As a Mac user, understanding differences between the Apple File System (APFS) and Mac OS Extended (also known as HFS+) can help you optimize performance and compatibility. Apple‘s newer APFS brings speed enhancements for modern solid state storage. But HFS+ enjoys excellent backwards support across macOS versions.
This article explains APFS vs HFS+ in depth so you can determine the right file system for your needs. Let‘s dive in!
A Brief History
First some background on how APFS and HFS+ emerged:
HFS+ dates back over 20 years, introducing key improvements over the original Hierarchical File System (HFS) in terms of stability and data integrity…
APFS is Apple‘s next-gen file system launched in 2017 to unlock modern hardware capabilities like flash storage and multi-core CPUs…
While APFS brings many benefits, HFS+ enjoys excellent compatibility with older Mac systems…
Key Differences Between the File Systems
With the context set, let‘s compare some fundamental differences between APFS and HFS+:
Read/Write Speed Performance
Extensive benchmarks reveal significant speed advantages with APFS over HFS+, especially on solid state drives. For instance…
The performance optimizations are very apparent during everyday workloads like copying files or saving workflow states on APFS…
Time Machine Backup Support
The two file systems differ in their backup support on certain macOS versions:
- On macOS Catalina and older, only HFS+ volumes are compatible with Time Machine
- macOS Big Sur supports Time Machine on both HFS+ and APFS drives, but prefers APFS…
This means you may need to stick with HFS+ for full compatibility if running older MacOS releases…
Snapshot, Cloning and Data Recovery
APFS brings built-in support for extremely handy data recovery capabilities:
- Snapshots: Allow capturing complete state of an APFS drive at any point in time…
- Cloning: Instantly duplicate files, folders or entire volumes without using extra space…
Meanwhile HFS+ lacks native snapshot or cloning features. So you‘d need third-party tools to replicate the functionality…
Metadata Efficiency and Reliability
Under the hood, APFS uses advanced data structures, copy-on-write, duplication avoidance, crash protection, atomic safe-save and more to optimize storage usage…
HFS+ utilizes dated approaches in contrast, leading to slower operations and higher risk of errors or corruption…
APFS vs HFS+ Capability Overview
| Capability | APFS | HFS+ |
|---|---|---|
| Speed with solid state storage | Excellent | Average |
| Time Machine backup support | macOS Big Sur onwards | Only on macOS Catalina and below |
| Snapshots for backups | Native support | Requires third-party tools |
| Data recovery mechanisms | Copy-on-write + Journaling | Journaling only |
| Cross-platform access | Limited | Broad support |
…And more differences covered earlier
When Should You Use APFS vs Mac OS Extended?
Based on the technical capabilities explained so far, here are some guidelines on choosing between APFS and HFS+:
Use Cases Where APFS Excels
- For SSD-based internal and external storage
- To leverage Apple snapshots for quick backups
- For full-disk encryption needs
- With the latest macOS releases like Big Sur and Monterey
- Where maximum space efficiency is desired
Use Cases Where HFS+ Still Works Best
- For rotational hard disk drives
- For Time Machine compatibility under macOS Catalina
- To enable access from other non-Apple platforms
- On older Mac systems running previous macOS versions
- Where stability is more important than peak speed
In many cases, you can use APFS as your primary working file system for performance while maintaining shared HFS+ archives for backward-compatibility…
Migrating from HFS+ to APFS
If after assessing your needs APFS seems suitable, here are some tips to help transition from HFS+:
- Back up existing data before converting file systems
- Choose a less risky timeframe when business impact is minimal
- Verify results by monitoring benchmark numbers before and after
- Enable TRIM if running third-party SSDs to fully exploit APFS speed
With proper planning, you can migrate HFS+ setups to APFS in a smooth fashion.
Key Takeaways: Choosing Your File System
- APFS brings optimized speed by fully leveraging modern hardware
- HFS+ maintains excellent backwards compatibility with old systems
- macOS version support for features like Time Machine varies
- Evaluate technical capabilities against your specific requirements
- Follow best practices to safely transition eligible systems to APFS
Understanding these file system differences allows making the right pick between blazing fast APFS or versatile HFS+ for your exact needs!
