The new Mac filesystem is all about speed and security

At its WWDC 2017 developer conference, Apple has revealed that its latest (not-very-creatively-named) MacOS system, High Sierra, will run the Apple File System (APFS) as its standard filesystem. The standard offers much better performance and security that before, and was first unveiled at WWDC last year. Since Apple said it would arrive to all its products, from Apple TV to Watch OS to iOS, many folks were expecting it to come to MacOS today at WWDC 2017.

Along with the speed, APFS supports way more files than ever, letting you put 9 quintillion of them on a single volume. Security-wise, it includes multikey encryption, making it tough for users to crack even if they have physical access to your drive. That encryption will also work in a unified way across all of Apple’s devices.

It’s arguably a more important update on MacOS, because a lot of creative folks lean on their Macs for disk-heavy tasks like video and photo editing. As Apple VP Craig Federighi showed on the stage, copying files now runs multiple times faster on Apple File than the previous HFS filesystem.

Apple says that the new advanced filesystem, set to arrive later this year in High Sierra, is “optimized for modern storage,” including fast SSDs, flash, Lightning and USB drives. It’ll also easily adapt to future types of storage, the company says.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!