Given their very different structure, backups on APFS disks shouldn’t require routine maintenance. Checking and repair is performed using Disk Utility.
APFS
Analysis of the phases of backing up to APFS shows the many similarities with that to HFS+. Crucial differences arise from the use of snapshots as backups.
A blow-by-blow account of what happens when Time Machine in Big Sur performs an automated backup to an APFS volume.
How each of the three different backup schemes used by Time Machine has worked, and how snapshots can work as backups.
What tells me that macOS isn’t about to be swallowed up into iOS? Look at what’s happened with Time Machine in Big Sur, which has undergone as much development as it did prior to release in 2007.
How Time Machine has changed since it appeared in 2007, and how backing up to APFS volumes is different now it’s available in Big Sur.
APFS is almost 4 years old, and set out to solve the problem of accumulation of minor errors which has plagued HFS+. Has it?
Detailed account of disk, volume and folder layouts on Big Sur’s boot disks, complete with roadmaps which are downloadable as PDFs.
Boot disk volume layout is intricate in Big Sur. M1 Macs lose the EFI partition on their internal SSDs and gain two more for APFS. Contents of /System/Volumes has also changed.
Diagrams of the layout of volumes on boot disks for macOS 10.13 to 11, covering both Intel and M1 models.
The Eclectic Light Company 