macOS High Sierra: Everything We Know | MacRumors

With macOS High Sierra, Apple says it's focusing on the fundamentals: data, video, and graphics. High Sierra is about deep technologies that ... SkiptoContentOpenMenuFrontPageRoundupsShowRoundupsAirPods3AirPodsMaxAirPodsProAppleCarAppleGlassesApplePayAppleTVAppleWatchSeries8AppleWatchSEAppleWatchUltraAppleDealsCarPlayAppleProDisplayXDRHomePodminiiMaciOS16iPadiPadAiriPadminiiPadProiPadOS15iPadOS16iPhone12iPhone13iPhone13ProiPhone14iPhone14ProiPhone15iPhoneSEMacminiMacProMacStudioMacBookAir14&16"MacBookPro13"MacBookPromacOSMontereymacOSVenturaAppleStudioDisplaywatchOS9GuidesHowTosReviewsBuyer'sGuideForumsPodcastInstagramFacebookTwitterYouTubeNotificationsRSSNewsletterVisitForumsSearchCloseSearchAppleWatchUltraiPhone14iOS16iPadOS16iPhone14Pro14&16"MacBookProMacBookAirmacOSVenturaAirPods3macOSMontereyiPhone13iPhone13Pro13"MacBookProAppleWatchSeries8iPadOS15AppleProDisplayXDRHomePodminiMacProAppleTViPadAirPodsMaxAirPodsProAppleDealsAppleGlassesAppleStudioDisplayAppleWatchSEMacStudioMacminiiMaciPadAiriPadProiPadminiiPhone12iPhoneSEwatchOS9iPhone15AppleCarCarPlayApplePayAll>FrontPageRoundupsGuidesHowTosReviewsBuyer'sGuideUpcomingProductsForumsArchivesTips/ContactUsPodcastInstagramFacebookTwitterYouTubeNotificationsRSSNewsletterMoveLeftTopStories:WhattoExpectFromAppleinOctober,iPhone14PlusLaunch,andMoreBestAppleDealsoftheWeek:Major$400DiscountsHitEvery2021MacBookProandMoreHow-TosforiPhone14Series,AppleWatchSeries8/Ultra,andAirPodsPro2Hands-OnWithGoogle'sNewPixel7,Pixel7ProandPixelWatchAppleRumoredtoLaunch27-InchMini-LEDDisplayinQ12023Deals:AmazonTakes$99OffEveryModeloftheiPadMini6,AvailableFrom$399.99iPhone14PlusReviews:Multi-DayBatteryLife,LargeDisplay,andUpgradedCamerasMakeforWorthwhileUpgradeFiveAppleProductsYouShouldAvoidBuyingRightNowAppleSeedsEighthPublicBetaofmacOS13VenturaVideo:10DaysWiththeAirPodsPro2AppleSeedsNewBetasofiOS16.1andiPadOS16.1toDevelopers[Update:PublicBetaAvailable]AppleSeedsTenthBetaofmacOS13VenturatoDevelopersEUPassesLawtoSwitchiPhonetoUSB-CbyEndof2024Video:AirPodsPro2vs.BoseQuietComfortIIGurman:iOS16.1AdaptiveTransparencyOptionforOriginalAirPodsProandAirPodsMaxisaBugDeals:YouCanGet$400OffEvery2021MacBookProModelRightNowonAmazonTopStories:StageManagerExpandstoOlderiPadProModels,NoOctoberAppleEvent?BestAppleDealsoftheWeek:M2MacBookAirHitsNewAll-TimeLowPriceat$1,049,PlusSalesonAirPodsProandMoreiOS16.1BetaBringsAdaptiveTransparencytoOriginalAirPodsProCameraComparison:iPhone14ProMaxvs.iPhone13ProMaxMoveLeftAtaGlancemacOSHighSierraintroducedMetal2,APFS,HEVCvideo,VRsupport,andSafariandSiriupdates.LaunchedonSeptember25,2017.FeaturesMetal2 HEVC(H.265)support AppleFileSystem VRandexternalGPUsupport Siriupdates AutoplayblockinginSafari Anti-trackinginSafariRoundupArchived10/2018HighlightRecentChangesYesNoSubscribeforregularMacRumorsnewsandfuturemacOSHighSierrainfo.What'sNewinmacOSHighSierra Contents What'sNewinmacOSHighSierraCurrentVersion-10.13.6AppRefinementsPhotosSafariMailSiriNotesSpotlightiCloudiCloudDrivefilesharingiCloudStorageFamilyPlansiCloudMessagesFaceTimeAppleFileSystemHEVCMetal2MetalforExternalGPUsMetalforVRmacOSHighSierraGuidesandTutorialsCompatibility2009andLater2010andLatermacOSHighSierraTimeline