Version of the macOS operating system | |
![]() | |
![]() macOS High Sierra desktop with the default wallpaper | |
Developer | Apple Inc. |
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OS family | |
Source model | Closed, with open source components |
General availability | September 25, 2017 |
Latest release | 10.13.6 Security Update 2020-006[1] (17G14042) (November 12, 2020 ) [±] |
Update method | Mac App Store |
Platforms | x86-64 |
Kernel type | Hybrid (XNU) |
License | APSL and Apple EULA |
Preceded by | macOS Sierra |
Succeeded by | macOS Mojave |
Official website | macOS High Sierra at the Wayback Machine (archived September 11, 2018) |
Tagline | Your Mac. Elevated. |
Support status | |
Unsupported as of November 12, 2020.[2] iTunes is no longer being updated, but is able to download driver updates to sync to newer devices.[3] |
Part of a series on |
macOS |
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macOS High Sierra (version 10.13) is the fourteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop operating system for Macintosh computers. macOS High Sierra was announced at the WWDC 2017 on June 5, 2017[4] and was released on September 25, 2017. The name "High Sierra" refers to the High Sierra region in California. Its name signified its goal to be a refinement of the previous macOS version, macOS Sierra, focused on performance improvements and technical updates rather than features.[5] This makes it similar to previous macOS releases Snow Leopard, Mountain Lion and El Capitan. Among the apps with notable changes are Photos and Safari.[4][6][7]
macOS High Sierra is the final version of macOS to support the Unibody iMac and the Polycarbonate Unibody MacBook, as its successor, macOS Mojave, drops support for the late 2009 and final models.
System requirements
[edit]All Macs that supported macOS Sierra support macOS High Sierra.[8]
- iMac (Late 2009 or later)
- MacBook (Late 2009 or later)
- MacBook Air (Late 2010 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or later)
- Mac Mini (Mid 2010 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or later)
macOS High Sierra requires at least 2 GB of RAM and 20.12 GB of available disk space.
It is possible to install High Sierra on many older Macintosh computers that are not officially supported by Apple. This requires using a patch to modify the install image.[9]
Changes
[edit]Default wallpaper
[edit]The default desktop picture is an image of North Lake in the High Sierra region.
System
[edit]Apple File System
[edit]Apple File System (APFS) replaces HFS Plus as the default file system in macOS for the first time with High Sierra.[4] It supports 64‑bit inode numbers, is designed for flash memory, and is designed to speed up common tasks like duplicating a file and finding the size of a folder's contents. It also has built‑in encryption, crash‑safe protections, and simplified data backup on the go.[10]
Metal 2
[edit]Metal, Apple's low-level graphics API, has been updated to Metal 2. It includes virtual reality and machine-learning features, as well as support for external GPUs.[4] The system's windowing system, Quartz Compositor, supports Metal 2.
Media
[edit]macOS High Sierra adds support for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), with hardware acceleration where available, as well as support for High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF). Macs with the Intel Kaby Lake processor offer hardware support for Main 10 profile 10-bit hardware decoding, those with the Intel Skylake processor support Main profile 8-bit hardware decoding, and those with AMD Radeon 400 series graphics also support full HEVC decoding.[4] However, whenever an Intel IGP is present, the frameworks will only direct requests to Intel IGP. In addition, audio codecs FLAC and Opus are also supported, but not in iTunes.[11][12]
HEVC hardware acceleration requires a Mac with a sixth-generation Intel processor or newer (late 2015 27-inch iMac, mid 2017 21.5-inch iMac, early 2016 MacBook, late 2016 MacBook Pro or iMac Pro).
