Apple issues golden master of macOS High Sierra ahead of public launch Sept. 25

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in macOS edited September 2017
Just a few weeks before macOS High Sierra officially launches, Apple has issued a golden master candidate build to developers and public beta testers, signifying that the anticipated Mac update is almost ready for the masses.




The company revealed earlier this week that High Sierra will publicly launch on Sept. 25, a few days after iOS 11, watchOS 4 and tvOS 11 debut on Sept. 19. Accordingly, the GM for High Sierra arrived a few days after the GMs for Apple's other platforms.

Typically a gold master issued to developers is identical to the version that eventually becomes the final release.

High Sierra brings the Apple File System to the Mac for the first time, while introducing support for a variety of other standards such as HEVC video, HEIF image encoding, and Apple's Metal 2 graphics platform. As usual Apple is also improving built-in apps like Safari, Mail, Notes, and Photos.





What will not ship with High Sierra is external GPU support, which allows Thunderbolt 3 PCI-E enclosures with a graphics card to connect to and accelerate graphics in High Sierra. That capability will come out of beta in spring of 2018.

Unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, High Sierra is seen as a refinement of its predecessor, Sierra. The new macOS 10.13 will include blocking of auto-play videos in Safari, new editing tools in Photos, and support for both virtual and augmented reality applications.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    bdkennedy1002bdkennedy1002 Posts: 543member
    I downloaded it and it still says that it's beta. This build is 17A362a and the previous one was 17A360a.
  • Reply 2 of 16
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    bdkennedy1002 said:
    I downloaded it and it still says that it's beta. This build is 17A362a and the previous one was 17A360a.
    "Typically a gold master issued to developers is identical to the version that eventually becomes the final release." That's because it still IS a beta, not the final release.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    Xytras78Xytras78 Posts: 1member
    As noted on Apple's Developer portal, this is a "GM Candidate" -- not a "GM".  Meaning it's not final, but is a candidate for final.
    mdriftmeyerScot1
  • Reply 4 of 16
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,808member
    I think High Sierra has been ready since the past couple of releases...Granted I don't do a heck of a lot, but I've experienced very little to no issues with the betas I have installed on my 12" MacBook Retina. It did seem slightly sluggish when I first installed it but I think a couple of updates fixed the majority of that. 
  • Reply 5 of 16
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Why is it still called a gold master?
    The_Martini_Cat
  • Reply 6 of 16
    nhughesnhughes Posts: 770editor
    dysamoria said:
    Why is it still called a gold master?
    The same reason it's still called an iPhone, even though actual phone calls are no longer the primary function.
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 7 of 16
    gdoggdog Posts: 224member
    Just downloaded.  Seems slighter faster all the way around.  Had to get from apple public beta site (not showing up in app store) and took about a half hour to download.  
  • Reply 8 of 16
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    gdog said:
    Just downloaded.  Seems slighter faster all the way around.  Had to get from apple public beta site (not showing up in app store) and took about a half hour to download.  
    But is Safari snapper?  .... I'm kidding.
  • Reply 9 of 16
    bestkeptsecretbestkeptsecret Posts: 4,265member
    With the elimination of the iOS App Store and Ring Tones from iTunes, how do I upload Ring Tones I create in Garageband to my iPhone?
  • Reply 10 of 16
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    nhughes said:
    dysamoria said:
    Why is it still called a gold master?
    The same reason it's still called an iPhone, even though actual phone calls are no longer the primary function.
    Anyway the last build was always called a GM even before those digital bits were put on the actual DVD.  
    nhughes
  • Reply 11 of 16
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    Xytras78 said:
    As noted on Apple's Developer portal, this is a "GM Candidate" -- not a "GM".  Meaning it's not final, but is a candidate for final.
    Given the release is a week away that is probably the actual qualified candidate. 
  • Reply 12 of 16
    captmacguycaptmacguy Posts: 13member
    You all are seeing the GM as a software update?  I got the notification that it was available then... Nothing.  Software Update in the App Store says "No updates available."

    Is there some extra step I need to take to go from the latest public beta to the GM?
  • Reply 13 of 16
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,362member
    High Sierra seems to have very serious problems with Fusion drives, or at least with the retrofitted 3 GB Fusion drives that Apple recalled and replaced on late 2012 iMacs. The very first High Sierra beta attempted to install with APFS support which generated a kernel panic and left the machine in an unbootable state requiring a full reinstall to Sierra. Since then Apple has made it very clear that Fusion drives cannot support APFS which is all fine and good except that none of the subsequent High Sierra betas including the GM will even complete the install on the Fusion equipped iMac, even when booted from a USB drive or in Safe Mode.