AppleintroducedmacOSHighSierraatthe2017WorldwideDevelopersConferenceinJune.macOSHighSierra,asthenamesuggests,isafollow-uptomacOSSierraandislargelydesignedtoimproveonmacOSSierrathroughmajorunder-the-hoodupdatesandahandfulofoutward-facingchanges. WithmacOSHighSierra,Applesaysit'sfocusingonthefundamentals:data,video,andgraphics.HighSierraisaboutdeeptechnologiesthatprovideaplatformforfutureinnovationwhilealsointroducingnewtechnologiestomaketheMacmorereliable,capable,andresponsive. Amoremodernfilesystem,AppleFileSystem(APFS),isthenewdefaultinmacOSHighSierra.APFSissafe,secure,andoptimizedformodernstoragesystemslikesolidstatedrives.Itintroducesfeatureslikenativeencryption,safedocumentsaves,stablesnapshots,andcrashprotection.APFSisultraresponsiveandbringsmajorperformanceimprovementsforMacs. HighSierraincludesHighEfficiencyVideoEncoding(HEVC,akaH.265),whichpreservesbetterdetailandcolorwhilealsointroducingmuchimprovedcompressioncomparedtoH.264.HEVCsoftwareencodingisavailableforallMacsinHighSierra,butnewermodelsincludeHEVChardwareacceleration. AlongwithanewAppleFileSystem,macOSHighSierraintroducesMetal2,thenext-generationversionofApple'sMetalgraphicsAPI.Metaloffersupto10xbetterdrawcallthroughputimprovementslikedriveroptimizations,indirectargumentbuffers,samplerarrays,resourceheaps,andmore.TheMac'swindowserverusesMetal2optimizationstomakewindowanimationslikeMissionControlmuchsmoother. Metal2bringssupportformachinelearning,externalGPUs,andVRcontentcreation.AppleisprovidinganexternalGPUdevelopmentkitfordevelopersanditisworkingwithValve,Unity,andUnrealtobringVRcreationtoolstoMac.SupportforeGPUswasintroducedinthe10.13.4update. Inadditiontonewtechnologies,thereareimprovementstoseveralexistingapps.Photoshasanewpersistentsideviewtomakeiteasiertofindwhatyou'relookingfor,alongwithneweditingtoolsforCurvesandSelectiveColor.Facialrecognitionisimprovedandsyncsacrossdevices,whileexpandedintegrationwiththird-partyappsisavailable.NewoptionsforeditingLivePhotoshavebeenintroduced,andMemorieshavebeenexpandedtoencompassmorecategories. Safariincludesanewautoplayblockingfeatureforvideos,alongwithIntelligentTrackingPreventiontoprotectyourprivacyandanewalways-onoptionforSafariReader.SearchinMailhasbeenimproved,andMailstoragehasbeenoptimizedtotakeup35percentlessspace.iCloudDrivefilesharingandiCloudstoragefamilyplanshavealsobeenadded. play macOSHighSierrawasreleasedtothepubliconMonday,September25,2017,anditwasfollowedbymacOSMojaveonSeptember24,2018. CurrentVersion-10.13.6 ThecurrentversionofmacOSHighSierrais10.13.6,releasedtothepubliconJuly9.AccordingtoApple'sreleasenotes,macOSHighSierra10.13.6addsAirPlay2multi-roomaudiosupportforiTunesandfixesbugswithPhotosandMail. AppleinJulyreleasedasupplementalupdateformacOSHighSierra10.13.6toaddressabuginthe2018MacBookPromodelsthatcausedexcessiveprocessorthrottling. ApplediscoveredamissingdigitalkeyinfirmwarethatimpactedthethermalmanagementsystemoftheMacBookPromodels,drivingdownclockspeedsunderheavythermalloads.Applefixedthebugintheupdate,improvingperformanceonall2018MacBookPromodels. AppRefinements Photos InmacOSHighSierra,Photosistheappthat'sseenthemostsignificantupdates,withimprovementstofacialrecognition,editing,Memories,andmore. Photosincludesanewpersistent,always-onsideviewwithnewoptionstofilterbykeyword,mediatype,date,andmore,makingitsimplertofindexactlywhichphotoyou'relookingfor.There'salsoanexpandedimportviewthatshowsallpastimportsinchronologicalorder,andanewselectioncounterkeepstrackofeverythingthat'sbeenselectedtomakeiteasiertoorganizeyouralbums. FacialrecognitionhasimprovedwithAppleusingadvancedconvolutionalneuralnetworkstoallowittobetterrecognizefaces.ThePeoplealbumisnowsynchronizedacrossalldevicesrunningmacOSHighSierraoriOS11