Apple today seeded a golden master (GM) candidate of macOS High Sierra to developers and public beta testers after nine rounds of betas. The golden master represents the final version of macOS High Sierra that will be released to the public on Monday, September 25, should no additional bugs be found.
The macOS High Sierra golden master can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or over-the-air using the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.
macOS High Sierra is designed to build on features first introduced in the macOS Sierra update in 2016, focusing primarily on new storage, video, and graphics technology. The update brings a new Apple File System (APFS), High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC), new HEIF image encoding, and an updated version of Metal with support for VR and external GPUs.
Multiple apps have been updated with new capabilities in macOS High Sierra. Photos features a new sidebar to make it easier to access editing tools and albums, and there are new filters and editing options like Curves and Selective Color.
Safari is gaining speed enhancements, an option to prevent autoplay videos, and a privacy feature aimed at cutting down on cross-site data tracking. Siri in macOS High Sierra has a new, more natural voice, and Spotlight offers flight status information. iCloud, FaceTime, Notes, and Mail also include useful new features.
Apple plans to release macOS High Sierra to the public on Monday, September 25. macOS High Sierra will run on all machines that are compatible with macOS Sierra.
For a complete overview of changes coming in macOS High Sierra, make sure to check out our macOS High Sierra roundup.