When you update to iOS 10.3, your iOS device will update its file system to Apple File System (APFS). This conversion preserves existing data on your device. However, as with any software update, it is recommended that you create a backup of your device before updating.A problem with HFS+ (aside from being old) was its tendency to duplicate files and information. Rather than ‘remember’ where a file was located and simply access it, HFS+ sometimes created two copies. Like the North, APFS remembers, and is clever enough to take new data written to a file and store it separately rather than duplicate the original via ‘cloning.’ Cloning allows a file to save often, and changes are represented as deltas of the original. If you were working on a presentation slide, the original would be the main file. Subsequent unsaved changes, like text blocks or images, would appreciate complimentary to the main file until it’s all saved. The new, saved slide, with all the added text, then becomes the original. APFS does this so changes aren’t lost, which is especially handy for collaboration. Pages has a beta feature for collaborative editing, which will be best served with APFS. Rather than have disparate copies of files floating around, everyone can work from the same template, and changes are recorded instantly until saved. [caption id="attachment_139213" align="aligncenter" width="1783"] Apple WWDC 2016[/caption]
Apple's Flashy New File System Coming Soon
[caption id="attachment_139520" align="aligncenter" width="2989"] Apple Platforms[/caption] Apple’s new file system, APFS, is coming to iPhones much sooner than expected. With a beta release of iOS 10.3, Apple is changing how its storage works. But what does that mean for us? APFS (acronymous for Apple File System; no, we don’t know where the rogue ‘P’ comes from, either) offers an upgrade over the existing standard, HFS+. That system is over 30 years old, and while it’s been updated over time... it’s old. The new file system isn’t optional, either. In the release notes for iOS 10.3 beta, Apple encourages backups lest you want to lose data: