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macOS 11 Big Sur is available for download. A little later than usual, Apple released its major annual update for macOS on Thursday night. One of the biggest innovations immediately catches the eye: Big Sur brings a new user interface reminiscent of iPadOS with rounded window corners and square app icons in the dock. Adopting the symbol language from iOS should provide greater clarity and make it easier to use, Apple’s chief software engineer explained in advance.
New features in the UI and Apple apps
The familiar control center from iOS finds its way to the Mac running macOS 11, as do the new widgets that Apple has now placed on a common platform across all systems and which can be found in the revised notification center.
Major Apple apps like Messages have been extensively revamped and are catching up with iMessage functionality on the iPhone and iPad. Reminders, voice memos and maps have also received new functions, but in Germany there is still no new map material from Apple. Additionally, the built-in Safari browser has been vastly improved, but Safari 14 is also available for macOS 10.15 and 10.14.
The radical cut – the end of 32-bit software – Apple made last year with macOS 10.15 Catalina. But macOS 11 also brings subtlety changes, most notably support for Apple’s ARM-based internal processors, but the operating system is still targeting Intel Macs. Big Sur’s system unit is now signed by Apple and therefore further isolated from changes. Bootable backups can currently only be created with manual solutions.
Tools like Little Snitch currently no longer see the traffic of some Apple apps and processes and can’t even block them. Kernel extensions that Apple has discontinued can only be installed by hand with some drawbacks. Early developers have already switched to Apple’s system extensions that don’t intervene deep into the system, including virtualizers like Parallels and VMware.
Which Macs Big Sur is running on
macOS 11 Big Sur works on MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Pro since 2013, on iMac and Mac mini since 2014 and on MacBook since 2015. MacBooks built in 2012 cannot install the update, this also applies to iMac and Mac minis built in 2012 and 2013. Professional users should check if their software is compatible before installation – especially with audio software, several vendors are not ready for Big Sur yet. macOS 11 can be obtained from the built-in software update or downloaded from the Mac App Store.
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