Upgrade to High Sierra or not?

[Apple_Glen_UK]

I have a 13" MacBook Pro (Early 2015) which came with Yosemite installed on it. As it's always run flawlessly and is still lightning quick I have never upgraded to the newer operating systems. However, I am wondering whether I should now upgrade to High Sierra? Would I notice many benefits or is it not worth the risk? I mainly use my MBP for browsing the Internet, listening to iTunes, storing photos (in Lightroom) and writing bits and pieces for a magazine I contribute to. I don't use Siri or iCloud.

I am still quite new to Apple products/Macs and don't have anywhere near the knowledge as many of you guys, hence the request for your thoughts.

Thanks.

 

[mickey.smith1958]

I have a 13" MacBook Pro (Early 2015) which came with Yosemite installed on it. As it's always run flawlessly and is still lightning quick I have never upgraded to the newer operating systems. However, I am wondering whether I should now upgrade to High Sierra? Would I notice many benefits or is it not worth the risk? I mainly use my MBP for browsing the Internet, listening to iTunes, storing photos (in Lightroom) and writing bits and pieces for a magazine I contribute to. I don't use Siri or iCloud.

I am still quite new to Apple products/Macs and don't have anywhere near the knowledge as many of you guys, hence the request for your thoughts.

Thanks.

I have the same era mbp and I have no issues at all. I like the unlock with Apple Watch feature and it seems to wrk just as well with HS as it did with Yosemite.

 

[Poki]

By now, I upgraded my iMac at work to High Sierra (a machine I use for more than 40 hours every week) and I didn't have a single problem. So I'd say just go for it. There aren't a lot of improvements over the last few versions of macOS, but there are certainly some nice little features (like being able to rename a bunch of files simply by selecting and right clicking them instead of having to use the automator).

 

[370zulu]

I have a 15" MacBook Pro (Mid-2015) and have taken each upgrade since I purchased it new. I too like the Apple Watch unlock and find that the subtle improvements have some benefit. I also like that I have the latest security updates without having to wonder if you are on the proper patch level (I do know that you can get the security updates without upgrading though). Although I have been a little wary of HS, I did finally move to it from Sierra and have not had any issues.

 

[TBFoxRDMS]

I am in the process right this moment of restoring back to El Capitan. Two important applications didn't work under HS. Loved the Apple watch log in and a few other features though

 

[IPadNParadise]

I have a mid 2015 mbp and have updated to High Sierra and have had some issues, not major, but still, I wish I had stayed on Sierra a little longer. So my advice would be to update to Sierra. I think it would get more security patches than Yosemite. You could then update to High Sierra from Sierra later in the year when it is hooefully more stable

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:
If you're happy "where you are right now", and if the MBPro is running "flawlessly", then why rush into a situation where it might STOP being these things to you?

You might consider "Low Sierra" (10.12) instead of High Sierra.
Low Sierra is "mature". It works.
High Sierra remains "a work in progress" with numerous problems so far.

IF you want to upgrade at all, you should take steps so that if the upgrade doesn't go as planned, it will be easy to "get back to where you once belonged" with your previous OS.

THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP to take BEFORE upgrading:
- Download either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper (both are free to download and use for 30 days), and create a BOOTABLE cloned backup of your internal drive on an external drive.
- Set this backup aside for safekeeping.

WHY you need a cloned backup:
If things don't go as planned, you can just:
1. Boot from the cloned backup
2. ERASE the internal drive completely
3. RE-clone the cloned backup BACK TO the internal drive
... and you'll be "right back where you started from" (like you never left)

Also -- another recommendation:
1. DON'T try to install directly from the installer download. Instead...cancel out.
2. Get a USB flashdrive 16gb (you can try 8gb if you have one)
3. Download "Boot Buddy" (free)
4. Use BB to create a bootable flashdrive version of the installer
5. Boot from the flashdrive and install that way.

 

[ZapNZs]

I'm currently still running El Capitan and Sierra. macOS has been a very capable and very refined OS for years, so it's not like new versions are a huge advancement for most usage scenarios.

APFS is going to be awesome, but I prefer to stay with HFS+ for now simply because APFS is in its infancy and I feel it is reasonable to expect an infant filesystem to have growing pains that sometimes can interfere with productivity. That said, Apple has done an incredible job (how many other companies have offered a reliable in-place filesystem upgrade?)