,andtherearelargerthumbnailsandmoreaccuratefacegroupings. Whenitcomestophotoediting,therearetwonewpro-leveltools,includingCurvesforfinetuningcolorandcontrast,andSelectiveColor,whichisabletomakeanycolormoresaturated.Applehasalsoaddedarangeofnew"professionallyinspired"filterstoworkwith. InmacOSHighSierra,thereareexpandedintegrationswithphotoeditingappslikePhotoshopandPixelmator.Whenyouopenapictureinathird-partyphotoeditingappdirectlyfromPhotos,alleditsmadeareautomaticallybesavedinthePhotoslibrary. Appleisalsoallowingnewintegrationswiththird-partyserviceslikeShutterflythatletyoudoeverythingfromorderprintstocreatewebpages,allrightinthePhotosapp.ThesenewprojectextensionscanbedownloadedfromtheMacAppStore. FortheMemoriessectionofPhotos,whichmakesquickphotoslideshowsbasedaroundevents,therearemorethanadozennewcategoriessupported,likepets,babies,outdooractivities,performances,weddings,birthdays,andsportingevents. IniOS11,therearenewoptionsforeditingLivePhotos,andthesesametoolshavecometomacOSHighSierra.Youcannowtrim,mute,andselectakeyphotoforaLivePhoto,andthereareoptionstoaddaloopeffect(theLivePhotoloopslikeaGIF),abounceeffect(abackwardsloop),oralongexposureeffect,whichintroducesaDSLR-likeblur. Safari AccordingtoApple,Safariistheworld'sfastestdesktopbrowserinmacOSHighSierra,significantlyoutperformingChromeandotherbrowsersinarangeofbenchmarktests.Alongwithspeedimprovements,macOSHighSierraalsobringsseveralsignificantchangesthatmuchimprovethebrowsingexperience. Anewautoplayblockingfeatureisabletodetectirritatingwebsitesthatplayvideowithoutyourpermission,puttingastoptoit.Videoswon'trunonawebsiteuntilyoupresstheplaybutton. macOSHighSierra'sSafari11alsoincludesIntelligentTrackingPrevention,whichusesmachinelearningtoidentifytrackersonwebpagesandpreventthemfromgatheringdataaboutyou.Ifyou'veeverbrowsedforsomethingonAmazonandthenhadthatsameitempopuponotherwebpages,thenyou'veexperiencedwebtracking.InHighSierra,Appleblocksthatkindoftracking,protectingyourprivacy. IntelligentTrackingPreventionisnotrelatedtoordesignedtoblockads,butratherpreventcompaniesfromgatheringdataaboutyouandpreventadsfrombeingspecificallytargetedtowardsyou. Safarihasnewwebsitesettingssoyoucancustomizeyourinternetbrowsingexperiencesitebysite.Thereareoptionsforpagezoomlevel,locationservices,notifications,andcontentblockers.Applesayswiththenewsettings,eachwebsiteappearshowyoulikeit. There'soneothernewsetting,whichallowsyoutoautomaticallyuseSafariReaderforeverywebarticlethatsupportsit,withoutneedingtoclickabutton.WithSafariReader,youcanviewwebsiteswithoutads,navigation,andotherdistractions,makingitidealforlong-formwebreading. Mail SearchinMailhasbeenimprovedinmacOSHighSierra.Whenyousearchforanemail,themessagesmostrelevanttothesearchareatthetopofthelist.Thesearchalgorithmtakesintoaccountmailyou'veread,sendersyoureplyto,yourVIPlist,andmoretodecidewhichemailsshouldcomeupfirstwhensearching. Mail'scomposewindowcanbeusedinfullscreenSplitViewmodeinmacOSHighSierra,andwithimprovementstostorage,yourmailmessagestakeup35percentlessstoragespace. Siri InmacOSHighSierra,SiriismuchmoremusicallyinclinedinbothiOS11andmacOSHighSierra.Sirilearnsyourmusictastesandmakesmusicrecommendationsbasedonyourpastlisteningpreferences.Siriisalsonowsomethingofamusicexpertandcananswerquestionsaboutsongs,albums,andartists,like"Whoisthedrummerofthissong?"or"Whatbandisthis?"whensomethingisplaying. Sirialsosupportscross-devicesyncingsothepersonalassistantcanlearnmoreaboutyouonallofyourdevices. Notes