At the Apple “One More Thing” event, the company officially announced that it will release the macOS Big Sur on November 12. True to its words, the macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 (20B29) is now official and open for download. The recently released Apple Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro that uses the new M1 chip come with the new macOS Big Sur out-of-the-box. Apple said that it has specifically optimized macOS Big Sur to run on these new ARM-based systems. It will provide a major feature not available on the Intel version: the ability to run iOS and iPadOS App.
Many first-party Apple apps have also been improved and overhauled.
- Safari is faster and more battery efficient
- Messages now support effects, @mentions, inline replies, etc
- Maps support “look around”, indoor maps, and “guides”
- Photos have expanded editing features
- Apple Music includes a new “Listen now” section
Apple macOS Big Sur succinct details
According to Apple’s official website, macOS Big Sur brings the combination of power, strength, and beautiful appearance to a new level. The carefully crafted new design allows you to fully experience the charm of the Mac. The Safari browser ushers in a major update while the map app and information app boasts of new functions. Overall, you have more system transparency and protection.
The new macOS Big Sur update can be downloaded on all eligible Macs using the software update section of the system preferences. Like all Mac updates, macOS Big Sur is a free download. It can also be found in the Mac App Store, which is another way to initiate the update.
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Apple calls this system its biggest design update of macOS since the launch of Mac OS X. This includes completely changing the curvature of the window corners and the Dock icon design.
Other changes include lighter windows and more translucency, a more translucent Dock, a new uniform square shape of application icons, reworked system sounds, and more.
There is also a refreshed menu bar to access the customizable control center, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and AirDrop control, keyboard brightness, do not disturb mode, dark mode, volume level, etc. Similarly, the notification center has also been redesigned, with more interactive notification groupings based on apps and iOS style widgets, with three different sizes of customization.
Apple M1 chip deeply integrates with macOS Big Sur
With macOS Big Sur and the M1 chip, the number of apps that Mac users can use has greatly increased. All Mac software developed by Apple now supports Universal and can run natively on the M1 system. Also, the various existing Mac apps, even if they have not been updated to Universal, can still run seamlessly through Apple’s Rosetta 2 technology. Furthermore, various apps on the iPhone and iPad can now run directly on Mac.
In addition, Big Sur’s infrastructure has also been optimized to unlock the power of the M1 chip. Developer technologies such as Metal for graphics processing tasks and Core ML for machine learning are now easier.
Complete list of Mac devices that can run macOS Big Sur
- MacBook (2015 and later models)
- MacBook Air (2013 and later models)
- MacBook-Pro (end of 2013 and later models)
- Mac mini (2014 and later models)
- iMac (2014 and later models)
- iMac Pro (2017 and later models, that is, all models)
- Mac Pro (2013 and later models)
Devices that can run macOS Catalina but cannot upgrade macOS Big Sur include MacBook Air (2012), MacBook Pro (mid-2012 and early 2013), Mac mini (2012 and 2013), and iMac devices (2012 and 2013).
