macOS reimagined and redesigned
An exception to this was the Developer Transition Kit, which always reported the system version as '11.0'. MacOS Big Sur started reporting the system version as '11.0' on all Macs as of the third beta release. To maintain backwards compatibility, macOS Big Sur identifies itself as 10.16 to software and in the browser user agent. Jun 22, 2020 In the System Preferences menu in the first developer beta of macOS Big Sur, the software update is listed as version 11.0. Assuming nothing changes between now and the public release of macOS Big. Unless you downloaded the initial release of El Capitan (10.11) and saved the Install OS X El Capitan.app file, you won't be able to download it from Apple. All that is available is the current version 10.11.1.
The 17th release of the Apple Operating System, Big Sur is packed-full of changes and new additions. The various menu changes make it feel smoother and more efficient, and the additional customization options offer a more user-friendly system. A new design refresh, the introduction of a new Control Center, as well as various improvements to Safari, is set to greatly improve the overall experience from a usability standpoint.
New system features
Most noticeable are the new system sounds, from a chime when you boot up your computer and file transfer pings to noise alerts for trashing and locking files. Along with that, the overall interface has also been refined. Sidebars are now full height, the menu bar has been updated to offer wider spacing, the toolbars are remarkably more space-efficient, and they boast a translucent look instead of just a plain white.
Along with these tweaks, your new Control Center is convenient as it places your controls in one place, making it easy to adjust settings when needed. There’s also an updated notification center that brings all your widgets and notifications in one area. Of course, many different useful widgets have been improved as well. Finally, Big Sur boasts a great ‘edit view’ where you can add all sorts of widgets on your screen, and customize them to your liking.
Safari Browser
Safari Browser has seen some changes owing to the system update too. Apple has introduced extensions that let it compete more effectively with Google Chrome. You can also convert your Chrome extensions to your Mac Safari Browser. The search engine also has new website previews that appear when you go over a tab.
Technicalities
This OS update is available for free for your Mac. We find that it’s a big improvement on the Catalina update. It’s a 12.6 GB download, so be prepared to wait for some update time. After installing, you may find that some mentioned features are not available.
Our take
We’re big fans of the update. We love that Apple is catering to its users by providing more advanced customizations. The new features are keeping them relevant and make for a much better user experience.
Should you download it?
Yes, as soon as you can. This Mac update is full of system change goodness that every user will appreciate.
Highs
- Improved notification center
- Safari extensions
macOS Big Surfor Mac
11.0.1
The era of Mac OS X is over. Kind of.
For the first time in almost two decades, Apple has decided to bump up the version number of the Mac’s operating system. The change is meant to call attention to both the pending Apple Silicon transition—Big Sur will be the first macOS version to run on Apple’s own chips, even if it’s not the first to require those chips—and to an iPad-flavored redesign that significantly overhauls the look, feel, and sound of the operating system for the first time in a long while. Even the post-iOS-7 Yosemite update took pains to keep most things in the same place as it changed their look.
But unlike the jump from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X, where Apple swept away almost every aspect of its previous operating system and built a new one from the foundation up, macOS 11 is still fundamentally macOS 10. Early betas were even labeled as macOS 10.16, and Big Sur can still identify itself as version 10.16 to some older software in order to preserve compatibility. Almost everything will still work the same way—or, at least, Big Sur doesn’t break most software any more than older macOS 10 updates did. It may even be a bit less disruptive than Catalina was. This ought to be a smooth transition, most of the time.
Apple Mac Os 11
We won’t be making any major changes to how we approach this review, either. We’ll cover the operating system’s new look and new features—the things that any Big Sur Mac will be able to do, regardless of whether it’s running on an Intel or an Apple Silicon Mac. To the extent that it’s possible to do without final hardware in-hand, we’ll cover the new macOS features that will be native to Apple Silicon Macs and outline how the software side of the transition will go.