If you’re feeling brave, the macOS High Sierra Public Beta has just been released.
Apple on Thursday seeded the first macOS High Sierra public beta, allowing non-developers to download and test the update for the first time since it was introduced at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5. The first public beta of macOS High Sierra corresponds to the second developer beta, which was updated this morning.
Beta testers can also sign up to be able to download the macOS High Sierra beta via the Software Update feature in the Mac App Store program.
macOS High Sierra is designed to improve and refine macOS Sierra. Along with a new, more efficient file system designed for modern storage, the update introduces Metal 2, the next-generation version of Apple’s Metal graphics API with support for machine learning, external GPUs, and VR content creation.
As always, it’s wise to have a full Time Machine backup of your current configuration before installing the beta, which is still in development. Also, remember that installing macOS High Sierra switches your operating system to the new Apple Filesystem, which can take some time to complete.
macOS High Sierra includes under-the-hood changes such as High Efficiency Video Encoding (HEVC aka H.265), updates to Photos such as a new persistent side view and editing tools for Curves, Selective Color, and Live Photos, while Siri is gaining a more natural voice and support for more music-related commands.
Users will also note that the new version of Safari in High Sierra offers a new autoplay blocking feature for web videos as well as Intelligent Tracking Prevention to protect your privacy. The Mail application is being optimized to take up 35 percent less space, iMessages can now be stored in iCloud, and there are new iCloud Drive file sharing options and new iCloud storage family plans.
If you’ve had a chance to try the macOS High Sierra public beta and have any feedback to offer, please let us know about your experience in the comments.
Via MacRumors and beta.apple.com