Mac os high sierra review
APFS’s new 64-bit architecture is designed to handle large numbers of files well beyond what HFS+ could, while taking up less drive space. HFS+ has served Apple well since the late 90s, but storage capacities and flash-based SSDs are more demanding than storage was when the filesystem was introduced. Apple has addressed each of these challenges in High Sierra with a series of fundamental new technologies. At the same time, graphics-hungry apps and advanced computing capabilities like machine learning and virtual reality demand more and more from our Macs’ GPUs. The TV shows and movies we watch are available in ever higher resolutions, gobbling up that storage. Flash storage hasn’t taken over, but it’s well on its way to doing so.
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The new and improved technologies built into High Sierra address the evolving nature of how we use our Macs. Instead, along with new iMac Pros and Mac Pros on the horizon, it shows that Apple still cares about the Mac, but is also taking a broader view, building the infrastructure for the next chapter in computing across all of its present and future products. Even so, High Sierra won’t be remembered for revolutionary user-facing features. Photos has received several new features, and although not individually as significant, changes to Mail, Notes, Safari, Siri, Spotlight, and other apps all add up to a solid collection of refinements that make the Mac more efficient than before.
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That’s not to say that there are no goodies in High Sierra though.
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New video compression technology, Metal 2, and VR are all part of a new bedrock being laid to prepare for the future. If there’s a theme to each of the core technologies introduced with High Sierra, it’s laying the groundwork for the future across Apple’s product line. Apple File System, also known as APFS, is a modern filesystem developed by Apple to accommodate the needs of each of its platforms in ways that HFS+ couldn’t manage.
#MAC OS HIGH SIERRA REVIEW UPDATE#
It’s been a while, and Apple has moved from big cats to California landmarks and adopted the macOS moniker, but the company is back with another operating system update that predominantly focuses on under-the-hood features by following last year’s macOS 10.12 Sierra with macOS 10.13 High Sierra.įor a foundational release, High Sierra goes about as low as you can go by introducing an entirely new filesystem for the first time in almost twenty years. In 2009, that meant Leopard was followed by Snow Leopard in 2012, Mountain Lion followed Lion. Apple signals each refinement release by picking a name that relates to the one immediately before it.
#MAC OS HIGH SIERRA REVIEW MAC OS X#
Since Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard was released in 2007, Apple has periodically paused to release updates to what is now known as macOS that are more a refinement of their predecessors than major upgrades.