Apple macOS Big Sur brings fresh coat of paint, refines desktop experience

Apple's macOS Big Sur or macOS 11 is being touted by the company as its most significant redesign since OS X came out nearly 20 years ago. Announced at WWDC 2020, we get a glimpse at the future of macOS. It seems the company is pushing to unify the design language across its platforms further, and in some ways, seems to be blurring that line further as The Verge mentions.

While the biggest Mac news is that the company will move away from Intel processors with future machines shifting towards the Apple Silicon, we also need to talk about the changes coming to macOS Big Sur, which we will summarize under the cut.

Safari gets a significant update with features like a new privacy report button and extensions support. The new privacy button shows you how sites try to track your activity. The web browser can now monitor your saved passwords to ensure these aren't compromised in security breaches. And it is also getting extensions, with the added feature of allowing you to customize which sites and times these extensions can be used instead of being "on" all the time you surf the net. The built-in browser is getting a customizable start page, redesigned tabs, and native translation capabilities we've seen on iOS 14, too.

Messages on Mac is getting some iOS 14 features, too, like the ability to pin conversations and the other group enhancements. On top of that, there is a more "powerful" search and redesigned photo picker.

The Maps app also gets refreshed with the addition of new iOS 14 features and easier access to your favourites. You can even make guides for places you want to visit and check on friends who've shared their location with you.

Apple redesigns the Dock with new icons, introduces new sidebar design, and a more compact, space-efficient toolbar. Icons and selection tools look more rounded, and the menu bar is also now translucent and reflects the colour of your wallpaper.

The Control Center is also now available on the Mac with all your controls accessible there. And the Notification Center gets a revamp too with all the notifications and new widgets available there. macOS Big Sur will group related notifications, so you can swipe those away altogether if you want. If it seems familiar, well, it looks a lot like iOS notifications.

macOS Big Sur is now available as a developer beta and will be available for public beta in July before it becomes widely available as a free update sometime in the fall. And if you want to test it out, these Mac models support the update: 

• MacBook, 2015 and later
• MacBook Air, 2013 and later
• MacBook Pro, late 2013 and later
• Mac Mini, 2014 and later
• iMac, 2014 and later
• iMac Pro (all models), 2017 and later
• Mac Pro, 2013 and later

Source: CNET