Other
[edit]In High Sierra, kernel extensions ("kexts") require explicit approval by the user before being able to run.[13]
The Low Battery notification and its icon were replaced by a flatter modern look.[citation needed]
The time service ntpd was replaced with timed for the time synchronization.[14]
The FTP and telnet command line programs were removed.[15]
Caching Server, File Sharing Server, and Time Machine Server, features that were previously part of macOS Server, are now provided as part of the OS.[16]
The screen can now be locked using the shortcut Cmd+Ctrl+Q. The ability to lock screen using a menu bar shortcut activated in Keychain Access preferences has now been removed.[17]
The 10.13.4 update added support for external graphics processors for Macs equipped with Thunderbolt 3 ports.[18] The update discontinued support for external graphics processors in 2015 or older Macs, equipped with Thunderbolt 1 and 2 ports.
Starting with 10.13.4, when a 32-bit app is opened, users get a one-time warning about its future incompatibility with the macOS operating system.[19]
Applications
[edit]Final Cut Pro 7
[edit]Apple announced the original Final Cut Studio suite of programs will not work on High Sierra. Media professionals that depend on any of those programs were advised to create a double boot drive to their computer.[20]
Photos
[edit]macOS High Sierra gives Photos an updated sidebar and new editing tools.[4] Photos synchronizes tagged People with iOS 11.[4]
Mail has improved Spotlight search with Top Hits.[4] Mail also uses 35% less storage space due to optimizations, and Mail's compose window can now be used in split-screen mode.[21]
Safari
[edit]macOS High Sierra includes Safari 11. Safari 11 has a new "Intelligent Tracking Prevention" feature that uses machine learning to block third parties from tracking the user's actions.[22] Safari can also block auto playing videos from playing.[23][24] The "Reader Mode" can be set to always-on.[25] Safari 11 also supports WebAssembly.[26] The last version of Safari that High Sierra supports is 13.1.2. This version has known security issues.[27]
Notes
[edit]The Notes app includes the ability to add tables to notes,[28] and notes can be pinned to the top of the list.[29] The version number was incremented to 4.5.
Siri
[edit]In High Sierra, Siri uses a more natural and expressive voice compared to previous versions of Mac OS X. It also uses machine learning to understand the user better. Siri synchronizes information across iOS and Mac devices so the Siri experience is the same regardless of the product being used.[30]
Messages
[edit]The release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 (and iOS 11.4) introduced support for Messages in iCloud.[31] This feature allows messages to sync across all devices using the same iCloud account. When messages are deleted they are deleted on each device as well, and messages stored in the cloud do not take up local storage on the device anymore.[32] In order to use the feature, the user has to enable two-factor authentication for their Apple ID.[33]
Reception
[edit]Roman Loyola, the senior editor of Macworld, gave High Sierra a provisionally positive review in September 2017, calling it an "incremental update worthy of your time, eventually." Loyola expressed that the product's most significant draw was its security features, and that beyond this, the most beneficial changes lay in its future potential, saying it "doesn't have a lot of new features that will widen your eyes in excitement. But a lot of the changes are in the background and under the hood, and they lay a foundation for better things to come."[34]
Problems
[edit]macOS High Sierra 10.13.0 and 10.13.1 have a critical[35] vulnerability that allowed an attacker to become a root user by entering "root" as a username, and not entering a password, when logging in. This was fixed in the Security Update 2017-001 for macOS High Sierra v10.13.1.[36]
When it was first launched, it was discovered[by whom?] that the WindowServer process had a memory leak, leading to much slower graphics performance and lagging animations, probably due to some last-minute changes in Metal 2. This was fixed in macOS 10.13.1.[citation needed]
macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 had an error that caused DisplayLink to stop working for external monitors, allowing only one monitor to be extended. When using two external monitors, they could only be mirrored. Alban Rampon, the Senior Product Manager for DisplayLink, stated on December 24, 2018 that the company was working with Apple to resolve the issue.[37]
Release history
[edit]Timeline of Mac operating systems
[edit]Timeline of Mac operating systems |
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References
[edit]- ^ "About the security content of Security Update 2020-006 High Sierra, Security Update 2020-006 Mojave". Apple Support. November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
- ^ "Apple security updates". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on 2019-07-23. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ^ "Home". iTunes.com. Archived from the original on 2006-11-07. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Apple Events - WWDC Keynote, June 2017 - Apple". Archived from the original on 2017-06-06.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew (September 25, 2017). "macOS 10.13 High Sierra: The Ars Technica review". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ "macOS 10.13 High Sierra Announced, Release Date Set for Fall". OS X Daily. 5 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ Cunningham, Andrew (19 June 2017). "macOS High Sierra tech preview: A quick look at the stuff you can't see". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ "How to download macOS High Sierra". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on February 1, 2018.
