Apple macOS Gets Biggest Redesign In Decade + Other Key Features Of Big Sur
Video screenshot via Apple
It doesn’t seem that long ago when Apple unveiled a system-wide dark theme and everyone went crazy, but it’s already been two years since the release of macOS 10.14 Mojave. 2019’s update, macOS 10.15 Catalina, saw the introduction of cross-platform app compatibility and the ability to use the iPad as a second screen.
The greatest change to the Mac operating system in years, though, is Big Sur (macOS 11.0), which sports a full redesign as well as immersive improvements to core apps like Safari and Messages. Yes, Sur-ree.
Interface makeover
Image via Apple
Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, described the clean new macOS as the operating system’s “biggest update to design in more than a decade.”
While users will notice the interface looks starkly different from previous versions, it remains familiarity as it takes on aesthetics of iOS to minimize visual complexity. A revamp in iconography creates more consistency across the Apple ecosystem, while maintaining the “Mac personality.”
Overall, the UI introduces “depth, shading, and translucency” to “rich” and “vibrant” elements for “hierarchy,” according to Alan Dye, vice president of Human Interface at Apple.
Image via Apple
The Dock appears to be floating, and menus look more polished. To remove clutter, buttons vanish when unused.
Image via Apple
The menu bar introduces an all-new Control Center that lets you easily navigate important controls like brightness levels, volume, and network connectivity, much like the feature found in iPhones.
Image via Apple
Refreshed Messages app
Image via Apple
Aside from the design overhaul, Apple has made a long-overdue update to Mac’s outdated Messages app in line with the look and feel of the iOS version. The chat tool also features an improved search and redesigned photo picker for sharing images, GIFs, and videos.
New and improved Safari that’s “faster” than Chrome
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Mac users who swear by Google Chrome might wish to give Apple’s default Safari browser another chance, as the slick new version boasts loading speeds averaging to be “50-percent faster than Chrome” when tested with “frequently-visited sites.”
Image via Apple
Along with the efficiency boost, Safari comes with useful redesigned tabs that allow more tabs to be displayed, as well as offer previews of webpages when you hover over them.
Users will also be able to customize their start pages with background images and content sections.
Image via Apple
An especially welcoming addition is the Privacy toolbar button, which promises more visibility by providing a full privacy report and revealing web trackers.
For a crash course on the latest changes to macOS, MacWorld has whittled down pointers from the WWDC 2020 keynote into a nine-minute video. Find out more about macOS Big Sur below.
[via MacWorld, images via Apple]
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