac users and anyone considering a Mac for their next machine. However, it has more specific impacts for certain subsets of users.
Creative professionals can use the H.265 support to stream 4K video, and mobile users can leverage it to save space on their iOS devices, while the new Photos app could help boost efficient editing. Creatives looking to develop VR content could leverage the new OS features to build out their portfolio, too.
Developers will be affected by the the software update, as they can use Metal 2 to improve application development.
Security-conscious users will likely be interested in the new privacy features in Safari, such as AutoPlay blocking and Intelligent Tracking Prevention. And professional users might see slight productivity improvements with the updates to Mail and Notes.
Additional resources:
- WWDC 2017: Apple positions Mac updates, macOS High Sierra for VR developers (ZDNet)
- Apple developers: The 6 biggest takeaways from WWDC 2017 (TechRepublic)
- 5 hidden MacOS High Sierra features you need to know (CNET)
When is macOS High Sierra available?
On June 5, 2017, Apple unveiled macOS High Sierra for the first time at WWDC. Hydra mac 20c service manual. It is only the second instance of Apple's use of the macOS moniker, which replaced the previous OS X title in 2016 when macOS Sierra was introduced.
At the WWDC event, macOS High Sierra was made available in beta. Apple released macOS High Sierra for general download on September 25, 2017. Various updates and patches have been released since then to address security issues and add feature improvements.
It should be noted that a late 2017 security flaw in macOS High Sierra reportedly gave attackers root user access, unless the user set a root password to protect the machine. A later 2018 bug in the Disk Utility revealed APFS-encrypted drive passwords in plain text, but this was patched in macOS High Sierra version 10.13.4. Apple has since released version 10.13.5 with additional bug fixes and patches. Information on how to upgrade to version 10.13.5 can be found on our sister site ZDNet.
Additional resources:
- macOS High Sierra comes with a flaw that leaves your passwords vulnerable (TechRepublic)
- WWDC 2017: Apple reveals macOS refresh, High Sierra (ZDNet)
- Welcome to Apple's new MacOS: High Sierra (CNET)
- Video: Apple introduces new MacOS High Sierra (CNET News)
- macOS High Sierra bug will show hackers what your password is (TechRepublic)
How do I take advantage of macOS High Sierra?
Currently, macOS High Sierra is available in the Mac App Store, but it will only run on certain Mac computers. Interested users with a compatible machine can download the OS today.
Determining compatibility for the macOS update starts with the model computer a user currently has. According to Apple's website, the following machines are eligible to run macOS High Sierra:
- iMac models from late 2009 or later
- MacBook models from late 2009 or later
- MacBook Pro models from mid 2010 or later
- MacBook Air models from late 2010 or later
- Mac mini models from mid 2010 or later
- Mac Pro models from mid 2010 or later
- iMac Pro
If a user has one of the compatible models, they also need to be running one of the following versions of Apple's operating system software:
- macOS Sierra
- OS X El Capitan
- OS X Yosemite
- OS X Mavericks
- OS X Mountain Lion
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To install the update, a user will need 2GB of free memory and 14.3GB of storage available on their hard drive space. Overall, macOS High Sierra requires roughly 1.5GB more storage space than macOS Sierra 10.12.6, Apple's website said. All of the information on a Mac's model, memory, storage, and OS version can be found under the About This Mac section in the Apple menu.
Additional resources:
- How to download macOS High Sierra and which Macs are compatible (TechRepublic)
- Mac Mini 2018: Cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
- 7 things to know before upgrading to MacOS High Sierra 10.13 (CNET)
- Apple Beta Software Program (Apple)
- Will your Mac run macOS High Sierra? (ZDNet)
- iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra second public betas now available (ZDNet)
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