There'sanoptiontopinyourmostusednotestothetopoftheNotesappforquickaccesstolistsandotherfrequentlyusednotes.Tablescanalsobeaddedtoindividualnotesforbetterorganization. Spotlight YoucannowsearchforaflightnumberinSpotlighttobringuparrivalanddeparturetimes,gateinformation,terminalmaps,delaynotices,andmore.SpotlightalsosurfacesmultipleWikipediaarticleswhenthere'smorethanoneresponsetosomethingthatyousearchfor. iCloud iCloudDrivefilesharing AnyfileiniCloudDrivecannowbesharedwithanotherpersonthroughanewlinkfeature.ThelinkoptiongivesdirectaccesstospecificfilesandfolderswhilekeepingtherestofyouriCloudDriveprivate. iCloudStorageFamilyPlans FamilieswithFamilySharingenabledcannowshareiCloudstoragespace.The200GB($2.99permonth)or2TBplans($9.99permonth)canbesharedbetweenmultiplefamilymembers,makingitmoreaffordablethansomesingle-userplansdependingontheamountofstorageneeded. iCloudMessages AppleisplanningtointroduceiCloudMessagesforiOS11andmacOSHighSierra,butthefeature,whichwaspresentinearlybetas,hasbeenremovedforthetimebeing.AppleplanstointroduceitlaterintheyearinanupcomingversionofiOSandmacOS,anditiscurrentlyavailableiniOS11.4andmacOSHighSierra10.13.5.iCloudMessagesallowiMessagestobestorediniCloud,savingvaluableon-devicestoragespaceandallowingmessagestobesyncedacrossalldevices(evennewones). FaceTime InbothmacOSHighSierraandiOS11,there'sanewoptionthatallowsyoutotakeaLivePhotowhileFaceTimingsomeone,usingthecamerabuttonatthebottomofthechatscreen.WhenyoutakeaFaceTimeLivePhoto,bothparticipantsreceiveanotificationthataphotowastakenandit'saddedtoyourPhotoLibrary. AppleFileSystem WithmacOSSierraAppleannouncedplanstotransitiontoanewAppleFileSystem(APFS),andinmacOSHighSierra,thattransitionisbeingcompleted.WheninstallingmacOSHighSierra,thenew,muchmoremodernfilesystemisimplementedasthenewdefault,replacingtheoldHFS+filesystem. APFSisa64-bitfilesystemthat'snotonlyoptimizedformodernstoragelikesolidstatedrives,butit'salsoeasilyadaptabletofuturestoragetechnologies.APFSissafeandsecure,offeringcrashprotection,safedocumentsaves,stablesnapshots,simplifiedbackups,andnativeencryption. It'smuchmoreresponsivethanHFS+,withinstantfileanddirectorycloning,fastdirectorysizing,highperformanceparallelizedmetadataoperations,andsparsefilewrites. WhattheaveragemacOSHighSierrauserneedstoknowaboutAPFSisthatit'sasignificantimprovementoverHFS+that'sgoingtointroducebetterperformanceintheformofsimpleencryption,fasterfiletransfers,andmore. HEVC BothmacOSHighSierraandiOS11supportHighEfficiencyVideoEncoding,akaHEVCorH.265.HEVCprovidesmuchbettervideoqualitywhilealsointroducing40percentbettercompressionthanH.264,whichsavesvaluablestoragespaceonyourMac. ApplebuiltsoftwareencodersupportforHEVCinmacOSHighSierraforallMacsandhardwareaccelerationofHEVCforthenewestMacs,whichincludetheLate201527-inchiMacandlater,theEarly2016MacBookandlater,andthe2016MacBookProandlater. Metal2 Oneofthemajorunder-the-hoodimprovementscomingtomacOSHighSierraisMetal2,thenext-generationversionofMetal.AccordingtoApple,Metal2is"tremendouslyfast"with10xbetterdrawcallthroughputwiththeuseofdriveroptimizations,indirectargumentbuffers,SIMDgroupdataexchange,uniformvariables,samplerarrays,andresourceheaps. TomakeiteasierfordeveloperstosupportMetal2,Appleisintroducingafasterframedebugger,improveddebuggingsearch,andGPUcountersforbetteroptimizingapps. Forendusers,Metal2bringsappsandgameswithimpressivenewgraphics,butMetal2isalsobuiltintothebaseoperatingsysteminHighSierra.AppleisusingMetal2foritsMacwindowserver,sosomeofthemostchallengingwindowanimationsinmacOSHighSierra,likeMissionControl,aremuchsmoother. Metal2includessupportformachinelearningforacceleratingdeeplearningalgorithms,introducingdevelopertoolslikeMetalPerformanceShaders,recurrentneuralnetworkkernels,binaryconvolution,dilatedconvolution,L-2NormPooling,andmore. MetalforExternalGPUs