Mac OS Big Sur First Look!
Apple recently launched the next version of their Mac OS this month — MacOS Big Sur. As of now, the OS is still a developer beta and I took the step to install it on my personal MacBook Pro 13” 2017. I’d say, the built is not that bad overall but would be better if you don’t install it on your main device (don’t do what I did). I only had one device to test and post install a few things stopped working — as expected.
Let’s dive into some details:
New Look and Feel:
Mac OS looked similar in the last few years dating all the way back to Mac OS Yosemite (2014) but this year things are finally different. Almost, everything we look at is “new”. Starting from the top bar being translucent to a new sidebar (for apps like Safari, finder, etc) and from new icons to subtle sounds. The stock icons including the dock design are brand new. Gone are the round icons and this year we have all new square icons with a rounded edge, similar to what we have on the iPhone and iPad. During my initial testing, I was not able to find any design que of the last OS version.
New notifications and widgets:
The new way notifications are presented is better than what we had in the past, notifications like messages allow us to directly interact with them. If ignored, all the notifications go to today’s view/notification view which is accessible from top right (clicking on the clock). Notifications are now finally grouped together and on click can be expanded. Additionally, widgets are also improved. In the past when we only had one size for widgets, now we have three sizes and they can also be mixed/matched the way you like. Apple hasn’t ignored any visual element, even the popups have a new and more rounded look. The design language expands to all menus and drop down’s, you can’t miss the million design changes Apple has brought in the new Big Sur.
Control Center:
Apple also launched a new iPad like control center for the Mac. When I came to think about it, it wasn’t required. There are sliders for things like brightness. Volume for which we already had Touch Bar or function keys. All the buttons have become larger as if they were made for a touch screen. Maybe like all Apple features people would get used to it and then it would be hard for anyone to use a Mac without a control center, only time will tell.
Sounds:
All the actions we take in the OS have a new sound. This was not called out in the keynote, but I straight away noticed it when I first installed the beta. Sounds like, error tone, deleting something, emptying the recycle bin, etc. all have a unique satisfying tone to it.
Inbuilt Apps:
Inbuilt Mac OS apps like messages are getting a lot of iOS 14 features which makes a consistent experience for its users. You’d feel like home when judging between devices. New Safari looks a lot better and allows you to change the background of the default page. Apple is going big on privacy and there is a new icon in Safari which gives you a privacy report. Once clicked, it shows what all trackers are being blocked by Safari. In just a couple hours of using it, I was able to block over 100 trackers which I wasn’t aware of. But, I think Apple needs to improve this as from the last two days I’m seeing exactly the same Ads on YouTube. I think Google is thinking that my profile matches the Ads but it doesn’t know that I’ve already seen/skipped it in the past.
Device used for testing: MacBook Pro 13” 2017
