Now the animation is silky smooth, even when I have more than a dozen apps open.
Before I upgraded a 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro to High Sierra, I noticed lag when I would try to pop into this view. Take the Mission Control window that shows all of your open apps. Other benefits of AFS include native encryption, faster Time Machine backups and better crash protection, because the files system is smart enough to monitor transactions and record metadata to multiple locations on your storage device.Īpple’s Metal technology is what gives developers access to a MacBook’s GPU, and Metal 2 in macOS High Sierra promises smoother graphics performance not only in games and apps but also in everyday activities. That’s not the actual speed of the SSD, but it feels that fast. A really good laptop might take 15 seconds, which works out to 339.28 megabytes per second (Mbps), but my 2016 MacBook Pro with High Sierra took only 4 seconds, which would be 1,257 MBps. I saw this in action when I duplicated a 5GB folder with all different types of files in it on the desktop.
Plus, the file system allows for instant cloning, which means when you copy files or folders, the copy takes nearly no time at all. The Stuff You Won’t See (But Appreciate)Ī new file system doesn’t sound all that sexy, but the new Apple File System in High Sierra is a big deal, because it provides several benefits while also being backward-compatible.įor example, AFS is optimized for low latency, which improves overall app responsiveness. As you start typing in the search bar, you’ll see prioritized results based on things like who’s a VIP sender and how much email a person sends you and even how long it takes you to reply, which is a good approximation of urgency. If you search your messages a ton like I do, you’ll appreciate the new Top Hits feature. Not anymore, and it’s really because of one key change Apple has made in High Sierra.Īn improved full-screen mode lets you compose your message on the right side of the screen, and you can still peruse your inbox for other relevant messages on the left without exiting the new email you’re writing. I’ll admit that I haven’t used Apple’s Mail app for a couple of years, because I’ve found the web version of Outlook Office 365 more seamless.
Mail: Much improved full screen, new Top Hits Safari tackles this issue as well by removing cross-site tracking data your surfing habits expose. I don’t know about you, but I find it kind of creepy when I shop online for something and then I see ads for that same thing appear when I surf my favorite sites. Choices include Allow All Auto-Play, Stop Media with Sound and Never Auto-Play. But you can tweak the settings globally as well for specific sites under Preferences.
I could see publishers getting peeved by this, as Safari doesn’t simply silence the video but pauses it altogether. But on High Sierra’s Safari, the video never started and waited for me to press play. I think the Edit view should be presented by default, though why make people click twice?įor example, when reading an article on USA Today in Chrome on macOS High Sierra, an ad started blaring at me as I scrolled down. When you hit the Edit button in the top right corner, the background turns from white to black, and you’ll see easily identifiable buttons along the top of the screen for Crop and Filters (and there’s now 10 of them). The editing tools are much more accessible.
Photos: It’s a bona fide photo editing app nowĪs someone who typically sticks with Pixelmator for editing photos, I have to say that Apple has really upped its game with the new Photos app for macOS High Sierra. If you want to try the public beta, we’ve got instructions right here. In addition, the MacBook I used stopped working with my second monitor when plugged into my USB-C/Thunderbolt dock. I noted a fair amount of lag, for example, in Chrome and Google Docs.
Beta software by its very nature is buggy and not stable enough for heavy daily use. Instead, it’s best to use macOS High Sierra on a secondary machine.
Editors’ Note: As this is an early public beta, absolutely do not install this software on your primary Mac.