High Sierra review: macOS is in catch-up mode as eGPUs have been supported by Windows for years, and Apple File System is an overdue replacement for HFS+
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica :
Context & Ripple Effects
Andrew Cunningham's verdict lands after the June preview of High Sierra's technical underpinnings — Apple File System, HEVC/HEIF, Metal 2 — and frames the release as infrastructure work rather than features: macOS is catching up where Windows has shipped external GPU support for years, and APFS retires a file system that predates it by decades.
The follow-on coverage validates the 'foundation first' framing: real eGPU support only matured in the macOS 10.13.4 update, still boxed into Thunderbolt 3 and AMD cards, while Mojave built directly on High Sierra's groundwork before Big Sur closed out the OS X era entirely.
First-order effects
- Mac users get a modern file system at last as APFS replaces HFS+, and gain eGPU support Windows machines have offered for years — though initially confined to Thunderbolt 3 Macs and AMD graphics cards.
Second-order effects
- Apple's constraints shape an accessory market around them: the Apple-sanctioned Blackmagic eGPU ships easy setup but a fixed, mid-range Radeon Pro 580 with no upgrade path, so buyers trade flexibility for plug-and-play.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Apple alternates plumbing releases like High Sierra with interface overhauls like Mojave and Big Sur — meaning the OS X lineage's end was already set in motion by this catch-up cycle.
The trend: Apple's macOS cadence is cycling between under-the-hood modernization releases and UI-forward ones, with High Sierra's APFS and eGPU groundwork enabling the later end of the OS X era.