 

[MBP_187]

I have a 13" MacBook Pro (Early 2015) which came with Yosemite installed on it. As it's always run flawlessly and is still lightning quick I have never upgraded to the newer operating systems. However, I am wondering whether I should now upgrade to High Sierra? Would I notice many benefits or is it not worth the risk? I mainly use my MBP for browsing the Internet, listening to iTunes, storing photos (in Lightroom) and writing bits and pieces for a magazine I contribute to. I don't use Siri or iCloud.

I am still quite new to Apple products/Macs and don't have anywhere near the knowledge as many of you guys, hence the request for your thoughts.

Thanks.

Following your tread with much interest; since I'm also running Yosemite (on Late 2011 MBP).

Similar usage to yours; browsing, word, music etc. Nothing too intensive.

I'm curious about 'real life' benefits in going from Yosemite to HS.

 

[Royksöpp]

It works flawlessly. I have the same model as you and High Sierra is the best version so far. El Cap was good, but High Sierra is even better. Animations are smooth and the APFS makes a considerable difference. The system runs surprisingly cooler as well. Unless you have incompatible software that is an absolute necessity I would go for it! Just make sure you do a Fresh Install. It will be like having a brand new computer again.

 

[buran-energia]

I have the same system. And there has been only one worrying issue with High Sierra. Sometimes when I watch certain Twitch TV live streams in Safari in full screen mode, I get screen artifacts (weird lines), as if GPU is dying, and the system completely locks up until you power off.

I think it might be a software / driver issue because it never happened anywhere else (incl. youtube), doesn't happen in Chrome, doesn't happen in 3D games or 3D benchmarks.

In Sierra, I would have similar problem with Safari and Twitch, but instead of artifacts and lockup, I would just get screen blinking and stuttering.

 

[Martyimac]

Since HS is free, I say go ahead. My 2015 13" rMBP has had no problems. if nothing else, it updates you the the latest security updates.
That being said, unless the next MacOS has killer features, I don't plan on going past HS.

 

[jerryk]

HS is working fine on my 2015 15" MBP. Took a while to install, but after that it runs fine.

 

[Fancuku]

Had High Sierra on my 2015 Air and reverted back to Sierra. Experienced freezing and beach ball which I never did before with Yosemite, El Capitan or Sierra.

I suggest you hold off for now. High Sierra is too new especially with the all new file system.

 

[Apple_Glen_UK]

Thanks for all your advice. Taking on board your comments and from views from some other threads on here I am thinking of upgrading to Sierra rather than High Sierra. I'll back up all my files first, but I assume the upgrade shouldn't wipe any files (photos/music etc), should it?

How long does this kind of upgrade usually take?

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"I am thinking of upgrading to Sierra rather than High Sierra. I'll back up all my files first, but I assume the upgrade shouldn't wipe any files (photos/music etc), should it?"

If you follow the steps I outlined in reply #7 above, I -guarantee- success...

 

[DesignerOnMac]

Been on High Sierra since it launched. No issues to speak of, except when I want to upload a photo to FB or attach a photo to an email, the download folder doesn't show all the photos.

Other than that, very happy!

 

[parseckadet]

Because of the security and stability issues I would avoid High Sierra like the plague. As in don't even upgrade to it when the next MacOS comes out. Your plan to update to Sierra should be alright, then I would come back here this time next year to see if it's safe to upgrade to whatever comes after High Sierra, which will be 10.14.

 

[Apple_Glen_UK]

I took the plunge last night and upgraded to Sierra rather than High Sierra. I did a full back-up first, although the installation appears to have gone well and all of my files are where they should be and seem ok. My apps all seem to be working fine too. I’ve had a quick play around with it and quite like the Night Shift feature and despite never using Siri, I may give it a go and see how I get on with it. Picture in Picture could prove useful as well. My MacBook Pro already seemed lightning quick and I didn’t think it would be possible for it to get any faster but it’s definitely quicker and more responsive so far with Sierra. Perhaps I’ll notice the little things and speed etc more than those who’ve come over from El Capitan, as this is the first OS upgrade I’ve done since I purchased my MBP two years ago. Bye bye Yosemite.


Thanks for all the tips/advice.