macOS Sierra has a new file system, called Apple File System (APFS)

The opening keynote for WWDC 2016 is just over and we already have the first “unannounced” news of the day.

Apple File System

One of them is an offering of the sessions for the event's developers (they have “fake” names until the end of the main lecture and only their themes are revealed): apparently, macOS Sierra comes with a completely renewed file system and named Apple File System (APFS).

The “Sesso 701”, called “Introducing the Apple File System” (“Introducing Apple File System”), describes the new system as a (very welcome) renewal of HFS +, the current one that has been used since the origin of OS X (now macOS) in 2001.

The description also points to a more flexible system (keeping in mind all Apple products from Apple Watch to Mac Pro), optimized for flash / SSD storage and designed with encryption as a primary feature. These are all the details of the novelty so far it is not yet known, for example, whether APFS is a totally new and original Apple creation, or whether we are talking about an adaptation of an existing file system, such as ZFS (which many people was hoping it was the option adopted, incidentally).

The new system should be much more explored and explored when the session is held tomorrow at 10 am in San Francisco (14 am in Brasilia). Anyone who took a look, however, said that things are much better, like John Siracusa, than Ars Technica:

The new real and spectacular file system?

An Apple page for developers giving more information about APFS is now live. The system comes on macOS Sierra only as a developer preview (for developers only) and very limited: it will not be possible to use the system on the boot disk and be compatible with Time Machine or Fusion Drives. The final version of APFS will arrive only in 2017.

The page also details various features of the new system related to compatibility, encryption, speed of operation and protection against errors. If you are from the area, it is highly recommended to take a look.

(via Ars Technica)