macOS 10.13 High Sierra is the fourteenth version of macOS, and the follow up to macOS Sierra. Much like how OS X Snow Leopard was a refinement of OS X Leopard, macOS High Sierra is highly focused on refining macOS Sierra.
Yet the release does add some brand new features to the table. Noteworthy additions include external GPU support, which provides compatibility with VR headsets for the very first time, and Apple File System (APFS), which replaces the previous HFS+ file system.
Longtime macOS users will know that even though the Mac has a built-in recovery partition, it’s always useful to have a dedicated USB drive with a macOS installer. I am a big fan of using a tool like DiskMaker X to create them to keep around if I need to wipe a drive and reinstall macOS quickly. If you have a drive created for Mojave, Sierra, and High Sierra, know that a certificate has expired. If you are getting an error similar to “This copy of the Install macOS Mojave.app application is damaged, and can’t be used to install macOS”, read on to learn how to fix it.
Apple has released a new version of macOS High Sierra that brings Messages in iCloud to the Mac. macOS 10.13.5 is now available for all compatible Macs through the Mac App Store.
Apple has released the fifth developer beta version of macOS 10.13.5 for testing. The beta version includes Messages in iCloud which works with iOS 11.4 beta.
Apple has released the fourth developer beta version of macOS 10.13.5 for testing. The beta version includes Messages in iCloud which works with iOS 11.4 beta.
Apple has released the third developer beta version of macOS 10.13.5 for testing. The beta version includes Messages in iCloud which works with iOS 11.4 beta.
[Update: Apple has now released the second public beta of macOS 10.13.5.]
Apple has released the second developer beta version of macOS 10.13.5 for testing. The beta version includes Messages in iCloud which works with iOS 11.4 beta.
After previously testing in beta, Apple is pushing a new 32-bit app warning live for users on macOS 10.13.4 starting at midnight local time. The alert will appear once per app when a user launches 32-bit software for the first when running the current macOS version.
The dialogue box can be dismissed with the ‘OK’ button or users can click ‘Learn More…’ to access a newly published explainer document on 32-bit app compatibility with macOS High Sierra.
[Update: The public beta for macOS High Sierra 10.13.5 is now available]
Following the release of iOS 11.4 to developers and public beta users Apple this evening has pushed the first developer beta of macOS High Sierra 10.13.5. The update follows macOS 10.13.4, which included features such as enhanced eGPU support and more.
Apple has released the macOS 10.13.4 update to High Sierra for all compatible Macs. The new version includes the ‘Ink Cloud’ wallpaper previously only offered on the iMac Pro, enhanced support for external GPUs, and more.
Apple’s latest major Mac operating system, macOS High Sierra, has seen more than its fair share of bugs. These aren’t minor bugs, either. Previously, there was a bug that allowed any user root access to your Mac because the system accepted a blank password attempt.
Yet another security bug has been found in the operating system that allows users to access the passwords to encrypted APFS external drives.
Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 7 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below.
Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 6 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below.
Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 4 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below.
Apple has released macOS 10.13.4 beta 3 for registered developers to test on compatible Macs. We’ll dig in to the new version and detail changes below.
macOS High Sierra is going even higher today with the first developer beta version of macOS 10.13.4 now available. The new developer beta comes one day after the release of macOS 10.13.3 which includes security improvements and a fix for Messages bugs.
Apple has released the fifth macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 beta for testing. The release comes one week after the fourth macOS 10.13.3 beta; Apple released the fifth beta versions of iOS and tvOS betas late last week.
There’s a newly discovered security hole in the current version of macOS High Sierra that allows anyone with access to your Mac to unlock your App Store System Preferences without your system password. The impact of this vulnerability doesn’t appear to be severe, but the security feature clearly isn’t working as intended.
Apple has released the second macOS 10.13.3 beta through the Mac App Store. The update is likely a bug fix and security update given this point in the development cycle of macOS High Sierra. We’ll update if any new features are discovered in the new beta.
Apple has released the latest version of macOS High Sierra through the Mac App Store. macOS 10.13.2 “improves the stability, compatibility and security” of Macs, and specifically includes improvements to third party USB audio devices, VoiceOver and Preview, and Braille displays and Mail.
Update: An Apple spokesperson has issued the following statement, saying an update is in the works:
“We are working on a software update to address this issue. In the meantime, setting a root password prevents unauthorized access to your Mac. To enable the Root User and set a password, please follow the instructions here. If a Root User is already enabled, to ensure a blank password is not set, please follow the instructions from the ‘Change the root password’ section.”
A newly discovered macOS High Sierra flaw is potentially leaving your personal data at risk. Developer Lemi Orhan Ergin publicly contacted Apple Support to ask about the vulnerability he discovered. In the vulnerability he found, someone with physical access to a macOS machine can access and change personal files on the system without needing any admin credentials.
Users who haven’t disabled guest user account access or changed their root passwords (likely most) are currently open to this vulnerability. We’ve included instructions on how to protect yourself in the meantime until an official fix from Apple is released.
When Apple announced that it would lend official support to eGPU setups via Thunderbolt 3, I was extremely happy with the news. It means adding more graphical power on demand to Thunderbolt 3-enabled Macs like the MacBook Pro.
That said, eGPU support is still being fleshed out in macOS High Sierra, and Apple has stated that the situation will be further addressed in the spring of 2018. In the meantime, progress has been made on the eGPU front, albeit slowly.
Just for the fun of it I decided to test the Sapphire Radeon RX Vega 64 inside of a Mantiz Venus external graphics box connected to a 2017 13-inch MacBook Pro. Although official driver support isn’t yet there, I can report that when running the latest macOS High Sierra 10.13.2, the RX Vega 64 does work to some degree. Here’s a hands-on video look at what I found.
Apple launched its External Graphics Development Kit during WWDC 2017 as a way to assist developers with demanding graphics-intensive apps and VR content creation. The unit included the developer edition of Sonnet’s external eGFX GPU chassis, along with Sapphire’s AMD RX 580 8GB graphics card, and Belkin’s USB-C to 4-port USB-A hub.
Apple priced the External Graphics Development Kit at $599, which was reasonable considering that the Sapphire Pulse RX 580 8GB still goes for around $279, and demanded a higher price during the kit’s launch. The External Graphics Development Kit has been on sale for several months, but now all stock appears to be exhausted.
As a part of its Cyber Week Sale, Sonnet is offering the eGFX Breakaway Box – Developer Edition — the same unit included in Apple’s kit, sans Belkin USB hub, for $499. That’s a $100 price difference from what Apple was charging, and the developer edition of the eGFX units are available to all users, not just developers. Expand Expanding Close
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