All the Features You Need to Know About MacOS High Sierra
Apple’s new High Sierra desktop operating system is now officially available for download. Compared to Apple’s iOS 11 update, which adds many new features such as augmented reality ; new docking station for iPad; and improved support for multitasking; The High Sierra improvements are mostly hidden under the hood. You won’t find many flashy add-ons, but you will notice updates to the many services you use daily, updates that will make your macOS experience faster and safer.
Flash compatible file system
If you’re lucky enough to have a Mac that gets rid of slower, spinning hard drives and relies solely on flash storage , Apple’s new APFS brings some welcome changes that take advantage of all that extra speed that comes with a solid state drive (or SSD). … Enhancements include better data protection during system outages or power outages, faster boot times, and space-saving features such as cropping and sparse file support to improve storage efficiency by cleaning up unused data segments. Actions like copying files happen almost instantly thanks to improved SSD support. Built-in support for APFS encryption allows you to encrypt individual files, folders or an entire drive, and allows you to use both single-key and multi-key encryption to improve data security.
Photos bring editing enhancements
Photos enhancements make it easier to manage and modify images, and support the new HEIF and HEVC formats for images and videos, respectively. Photos can convert the new image format to the more common JPEG file if you choose to share the image. Most of the changes are cosmetic and make cataloging and editing photos more intuitive, but a few new features give you more control over certain images. You can change the Live Photo by choosing a new frame as the main image, adding effects such as slow shutter speeds, or editing the Live Photo video itself. You can even use the app to manage the photos you want to edit with other apps. Any changes you make to the third-party app will be saved in the image in the Photos app, where you can make additional changes (or revert the image to its original version).
Supports virtual reality and external GPU
High Sierra’s most exciting improvement is probably the official support for VR headsets using Metal 2 graphics processing. Macs used to be unable to run VR apps due to lack of support. Now, thanks to improved support from Apple and third-party companies such as Unreal and Unity, you will be able to use a VR headset on your Mac. Unfortunately, almost every Mac lacks the processing power to run VR headsets. This is where an external graphics card comes in handy.
High Sierra supports external graphics via Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3. This allows users with a compatible graphics card and chassis to improve the performance of their Mac when editing HD video or playing video games. It’s a pretty nice feature, which means you can use your MacBook as a dedicated editor or gaming computer without sacrificing portability. It won’t replace your dedicated game console and isn’t good for fast paced action, but improved support makes the Mac more susceptible to some random XCOM 2 action.
Safari 11 improves browsing privacy
Safari updates make it easier to read articles online and browse freely without being tracked by sites that want to send you targeted ads. You can configure sites to always open in Easy Reading Mode if you want to move away from formatting your site and replace it with a simplified interface that allows you to read content without distraction. It also stops auto-playing videos, which is a blessing (and an improvement that finally speeds it up with Chrome’s own tab-disabling features).