    All SSD and all HDD, no problems. Fusion, big problems. 

    All I can say is that Apple has something terribly wrong happening with their handling of Fusion drives with High Sierra even with the GM. If they don’t fix this ASAP their support lines are going to be lit up with support calls. Yes, I’ve been sending in the error logs generated by the installation failures. 

    This experience has left me with a very bad taste in my mouth about the whole Fusion drive scheme, which is looking more like a hack at this point. Second major issue with the same design.  I will never buy into another Apple science experiment again. Just go full SSD and avoid the surprises. 
    edited September 2017
  • Reply 14 of 16
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    dewme said:
    High Sierra seems to have very serious problems with Fusion drives, or at least with the retrofitted 3 GB Fusion drives that Apple recalled and replaced on late 2012 iMacs. The very first High Sierra beta attempted to install with APFS support which generated a kernel panic and left the machine in an unbootable state requiring a full reinstall to Sierra. Since then Apple has made it very clear that Fusion drives cannot support APFS which is all fine and good except that none of the subsequent High Sierra betas including the GM will even complete the install on the Fusion equipped iMac, even when booted from a USB drive or in Safe Mode.

    All SSD and all HDD, no problems. Fusion, big problems. 

    All I can say is that Apple has something terribly wrong happening with their handling of Fusion drives with High Sierra even with the GM. If they don’t fix this ASAP their support lines are going to be lit up with support calls. Yes, I’ve been sending in the error logs generated by the installation failures. 

    This experience has left me with a very bad taste in my mouth about the whole Fusion drive scheme, which is looking more like a hack at this point. Second major issue with the same design.  I will never buy into another Apple science experiment again. Just go full SSD and avoid the surprises. 
    Just a thought, have you read many folks with similar issues?  If not It could be your Fusion drive.  Have you tried running any diagnostics on it?
  • Reply 15 of 16
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    MacPro said:
    dewme said:
    High Sierra seems to have very serious problems with Fusion drives, or at least with the retrofitted 3 GB Fusion drives that Apple recalled and replaced on late 2012 iMacs. The very first High Sierra beta attempted to install with APFS support which generated a kernel panic and left the machine in an unbootable state requiring a full reinstall to Sierra. Since then Apple has made it very clear that Fusion drives cannot support APFS which is all fine and good except that none of the subsequent High Sierra betas including the GM will even complete the install on the Fusion equipped iMac, even when booted from a USB drive or in Safe Mode.

    All SSD and all HDD, no problems. Fusion, big problems. 

    All I can say is that Apple has something terribly wrong happening with their handling of Fusion drives with High Sierra even with the GM. If they don’t fix this ASAP their support lines are going to be lit up with support calls. Yes, I’ve been sending in the error logs generated by the installation failures. 

    This experience has left me with a very bad taste in my mouth about the whole Fusion drive scheme, which is looking more like a hack at this point. Second major issue with the same design.  I will never buy into another Apple science experiment again. Just go full SSD and avoid the surprises. 
    Just a thought, have you read many folks with similar issues?  If not It could be your Fusion drive.  Have you tried running any diagnostics on it?
    Fusion drives are not supported in the GM candidate. Probably because of these beta issues. 
  • Reply 16 of 16
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    dewme said:
    High Sierra seems to have very serious problems with Fusion drives, or at least with the retrofitted 3 GB Fusion drives that Apple recalled and replaced on late 2012 iMacs. The very first High Sierra beta attempted to install with APFS support which generated a kernel panic and left the machine in an unbootable state requiring a full reinstall to Sierra. Since then Apple has made it very clear that Fusion drives cannot support APFS which is all fine and good except that none of the subsequent High Sierra betas including the GM will even complete the install on the Fusion equipped iMac, even when booted from a USB drive or in Safe Mode.

    All SSD and all HDD, no problems. Fusion, big problems. 

    All I can say is that Apple has something terribly wrong happening with their handling of Fusion drives with High Sierra even with the GM. If they don’t fix this ASAP their support lines are going to be lit up with support calls. Yes, I’ve been sending in the error logs generated by the installation failures. 

    This experience has left me with a very bad taste in my mouth about the whole Fusion drive scheme, which is looking more like a hack at this point. Second major issue with the same design.  I will never buy into another Apple science experiment again. Just go full SSD and avoid the surprises. 
    As we discussed a while ago, Fusion Drives aren't supported as boot drives. The full release of High Sierra won't even give the option to convert them, or regular hard drives.

    The Fusion Drive is hardly an "apple science experiment." Hybrid drives existed from Seagate and WD for a year before Apple put them in the iMac.
    edited September 2017
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