InmacOSHighSierra,AppleintroducedsupportforexternalGPUsforthefirsttime,madepossiblethroughMetal2.DeveloperswereabletobeginoptimizingtheirappsforeGPUswhenHighSierrawasreleased,andinthe10.13.4update,releasedinMarch,officialeGPUsupportwasimplemented.Manyhigh-endAMDgraphicscardsaresupported,andAppleoffersalistofrecommendedproductsinasupportdocument. TohelpdevelopersoptimizetheirappsforexternalGPUs,AppleisofferingadeveloperkitwithaThunderbolt3enclosure,anAMDRadeonRX580graphicscard,andaUSB-Chub. MetalforVR AlongwithexternalGPUs,AppleisoptimizingMetal2forVRcontentcreationinmacOSHighSierra. AppleworkedwithValvetobringtheSteamVRSDKtotheMac,andwithUnityandUnrealtobringtheirVRcontentcreationenginestoMac. macOSHighSierraGuidesandTutorials We'vecreatedseveralguidesandtutorialsfortheMacOSHighSierraoperatingsystem,withafulllistavailablebelow: HowtoUseNewPinningandTablesFeaturesinNotesiniOS11andmacOSHighSierra HowtoUsetheNewSafariWebBrowserSettingsinmacOSHighSierra HowtoCaptureaLivePhotoinFaceTimeoniOS11andmacOSHighSierra WhatYouNeedtoKnowAboutHEIFinmacOSHighSierraandiOS11 WhatYouNeedtoKnowAboutHEVCVideoinmacOSHighSierraandiOS11 AlltheNewFeaturesinApple'sPhotosAppinmacOSHighSierra 10EssentialTipsforUsingthemacOSFinderMoreEfficiently HowtoAdd,Remove,andRearrangeMenuBarIconsinmacOS HowtoMergeandRemoveDuplicateContactsinmacOSandiCloud HowtoUpdatemacOSUsingaSimpleTerminalCommand HowtoControltheBehaviorofScreenshotShortcutsinmacOS SevenUsefulmacOSTricksYouMightNotKnow HowtoSetUpOut-of-OfficeRepliesinAppleMailandiCloudMail HowtoGrabScreenshotsandVideoFromAppleTVUsingYourMac HowtoMakeWebPagesinSafariforMacEasiertoRead Compatibility macOSHighSierraiscompatiblewithallMacsthatcanrunmacOSSierra. 2009andLater iMac(Late2009) MacBook(Late2009) 2010andLater MacBookAir(Late2010) MacBookPro(Mid2010) Macmini(Mid2010) MacPro(Mid2010) macOSHighSierraTimelineMay2020May28AppleMakingItHardertoAvoidNaggingmacOSUpdateNotificationsOctober2019Oct25HowtoFixaDamagedmacOSInstallerJanuary2019Jan16HowtoUsethemacOSHelpMenuDecember2018Dec19HowtoAddaRecentItemsFoldertoYourMac'sDockNovember2018Nov28HowtoManageFileAssociationsinmacOSNov17HowtoRebuildtheSpotlightIndexonYourMacNov14HowtoCustomizeFileandFolderIconsonYourMacNov2EightHiddenmacOSFeaturesYouCanAccessWiththeOptionKeyOctober2018Oct24HowtoUseTextClippingsinmacOSOct17HowtoViewFolderSizesonYourMacUsingFinderOct16HowtoUsethePreviewLoupeToolinmacOSOct9HowtoAdd,Remove,andRearrangeMenuBarIconsinmacOSMojaveAugust2018Aug29AppleSaysLatestmacOSSupplementalUpdateAddressesAudioandKernelPanicIssueson2018MacBookProAug28AppleReleasesmacOSHighSierra10.13.6SupplementalUpdatefor2018MacBookProModelsAug2MimeoPhotosReleasesThemes,BookSizes,andTemplates'Identical'toApplePhotoBooksasApple'sServiceEndsJuly2018Jul24AppleSays2018MacBookProThrottlingisaBug,FixAvailableNowinNewmacOSUpdateJul24AppleAddressesMacBookProThrottlingControversyAfterWorkingWithYouTuberDaveLeeJul12AppleDiscontinuingPhysicalPhotoBooksPrintingServiceLaterThisYearJul9AppleReleasesmacOSHighSierra10.13.6WithAirPlay2Multi-RoomAudioSupportforiTunesJul2AppleSeedsFifthBetaofmacOSHighSierra10.13.6toDevelopersandPublicBetaTesters