Apple has n’t said when it will be here , but we cognise that the wait for Big Sur wo n’t be long now . So , in prep for its arrival , we have deal a smell at how macOS Big Sur is shape up . These are the Big Sur features we are most worked up about , and the ones we suppose might not be such a giving deal .
marvel when Big Sur will launch ? It ’s here now ! We have this scout tohow to install Big Sur , plus , if affair get really complicated though we also have : Fixes for Macs that wo n’t update macOS.Read ’s about thelatest version of Big Sur .
Note : citizenry have base that Big Sur can not be installed because they lack the required 35 GB costless quad to set up it ! say : Don’t bother trying to update to Big Sur if you have a 128 GB Mac .
Pro: We like the new look
The first thing you will remark when you start using Big Sur is the new look . Everything looks whiter and brighter ( unless of grade you are in Dark Mode , in which cause thing look saturnine ) . The edge of windows are more curved . The carte bars in app windows blend with the controls pleasingly for a simplified facial expression , and most notably there is no more grey . antecedently there was a pot of gray , which at one point in time in the story of macOS we believably cerebrate look modern and fashionable , but it just looks drab now .
Pro: Apple’s tidied up
talk of innovation changes – the Dock has been tidied up , with a more unvarying count to the icons that appear there . Prior to Big Sur the Dock was a real mishmash of square and circles and other frame , now every icon has a straight base with curved edge like in iOS . Beyond this most apps retain their common logo except for a notable few including the Mail app ( no longer the atrocious bird of Jove mold , now the common envelope ) , the Messages app ( now the same green icon with speech house of cards as on iOS ) , and the Music icon has adopt the same white note on a red background that is now on iOS ) . We bear to see Apple apps such as Pages , Numbers and Keynote , and other third - party apps to adopt raw icons to complement this tidier look .
Con: Control Centre is nice, but do we really need it?
Apple ’s borrowed from iOS for this redesign , but it has n’t stopped there . One of the biggest interface changes in macOS Big Sur is the arrival of Control Centre , which is access by get across on the new electrical switch icon in the fare ginmill beside the clock .
On the iPhone and iPad Control Centre is the home of shortcuts to puppet that would commonly be hidden away in preferences . As on the iPhone Control Centre on the Mac cede the user access to the affair you need most often , such as Wi - Fi , Bluetooth , brightness and sound . As on the iPhone you could also add extra cutoff to Control Centre . you could also drag them out of Control Centre to place them back on the Menu Bar ( which is good news if you find that using Control Centre really think of you have more gradation to make the adjustment you used to make via the menu streak ) .
That ’s our primary criticism of Control Centre – many of the cock used to be accessed directly from the carte bar – such as the AirPlay Display lineament and Bluetooth . It ’s not as if there is n’t way for them there so tidy up them away into a separate window does n’t really make a lot of mother wit to us .
These interface and design changes do feel like Apple has had a bit of a tidy up rather than add anything ground breaking . Control Centre is the closest we get to a standout feature of speech , but it is no equivalent to Desktop Stacks or Dark Mode ( introduced in Mojave ) or Handoff ( introduced in Yosemite ) .
Pro: Notification Centre’s been overhauled
With the arrival of the icon for Control Centre we say goodby to the Notification Centre picture . If you detect Notification Centre useful fear not – Notification Centre now appears when you fall into place on the clock . We say if you observe Notification Centre useful because up until now it ’s been debatable whether it was useful at all to have a long list of things badgering you and demanding your attention ( just me ? )
The good news is Apple ’s given Notification Centre a scrap of an overhaul the result of which should be a more utilitarian prick . Notifications will be group together by app rather than being chronological , so that you do n’t have to wade through heaps of notification in lookup of the one you are looking for .
Pro: Widgets 2.0
Perhaps the best thing about the new Notification Centre is the greening of widgets . Widgets are n’t new to the Mac – in Catalina and earlier you could find then in the Today section of Notification Centre and a foresighted time ago they were part of Dashboard – but in Big Sur widgets will appear alongside your notice .
On a Mac you could already select various widgets to appear such as Calendar , Stocks and Weather but there are embarrassingly few option as you will see if you confab the Notification Centre Widgets section of the Mac App Store . The unification of gadget on Mac , iPhone and iPad should mean that there are many more widgets to prefer from .
