Best MacOS Big Sur Features (so Far)
While “macOS Sausalito” may slip off the tongue, Big Sur is a California landmark introducing a big update to Apple’s operating system this year. And what an update it is. If you hate how iOS or iPadOS looks, I have some real bad news about macOS. You can sit down.
As I wrote in my notes during Apple’s keynote speech at WWDC 2020, “It all feels like a merging of macOS and iOS / iPadOS,” because, well, Apple has turned heavily towards a more mobile design for macOS Big Sur. And while Apple backers will quickly defend the substantial differences between the desktop operating system and the operating system of your phone or tablet, I think the average person will now feel much better – at least with the basics – when they ditch their iPhone or iPad. and turn them on Mac.
I mean, just look at this:
The similarities go deeper than design. The control center you love to play with on your iPhone or iPad? It will appear on your Mac. Widgets ? Yeah. One grouped notification center to keep track of all your updates? Mm-hmm. Any message conversation updates that iOS users will receive? Obviously. Memoji creation and editing? Oh yeah. How to add to favorites on Maps? Why this has not happened yet, I will never know.
Speaking of messages …
Just in case you’re not in the mood to see Apple’s messaging updates for iOS and iPadOS, here’s what you’ll find in macOS Big Sur. First, you’ll be able to pin conversations at the top of the Messages app to better keep track of your most important chats by letting others disappear at the bottom of the page (if you’re that popular). You can also reply to individual messages online and ping others in a group conversation by entering their names. Participant icons in your conversation will appear at the top of the message, and large images will indicate those who spoke the most. You will also be able to assign a generic image to each conversation to help you better monitor your busy social life.
As already mentioned, macOS finally has Memoji, that is, creating and editing them. I understand why Apple didn’t add this to earlier versions of the operating system (sell more. IPhone.), So it’s nice to see it finally hitting desktops and laptops. Oh yeah, you now have access to message effects too, so you can SLOT anything you say to your friends.
Where the hell are my friends?
The Maps app for macOS is finally getting the same TLC as its iOS / iPadOS version. In addition to all the enhancements Apple has announced for iOS / iPadOS 14, including new routing capabilities for cyclist and electric car drivers, Maps users will be able to create lists of favorite places to visit. And if it’s too difficult, you can browse the travel guides wherever you are (or wherever you want to visit).
MacOS Big Sur users also have access to internal Maps for the locations that support them, as well as iOS / iPadOS ‘Look Around’, which is best summed up in three words: Google Street View.
One feature that I especially love is that you can now see the location of your friends if they give you their estimated arrival time while they are on the go. This is incredibly useful if, say, your spouse is walking home from the store while you finish work. Instead of lugging another check-in device with you, you can see where they are on your desktop or laptop. Light.
Safari extensions become even more privacy-focused
Extensions in Safari? Nothing new . However, now you can look for expansion for its browser in a special category of Mac App Store – because you are using a Mac App Store, right? (I’m only kidding because the Mac App Store has always seemed like Apple’s forgotten battleground.)
More importantly, you will now be prompted to enable extensions for each site, which is a great solution from Apple to ensure that more schematic extensions cannot handle more data than they should. You can also limit extensions to “day pass” when you visit sites – so, in essence, you can control how and when extensions can be active in Safari.
Beyond that, Safari gets some much-needed tweaks that bring it closer to the competition: better tab management (including icons to visually represent the websites you open), page preview on hover over tabs, and – Edge Chromium damn it – a customizable start page. which you can provide with any background image you want, in addition to content sections (such as a reading list).
And that’s not all. Safari also gets its own translation feature that automatically marks when a website has content that isn’t in the language you speak (in one of seven supported languages it works with at launch). Press a button and the site you are viewing is instantly converted to your preferred language.
Learn more about what apps want from you
As of iOS 14, the Mac App Store will now display small blocks of functionality on each app’s product page to inform you what data they want from you and what other third-party services might have access to that data. While this may not prevent you from installing the said application, it will at least make you wonder if the application you are looking at is really what you really need, or perhaps a data collector hidden behind a so-so product.
And it’s all! To be honest, macOS Big Sur looks more like a graphical reimagining than anything else, and that’s okay. Apparently Apple is trying to integrate the features (and UI elements) that you love on your iPhone or iPad directly into your Mac, because someday an app will become an app and you will be able to use it. on any Apple device you own and enjoy the same look, feel, and experience. (And of course, you will buy this app from one app store that you will use to manage all your purchases, subscriptions, add-ons, etc.)
Or will it be the other way around?