Apple on Monday previewed the latest version of macOS, entitled “Big Sur,” and cited it as the biggest update since Mac OS X oh so many years ago. The update offers a dramatic redesign, new features for Safari, updates to Messages, and other new features.
Starting off, Apple has described the new design as “spacious,” offering easier navigation while offering redesigned elements such as the curvature of window corners to the palette of colors and materials.
Dock icons have been redesigned to be more consistent with icons across Apple’s ecosystem, reducing visual complexity, and bringing users’ content front and center.
One major change is Control Center, which offers quick access to controls from the desktop. Notification Center has been redesigned to offer more interactive notifications and redesigned widgets in different sizes, making it more akin to the design of iOS 14.
Apple has announced that Safari will receive “the biggest update to Safari since its original launch in 2003.” Tabs have been redesigned to make navigating Safari faster, with favicons displayed by default so it’s easier to see where to click at a glance.
Upon opening Safari, users will be offered a new start page that can be customized with a background image as well as sections like a Reading List and iCloud tabs. Safari will offer built-in translation tools covering seven languages while browsing. Safari will also support a Privacy Report system that allows users to choose when and which websites a Safari extension can work with.
Apple’s Messages application will feature pinned conversations as well as a refined search function. Screen effects will be supported on macOS, and users will be able to create and customize their Memoji on a Mac. In conversations, there will be a new photo picker and #images support, making it possible to share GIFs on the macOS Messages app without a third-party app.
In addition, group messaging features will offer inline replies and @mentions, allowing users to directly address someone, or a specific text, amid a large group or long conversation. Users will also be able to set a photo or emoji for their group conversation that can function as their personal icon during the chat.
macOS Big Sur will be released this fall as a free update. It’s currently available to Apple Developer Program members as of today, and will be offered as a public beta come July.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors