High Sierra has arrived for all users, and brings the Apple File System to the Mac for the first time, while introducing support for a variety of other standards such as HEVC video, HEIF image encoding, and Apple’s Metal 2 graphics platform supporting technology like external GPUs.
macOS 10.13 High Sierra is now available as a free download from the Mac App Store. Here’s what you can expect to find once you install it.
macOS 10.13’s biggest change is the introduction of its all new file system; rather systematically named the “Apple File System” (APFS). The new APFS has been designed as a system for the modern ages of devices and is in use across Apple’s entire product range from Apple Watch to iPhone and now desktops & laptops. Not everyone will be converted however. Fusion drive owners for example will not be converted initially, a full-proof migration path still being worked on. There are also cases of some older drives not being supported too.
Other note worthy additions include a move to H.265 video codecs with HEVC support. A long overdue move that today’s hardware is more than capable of dealing with.
A new version of Apple’s graphics hardware systems Metal 2 allows the use of the WWDC demonstrated external high-end GPUs on the Mac.
Lastly, Apple have put developers on notice saying that High Sierra will be the last version of macOS to support 32-bit applications. Similar to iOS which has already dropped 32-bit support with iOS 11, macOS is shifting to a new age.
AppleInsider has a video detailing a lot of the new features and goes into changes made to some of its included applications like Safari & Photos too.
Source: Apple releases macOS 10.13 High Sierra with APFS, Metal 2, new Safari, Photos improvements