Apple Reveals 'macOS High Sierra' With APFS, Metal 2, and Refinements to Safari and Other Apps

Apple has announced the newest software update for its Mac computers, which it's calling "macOS High Sierra." At the WWDC keynote this afternoon, Craig Federighi said that High Sierra brings along improvements and refinements across the system and builds off what the company created in macOS Sierra last year.

macOS High Sierra will deliver new video and graphics technologies that will lay the groundwork for even more improvements to macOS down the line, according to Apple. The big additions in High Sierra include Apple File System (APFS), support for High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and an all-new version of Metal -- simply called Metal 2 -- which will allow Apple's advanced graphics tech to power even more Mac apps, including machine learning and VR-based content.

high sierra 2

“macOS High Sierra delivers important forward-looking technologies and new opportunities for developers wanting to tap into the power of machine learning and create immersive VR content on the Mac,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “The core technology innovations in macOS High Sierra, combined with our advances in hardware, will continue to push the Mac forward in exciting new ways.”

As it has on iOS, APFS will grant macOS devices enhanced performance, security, and reliability thanks to its advanced architecture that's been optimized for modern users' high storage needs. Apple said that APFS makes day-to-day operations such as copying files "instantaneous," as well as helping to protect user data from power outages and crashes, and keeps files secure with native encryption. High Sierra will maintain read-and-write compatibility with previously formatted HFS drives, and Apple said that the integration of APFS into macOS has been designed to accomodate for any potential future advancements in storage technology.

With support for HEVC (H.265), High Sierra devices will be able to enable video streaming and playback of 4K video files at high quality, while dwindling the size by 40 percent in comparison to the current H.264 standard. Apple said that the new HEVC update will allow for "high-quality video streaming" on networks where only basic HD streaming was previously possible. High Sierra will work in tandem with today's refreshes of the iMac and MacBook lines to deliver fast and power-efficient HEVC encoding and editing.

Metal 2 will bring a refined API and improved performance to Apple's graphics technology, allowing developers to accelerate development of their apps in a number of ways. The technology introduces support for machine learning used in speech recognition, natural language processing powers, and computer vision capabilities. With Metal 2 and the new Mac hardware line-up, High Sierra will be able to support VR content creation for the first time on Mac.

During the keynote, Apple announced a couple of big name game studios are putting their support behind VR on Mac, including Valve and Epic.

Drawing on the performance of Metal 2 and the latest Mac hardware, macOS High Sierra adds support for VR content creation for the first time, enabling developers to create immersive gaming, 3D and VR content on the Mac. Leading VR companies are joining Apple to drive VR innovation on the Mac with features coming later this year — Valve is optimizing their SteamVR platform for macOS and enabling connection of the HTC Vive headset, while Unity and Epic are bringing their VR development tools to macOS. Also later this year, Final Cut Pro X will add support for professional 360-degree workflows with the ability to import, edit and export 360-degree video.

Apple also promised that many of its most popular apps will be updated with refinements in High Sierra, including major new additions within Photos. A new always-on sidebar will give users a glimpse at their albums and a few organization tools, while a redesigned Edit view includes new toolsets. Live Photos can also be turned into GIFs that repeat now, and Memories will be curated around new topics, including some for pets.

high sierra 1
In High Sierra, Photos will support external editors, so other apps like Photoshop and Pixelmator can be launched directly within Apple's Photos app, and any edits made will be saved back to the user's Photos library. Additionally, support for third-party project extensions like Animoto, Shutterfly, ifolor, WhiteWall, and Wix, will give users the ability to print and publish their favorite pictures directly within Photos.

Other macOS High Sierra app updates include:

- Safari can automatically use Reader to open articles in a clean, uncluttered format, while Autoplay Blocking stops media with audio from automatically playing in the browser.
- Intelligent Tracking Prevention in Safari uses machine learning to identify and remove the tracking data that advertisers employ to follow users’ web activity.
- Mail search gets faster and easier with Top Hits, which puts the most relevant results at the top of a user’s message list.
- Siri on the Mac responds with a natural and more expressive voice, and when using Apple Music, it learns music preferences, creates custom playlists and answers music trivia.
- Notes adds simple tables, where a user can type in cells, make edits and move rows and columns.
- Spotlight provides flight status information, including departure and arrival times, delays, gates, terminals and even a map of the flight path.
- iCloud File Sharing lets users share any file stored in iCloud Drive and collaborate with other people.

Developers will be able to gain access to a beta of macOS High Sierra beginning today, and public beta testers will be able to download the new system software later in June. Later in the fall, High Sierra will officially launch to the public, along with iOS 11 and watchOS 4.

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
apple oct 2024 mac tease

Apple Expected to Announce These Two to Three Products 'This Week'

Sunday October 12, 2025 7:05 am PDT by
Apple plans to announce new products "this week," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple's "Mac Your Calendars" teaser last October In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the products set to be updated this week include the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and "likely" the base 14-inch MacBook Pro, with all three likely to receive a spec bump with Apple's next-generation M5 chip. Gurman...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
joz macbook tease

Apple Teases Upcoming M5 MacBook Pro Launch: 'Something Powerful is Coming'

Tuesday October 14, 2025 11:59 am PDT by
Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak today teased the launch of an upcoming product, saying "something powerful is coming" on social media. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A short animation accompanying Joswiak's teaser reveals a brief glimpse of a MacBook Pro along with the words "coming soon." The shape of the MacBook Pro is a V, which is the Roman numeral...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...

Top Rated Comments

rawweb Avatar
109 months ago
Even more underwhelming than last year's Sierra announcement.
Speak for yourself, I consider eGPU support to be monumental.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zhang96 Avatar
109 months ago
Kudos on blocking nasty autoplays, saving the web.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
647156 Avatar
109 months ago
Looking forward to using APFS from High Sierra on my G3, seems the compatibility is already there from the last update :)



Attachment Image
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RezSeeker Avatar
109 months ago
I'm glad they're working on refining existing software rather than spending time on reinventing parts of the wheel. I'll be happy to have an even more bulletproof and faster OS over the next year and a half.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TomA Avatar
109 months ago
Um, really? That's it?

wow great i can hardly wait... yay... sigh

I thought Macs were going to be given more attention now? Guess not.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glassed Silver Avatar
109 months ago
H.265 FINALLY.

HALLELUJAH.


I'm sure the forum will be pleased to hear that one of my main gripes is now resolved and I will shut up about it!

SWEET!

Glassed Silver:mac
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)