Apple Seeds First Beta of macOS High Sierra to Public Beta Testers

Thursday June 29, 2017 1:06 pm PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today seeded the first public beta of macOS High Sierra to public beta testers, 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 who have signed up for Apple's beta testing program will be able to download the macOS High Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.

macos hs beta
Those who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, and tvOS betas.

Potential beta testers should make a full Time Machine backup before installing macOS High Sierra, and it should not be installed on a primary machine because betas are unstable and often have many bugs. Caution should be used with macOS High Sierra in particular because when installing it, there's an option to switch to the new Apple Filesystem (APFS), an update that takes some time.

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.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

High Efficiency Video Encoding (HEVC aka H.265) is coming in macOS High Sierra, and many of the existing apps are being updated. Photos features 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.

Safari offers a new autoplay blocking feature for videos and Intelligent Tracking Prevention to protect your privacy, while Mail storage 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.

For a complete picture of all of the new features you can expect to see when macOS High Sierra is released in the fall, make sure to check out our full macOS High Sierra roundup.

Related Forum: macOS High Sierra

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 3 4ths Perspective Aluminum Camera Module 1

New iPhone 17 Pro Details: Brighter Display, Best Battery Life, and More

Wednesday September 3, 2025 5:33 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models will feature a number of significant display, thermal, and battery improvements, according to new late-stage rumors. According to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital," the iPhone 17 Pro models will feature displays with higher brightness, making it more suitable for use in direct sunlight for prolonged periods. The iPhone 16 Pro and...

• 68 comments

iPhone 17 Pro Clear Case Leak Reveals Three Key Changes

Sunday August 31, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series on Tuesday, September 9, and last-minute rumors about the devices continue to surface. The latest info comes from a leaker known as Majin Bu, who has shared alleged images of Apple's Clear Case for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, or at least replicas. Image Credit: @MajinBuOfficial The images show three alleged changes compared to Apple's iP...

• 81 comments

iPhone 17 Pro: 5 Reasons Not to Upgrade This Year

Monday September 1, 2025 4:35 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series this month, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming to...

• 114 comments

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Prices Estimated Ahead of Apple Event Next Week

Tuesday September 2, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

Just one week before Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 series, an analyst has shared new price estimates for the devices. Here are J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee's price estimates for the iPhone 17 series in the United States, according to 9to5Mac: Model Starting Price Model Starting Price Change iPhone 16 $799 iPhone 17 ...

• 58 comments

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...

• 62 comments

Apple Preparing iOS 18.7 for iPhones as iOS 26 Release Date Nears

Sunday August 31, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple is preparing to release iOS 18.7 for compatible iPhone models, according to evidence of the update in the MacRumors visitor logs. We expect iOS 18.7 to be released in September, alongside iOS 26. The update will likely include fixes for security vulnerabilities, but little else. iOS 18.7 will be one of the final updates ever released for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR,...

• 47 comments

Survey: Nearly 70% of Users Plan to Upgrade to iPhone 17

Monday September 1, 2025 8:24 am PDT by Hartley Charlton

A new survey has found that nearly seven in ten iPhone owners in the United States plan to upgrade to an iPhone 17 model, signaling strong demand ahead of Apple's expected unveiling of the devices at its September 9 keynote. Smartphone price comparison platform SellCell surveyed over 2,000 U.S.-based iPhone users in August to assess upgrade interest and brand loyalty before Apple's event....

• 210 comments

Top Rated Comments

Scott6666

107 months ago

boot your computer while holding down both the command key and the r key.

People who do not know what the recovery partition is should not be trying beta 1's

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

DocoBob

107 months ago

...The top secret way that Apple makes a fortune along with other companies is "Planned obsolescence." They just make it not work on purpose to make more money on upgrades. An operating system that breaks half of your programs is not a good one in my opinion no matter what enhancements it offers. If more people made this known, they wouldn't do it...

After working in Silicon Valley for almost 40 years, with just about all the major players there (directly and indirectly) I can tell you that they really don't have secret meeting to enforce "planed obsolescence" to make money. Its the nature of technology to need to grow it, improve it and expand its capabilities. In all the meetings I attended, from the hardware/ software design engineers, marketing gurus legal department all the way up tp the CEOs, no one ever thinks of planned obsolescence as a strategy. They do talk about focusing on specific areas they believe that consumers will want in the future. Its that constant consumer demand that causes the changes to happen. Think about it, do you still want to use a computer with an 8086 processor? or floppies? or a huge CRT that can only display 13" of viewable area? or 20MB hard disk drives that spin as fast as my washing machine? I don't and there are millions of consumers that spend billions each year to upgrade to newer, better, faster features. Its all about voting with your wallet and consumers have voted for ongoing process.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

dogslobber

107 months ago

Downloading now. Also I live in California, so should I be high when I install High Sierra?

I'd recommend you download it, drive to the High Sierra mountain, climb it, then install High Sierra on top of High Sierra. I just hope when you're climbing you don't hit too many bugs and fall off!

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)