What Is MacOS BigSur?
MacOS Big Sur is the 17th and current major release of macOS, Apple Inc.’s operating system for Macintosh computers. The successor to MacOS, was announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 22, 2020, and was released to the public on November 12, 2020.
MacOS Big Sur brings a major user interface redesign. It is also the first MacOS version to support Macs with ARM-based processors. The operating system is named after the coastal region of Big Sur in the Central Coast of California.
What makes MacOS Big Sur unique?
According to Apple macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. Experience Mac to the fullest with a refined new design and interface. Also find the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages and get even more transparency around your privacy. Here are the following features that you will find in macOS Big Sur:
Refreshed Design
The user interface has a refreshed design described by Apple as the biggest change since the introduction of Mac OS X. Its changes include translucency in various places and a new color palette. All standard apps, as well as the Dock and the Menu Bar, are redesigned and streamlined, and their icons now have rounded-square shapes like iOS and iPadOS apps.
The new OS also brings further integration with Apple’s SF Symbols, enabling easier use by third-party developers as UI elements for their applications through AppKit, SwiftUI, and Catalyst, which makes it possible to unify third party applications with the existing Apple-made design language.
Control Centre Interface
An interface with quick toggles for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, screen brightness and system volume has been added to the menu bar. This interface is functionally and visually similar to Control Center on iOS and iPadOS.
Notification Center
The Notification Center is redesigned, featuring interactive notifications and a transparent user interface. Notification Center also features a new widget system similar to that in iOS 14, displaying more information with more customization than previously available.
Support for Apple-designed processors
MacOS Big Sur is the first release of macOS for Macs powered by Apple-designed ARM64-based processors, a key part of the transition from Intel x86-64-based processors. Apple announced the first Mac Apple silicon chip, the Apple M1, in the Late 2020 Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro.
Apple has said that it will support Intel Macs “for years to come”, and most software that has not been ported to run on ARM Macs can use Rosetta 2, an update of a compatibility mechanism developed for the PowerPC-to-Intel x86 transition.
Support for iOS and iPadOS applications
On Macs based on Apple silicon, MacOS Big Sur will run iOS and iPadOS applications natively and without any modifications needed from developers. The first Macs that able to do this are the late 2020 MacBook Air M1, the 2020 Mac Mini, and the late 2020 MacBook Pro M1
The system volume: The system volume is cryptographically signed to prevent tampering. This includes adding an SHA-256 hash for every file on the system volume.
Software updates: Software updates can begin in the background before a restart, thus requiring less downtime to complete. Because system files are cryptographically signed, the update software can rely on them being in precise locations, thus permitting them to be effectively updated in place.
Spotlight File System: Spotlight, the file system indexing-and-search mechanism introduced in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, is faster and the interface has been refined. Spotlight is now the default search mechanism in Safari, Pages, and Keynote.
Time Machine: Time Machine, the backup mechanism introduced in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, can now back up to APFS-formatted drives, which Apple says enables faster, more compact, and more reliable backups.
Supports Encryption: MacOS Big Sur supports encryption at the file level. The prior version of macOS supported encryption only at the level of entire volumes.
Safari Update
Big Sur includes Safari 14, released for macOS Catalina and macOS Mojave on September 16, 2020. Safari 14 includes:
- a new customizable start page
- improved tab design
- built-in web page translation in English, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Chinese and Portuguese. The feature is currently in beta and will not be available in macOS Catalina and Mojave.
- new privacy features such as “Privacy Report”
- password monitoring, which notifies the user of compromised passwords
- better performance and power efficiency
- extension privacy management
- support for WebExtensions API
- page previews
- importing passwords from Chrome
- support for 4K HDR content from Netflix on Macs with an Apple T2 chip
- support for VP9 decoding, allowing for playback of 4K and HDR content from YouTube
The new version of Safari also ends support for Adobe Flash Player.
Messages App
The Messages app was rewritten to be based upon Apple’s Catalyst technology. This enables the app to have feature parity with its iOS counterpart. Alongside a refined design, the messages app brings:
- Conversation pinning for up to nine conversations that sync across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.
- Message searching
- Name and photo sharing
- Group chat photo logos
- Mentioning individuals
- Replying inline
- Memoji stickers and editor
- A new photo picker
Mac App Store
There are refinements and new features of the Mac App Store which include:
- A section dedicated to the privacy information of an app
- A new Safari extensions category
- Third party Notification Center widgets
- Family sharing of app subscriptions
Also you will find bilingual dictionaries in French–German, Indonesian–English, Japanese–Simplified Chinese and Polish–English and better predictive input for Chinese and Japanese users. There are New fonts for Indian users
The “Now Playing” widget has been moved from the Notification Center to the Menu Bar
Podcasts “Listen Now” feature
FaceTime sign language prominence
Network Utility has been deprecated
macOS startup sound is enabled by default (it had been disabled by default in recent releases of macOS), and an option in System Preferences was added to enable or disable this functionality.
How to update to MacOSBigSur?
To update your MAC to MACOS Big Sur download the free MacOS Big sur app now
MacOS Big Sur supports most Mac models introduced in 2013 and later.
Before you upgrade, make a complete backup with Time Mac
If the installer needs more storage space to upgrade, you can free up space using tools that come with your Mac.hine, or store your files in iCloud.
If you’re using macOS Mojave or later, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Software Update. If you’re using an earlier macOS, use the App Store instead.
If upgrading from macOS Sierra or later, macOS Big Sur requires 35.5GB of available storage to upgrade. If upgrading from an earlier release, macOS Big Sur requires up to 44.5GB of available storage.
The compatible Mac devices for update to macOs Big Sur are:
MacBook Pro
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
- MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013)
MacBook Air
- MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
- MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, 2017)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015)
- MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014)
- MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2014)
- MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2013)
- MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2013)
MacBook
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
- MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
iMac and iMac Pro
iMac Pro (2017)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
- iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
- iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)
- iMac (21.5-inch, 2017)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)
- iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)
- iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014)
Mac mini
- Mac mini (M1, 2020)
- Mac mini (2018)
- Mac mini (Late 2014)
Mac Pro
Mac Pro (2019)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)