WWDC 2017: Apple transforms Mac with brand new features

Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President Software Engineering speaks during the company's annual world wide developer conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California, 5 June 2017 (Reuters)

Apple has announced the future of the Mac: macOS High Sierra.

As it follows macOS Sierra, the new name suggests High Sierra will have a similar relationship to its predecessor as that between Lion and Mountain Lion, which was more like a tigher operating system than a brand new one.

The Safari browser in High Sierra will feature Autoplay blocking, and will automatically detect when websites are playing video when they shouldn't be.

It will also use machine-learning to stop ads from following you around the web.

Apple is rolling out an entirely new file system for the Mac, APFS, which should make everything a lot faster and more reliable.

Mail will use 35 per cent less disk space and Photos has new organisation tools too.

Apple is also releasing a Metal 2, a new version of the software within Macs and iPhones that helps provide graphics, with VR support.

High Sierra is available as a developer beta today, and will ship as a free upgrade this autumn, to all systems that support Sierra.

"We wanted to spend this year perfecting macOS," said Craig Federighi.