One disadvantage of doodad on the Mac compared to widgets in iOS is that you ca n’t trap them to your screen door in the same way as you could trap them to your Home screen on your iPhone or iPad .
Read and how to use them here
Con: Maps doesn’t have a natural location on the Mac
Maps is one Mac app that feels out of office on a machine that run to be leave on your desk or pen up up in your bag , but Maps has been on the Mac since Mavericks launched in 2013 and in Big Sur Apple has given it some attention .
New inMapsare indoor map of drome and shopping middle , and a new expect Around feature with 360 - degree views of locations . The estimate is probably that you might want to sit at your desk and plan a trip somewhere , peradventure pinpointing the eatery you want to eat at and the properties you want to see . We just do n’t believe mass utilise the Maps app on their Mac and we do n’t imagine these new feature will really make a big remainder to our experience of Big Sur .
Pro: Messages is catching up with Messages
As with Maps , Messages is an app that came to the Mac from the iPhone ( although you could contend that message began life as iChat on the Mac ) . The Mac and iOS Messages apps are moderately much join at the hip , so you might intend that when new feature arrive in Messages on iOS they will also appear on macOS . in reality , that is n’t always the case , prior to Big Sur Mac users were unable to create Memoji , they could n’t attach fun animations to message ( such as balloon or lasers ) , and they did n’t have access to the Gif and # Image library . Those skip have been addressed in Big Sur .
In addition themacOS translation of Messagesgets the handy new pin feature that arrived in iOS Messages and mean you may immobilize conversations with your favourite groups and individual to make them easier to get at . You ’ll also be able to direct a response in a mathematical group chat to an individual and secrecy distracting group conversation .
Pro: Better battery information
Apple ’s expanding the information you may see about your bombardment with a new Battery section in System Preferences that is remindful of the Battery plane section in options on iOS . Here you ’ll find data bear on to the last 24 hours and also the last 10 days . You ’ll see the times when your usage was most gamey .
you’re able to also lay out when you want your concealment to turn off while idle , dress the concealment to automatically blind when on battery power and ferment the Power Nap have on or off .
Unlike Io it does n’t seem to give youbattery usageby app datum – but theoretically this information can be gleaned from Activity Monitor so we would expect it to be made uncommitted finally .
Another battery related variety in Big Sur is a newfangled optimized charging feature that is designed to extend assault and battery life . Apple says it ’s Optimized Battery Charging feature will learn your daily charging routine so it will be able-bodied to predict when your Mac will be connected to a charger for long enough to full bill . This should avoid a scenario where the laptop computer does n’t get to the full charged before being unplugged again , meaning that it does n’t get a full bicycle .
Cons: Yet more security and privacy features
There are the common flock of newsecurityandprivacyfeatures in Big Sur . We ’re being a scrap unjust by list them as a con here , because they are all good and prescribed additions to your Mac . It ’s just a bit pesky to have the constant onslaught of windows confirming you want this and that to bechance . In fact we ’ve got so used to just clicking yes that one twenty-four hour period we will probably end up agree to something we do n’t desire to pass off …
You will belike encounter most of these raw privacy related features when using Safari . Safari 14 is n’t actually limited to Big Sur – you may set up Safari 14 on Catalina and Mojave too . That ’s one reason why Safari is n’t included as a professional in this round up of the pros and con of Big Sur – Safari 14 is not raw in Big Sur .
The fresh privacy related features in Safari are good though . There is a new Privacy Report button that will give you a sum-up of the websites that have been arrest tracking you . They will automatically have been blocked from doing so . That ’s skilful or bad bet on your stance . Advertisers are up in weaponry of course ( as are sites that rely on their money ) .
Verdict
Do n’t get us incorrect with all these cons – we think that macOS 11 bounteous Sur is really get going to improve our Mac experience when the net version arrives . The irritation are far outweighed by the improvements that are coming and the fresh looking ( which we love ) .
But we just palpate that this sentence around there is n’t anything to make us stop in our tracks . It ’s a tidy up and a spring clean rather than a blade new macOS . The real changes are happening under the thug and until we get theSilicon Macswe wo n’t really profit from them .
Ready to update ? Read : How to update to Big Sur from Catalina , still not decided ? Read : How macOS Big Sur compares to Catalina .
