Apple announces macOS 11, “Big Sur,” with an emphasis on design

The next big version of macOS has been announced at WWDC.

Ron Amadeo – Jun 22, 2020 2:09 pm | 160

Credit: Apple

It’s WWDC, and today Apple is announcing the next big version of macOS “Big Sur,” which, after 15 versions of “OS 10.x,” is actually version 11! Big Sur, like the previous versions, is named after a region in California.

Apple says Big Sur comes with an “entirely new interface” with “refinements in buttons and controls” and a new unified icon set. Finder and most other apps feature a more transparent, top-to-bottom sidebar with an all-white (or all-dark) main section to the right. Toolbars have been redesigned, with the big gray window topper of previous versions getting the boot.

Control Center has arrived on the Mac, too. Clicking on the toolbar by the time will bring it up, just like the notification panel. Inside, you’ll find sliders for the volume and display brightness, along with other power controls and media playback. You can drag controls into the status bar for quick access. Widgets have been reworked with a gallery display view, and you can easily drag them into the side widget bar.

Lots of apps get a sprinkling of new features, along with a new coat of paint. Messages on the Mac now has a search feature and a redesigned photo picker, and you can create memoji right on your computer. Maps has been redesigned with quick access to favorites like “Home” and “Work.” The desktop gets feature parity with the iOS app, with access to indoor maps and ETA locations from friends.

Safari is getting the “biggest update since it was introduced.” Apple says it loads pages 50 percent faster than Chrome. A new “Privacy report” button on the toolbar will provide info on website tracking. Extensions get permissions for each website, and the browser now features native translations. There’s a new safari home screen with a pickable wallpaper and customizable content sections. Tabs now get favicons and will show thumbnails when you hover over them.

The biggest Mac news of the day is Apple’s transition from Intel X86 chips to its own ARM silicon. Big Sur plays a major role in this transition with native ARM support for all first-party apps, a “Rosetta 2” emulator that will let x86 apps run on ARM, a new version of Xcode with ARM support, and support for the new “Universal 2” binary, which lets an app support both x86 and ARM. You can read more in our standalone article.

Apple didn’t announce any new huge macOS features—the update appears to focus on interface updates and modernizing macOS’ visual design elements. The developer preview for macOS Big Sur is out today, with a public beta starting next month.