- ^ "macOS High Sierra Patcher Tool for Unsupported Macs". Archived from the original on 2017-10-15. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
- ^ "Apple File System (APFS) announced for 2017, scales 'from Apple Watch to Mac Pro' and focuses on encryption". 9to5Mac. 2016-06-13. Archived from the original on 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
- ^ "iOS 11、macOS High Sierra:FLAC、Opus、HOA(3Dサウンド)をサポート" [iOS 11, macOS High Sierra: Supports FLAC, Opus, HOA (3D sound)]. Macお宝鑑定団 blog(羅針盤) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2017-09-14.
- ^ What's New in Audio - WWDC 2017 - Videos - Apple Developer. Archived from the original on 2017-09-14.
- ^ "Secure Kernel Extension Loading". Apple Developer. June 19, 2017. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
- ^ "Has anyone got the time? How High Sierra has changed time synchronisation". 27 October 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ "How to get BSD FTP and Telnet back in 10.13 (High Sierra)?". Ask Different. Archived from the original on 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
- ^ Engst, Adam (June 1, 2018). "How to Deal with macOS Server Losing Many of Its Services". Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
- ^ "New Lock Screen feature in macOS High Sierra". July 17, 2017. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ^ "Use an external graphics processor with your Mac". Apple. Archived from the original on 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
- ^ "32-bit app compatibility with macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 - Apple Support". April 11, 2018. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ "Important Caution About Upgrading to Apple's High Sierra | Larry Jordan". Archived from the original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- ^ "macOS High Sierra: Everything We Know | MacRumors". Archived from the original on 2017-06-17. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ Lomas, Natasha (5 June 2017). "Apple adds ad tracker blocker to desktop Safari | TechCrunch". Archived from the original on 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2017-06-07.
- ^ O'Kane, Sean (2017-06-05). "Apple's new version of macOS is called High Sierra". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
- ^ "macOS is now fully baked with macOS High Sierra". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 2017-06-07. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
- ^ "5 Notable New Features Coming to macOS High Sierra". OS X Daily. 2017-06-09. Archived from the original on 2017-06-27. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
- ^ "What's New in Safari". Archived from the original on 2017-11-14.
- ^ "NVD - Results". Archived from the original on 2021-09-17. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
- ^ "Apple Reveals 'macOS High Sierra' With APFS, Metal 2, and Refinements to Safari and Other Apps". Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
- ^ Gil, Lory (8 June 2017). "macOS High Sierra FAQ: Everything you need to know!". iMore. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
- ^ "macOS High Sierra: Everything We Know | MacRumors". Archived from the original on 2017-06-17. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
- ^ "Apple Releases macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 With Messages in iCloud Support". MacRumors. 2018-06-01. Archived from the original on 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- ^ "iOS 11.4: What you need to know about Messages in iCloud". CNET. 2018-05-29. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- ^ "How to sync your text messages to iCloud". iMore. 2018-06-01. Archived from the original on 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- ^ "macOS High Sierra review: Incremental update worthy of your time, eventually". Macworld. 2017-09-25. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- ^ "Vulnerability Details : CVE-2017-13872". Archived from the original on 2018-09-01. Retrieved 2017-12-19.
- ^ "macOS High Sierra 'root' security bug: Here's how to fix it now!". iMore. Archived from the original on 2017-12-04. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
- ^ "macOS High Sierra 10.13.4+ and Mojave 10.14 Early Previews". DisplayLink Support. Archived from the original on 2018-07-31. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
External links
[edit]- macOS 10.13 High Sierra at the Wayback Machine (archived September 11, 2018) – official site
- macOS 10.13 High Sierra download page at Apple