Apple debuts macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 with Business Chat and eGPU support

Apple today updated macOS to version 10.13.4, bringing new features like Business Chat in Messages and support for external GPU (eGPU) enclosures to Mac users.

The public release follows multiple betas seeded alongside previews of iOS 11.3, watchOS 4.3, and tvOS 11.3, final versions of which went live earlier today.

Apple's latest macOS can be downloaded through High Sierra's built-in update mechanisms or through the Mac App Store.

Business Chat lets people communicate directly with companies via Messages and even make purchases. The feature was announced at WWDC and was initially slated to ship with iOS 11 and macOS 10.13 last year.

eGPU support can add extra speed for graphics-heavy tasks, such as VR, gaming, and CAD. This does, however, require a separate Thunderbolt 3 enclosure, as well as a dedicated video card, which together can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

The macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 update improves the stability, performance, and security of your Mac, and it is recommended for all users. This update:

In addition to major feature introductions, the update fixes a number of issues including graphics corruption problems impacting certain apps on iMac Pro and a bug that prevented web link previews from appearing in Messages. A series of Safari enhancements are also incorporated, with users now able to jump to the right-most tab with a Command+9 key combination and sort bookmarks by name or URL using the "Sort by..." option. New Safari privacy and security features also come with the update.

Additional enhancements include the ability to sort Safari bookmarks, and more clarity on privacy and personal information.

25 Comments

deepinsider 67 comments · 10 Years

About 6 years ago

Upgradable graphics for Macs is exciting, but won't we need cards that are Mac compatible? Surely the eGPU doesn't magically make a card work with MacOS. I'm skeptical there will suddenly be MacOS support in graphics cards on account of this new eGPU capability.

Mike Wuerthele 6901 comments · 8 Years

deepinsider said:

Upgradable graphics for Macs is exciting, but won't we need cards that are Mac compatible? Surely the eGPU doesn't magically make a card work with MacOS. I'm skeptical there will suddenly be MacOS support in graphics cards on account of this new eGPU capability.

Nearly everything recent for AMD works fine in an eGPU plug and play. Everything from the last four years for Nvidia works with assorted hacks from the eGPU community. Nothing requires a flashed card.

At present, I am using a stock Vega 56 on a 4K Acer display to type this at you. I have used a RX580 and a Vega 64 as well -- all stock. We'll monkey with the full release, and talk to some people we know about it in the next few days.

lowededwookie 1174 comments · 16 Years

deepinsider said:

Upgradable graphics for Macs is exciting, but won't we need cards that are Mac compatible? Surely the eGPU doesn't magically make a card work with MacOS. I'm skeptical there will suddenly be MacOS support in graphics cards on account of this new eGPU capability.

You do need Thunderbolt 3 though so it's only going to be later Macs/MacBooks that are going to benefit from this update.

lowededwookie said:

deepinsider said:

Upgradable graphics for Macs is exciting, but won't we need cards that are Mac compatible? Surely the eGPU doesn't magically make a card work with MacOS. I'm skeptical there will suddenly be MacOS support in graphics cards on account of this new eGPU capability.

You do need Thunderbolt 3 though so it's only going to be later Macs/MacBooks that are going to benefit from this update.

The biggest beneficiary is the MacBook Pro with an external display, or an external display attached to an iMac. Looping back to the internal display on either the MBP is iMac is possible, but it's a bandwidth constrained environment to begin with, only made worse by doing that.

tallest skil 43086 comments · 14 Years

Business Chat
How did I miss this? Probably because I don’t really pay attention to Apple anymore. This has the potential to replace all of the individual companies’ websites’ “chat” services COMPLETELY! That crap is TERRIBLE. Moving them all to the best IM framework on the market could massively decrease time spent on these issues. Sounds great. Now to get my Mac Pro to actually accept another OS X update, because 10.13.3 refused to install.