Apple on Monday released macOS 10.13 High Sierra, its latest operating system for Macs.
The update, which is available via the Software Update function in the Mac App Store, weighs in as a 4.89 gigabyte download and is compatible on the following Macs:
2009 and Later
– iMac (Late 2009)
– MacBook (Late 2009)
2010 and Later
– MacBook Air (Late 2010)
– MacBook Pro (Mid 2010)
– Mac mini (Mid 2010)
– Mac Pro (Mid 2010)
High Sierra includes a slew of under-the-hood and outward-facing changes, including the Apple File System (APFS), which is safe, secure, and optimized for modern storage systems such as solid state drives. It features native encryption, safe document saves, stable snapshots, and crash protection, plus it brings performance improvements.
APFS is available for all Macs with solid state storage, but it is not available for Fusion drives or standard hard drives.
macOS High Sierra introduces support for High Efficiency Video Encoding (HEVC) for better compression without loss of quality, and HEIF for smaller photo sizes.
The update also includes Metal 2, Apple’s next-gen graphics application programming interface, which offers a range of improvements to games, apps, and overall animations on the Mac. The Metal 2 architecture adds support for machine learning, external GPUs (coming in Spring 2018), and VR content creation for the first time.
Other new updates include a new look and editing tools such as Curves, Selective Color, Live Photos and Memories for Photos. Safari now blocks autoplay videos and includes Intelligent Tracking Prevention to protect your privacy, and there’s also a new always-on option for Safari Reader. Mail search has improved and Apple now cites that Mail storage has been optimized to take up 35 percent less space. In addition, a number of iCloud Drive file sharing and iCloud storage family plans have been added.
Finally, Siri has undergone changes such as a much more natural voice with changes in expression and intonation while the program has received smarter with cross-device syncing. There are also tweaks to FaceTime (users can snap live photos), Notes (tables and pinning), and Spotlight (improved search), along with dozens of other tiny changes and tweaks.
macOS 10.13 High Sierra is available for free.
As always, please let us know what you make of High Sierra in the comments.