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Apple Seeds Second Beta of macOS Big Sur to Developers
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Apple today seeded the second beta of macOS Big Sur to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the first beta following the Worldwide Developers Conference.
![macOS-BS-Beta-1.jpg]()
The macOS Big Sur beta can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center and once the appropriate profile is installed, subsequent betas will be available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences.
As with all of the new betas, Apple recommends not installing macOS Big Sur on a primary machine because it is early release software and could have major bugs.
macOS Big Sur brings a refreshed design to the Mac operating system, overhauling the entire look from the curvature of the window corners to the dock icons to the system sounds.
Everything feels fresh but familiar, with a lighter and more modern appearance. There's a new customizable Control Center that mirrors the Control Center on iOS devices, putting key system controls right at your fingertips.
The Notification Center has been redesigned with iOS-style widgets that are available in multiple sizes, plus there are more interactive notifications that are now grouped by app to make it easier to see what's going on.
Safari is faster and more battery efficient, plus there's a new start page that can be customized with wallpapers and sections that include Reading List and iCloud Tabs, which makes Safari more tailored to your individual usage needs.
Tabs have been redesigned, there's a built-in language translation feature, and Chrome and Firefox Extensions can be ported to Safari. There's also an option to choose which sites an extension works with for greater privacy. Speaking of privacy, a new Privacy Report feature lets users know the trackers Safari is blocking when you visit websites.
Messages is now more similar to the Messages app on iOS with support for pinned conversations, mentions, inline replies, and Memoji creation, plus the built-in search feature has been overhauled to make it easier to find links, photos, and conversations in the app.
Apple redesigned the Maps app to add support for Look Around, indoor maps, and Guides, which are lists of notable attractions, restaurants, and more created by trusted sources. Maps can also be used to generate directions for cycling routes and electric vehicle trips that can be sent to iPhone, and shared ETA updates are now viewable on the Mac.
Photos has a better Retouch tool, Apple Music's For You section has been replaced with a Listen Now section, HomeKit Secure Video cameras support Face Recognition and Activity zones, and Siri can answer a wider range of questions than before.
In the future, the macOS Big Sur App Store will help users better understand privacy practices with clear info on the information that an app collects, and after installing macOS Big Sur, you'll see faster updates that begin in the background and then finish more quickly to make it easier to keep your Mac up to date.
For more on everything that's new in macOS Big Sur, make sure to check out our roundup.
Article Link: Apple Seeds Second Beta of macOS Big Sur to Developers
You forgot one of the biggest under the hood change.
The locked state of Big Sur.
Edit: Seems like I hit some nerves here.
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Is a known issue as per the release notes.
“
- The system ProductVersion is reported as 11.0 only on the Developer Transition Kit at this time. Existing Mac systems will temporarily report the value as 10.16.”
There’s a beta/updated version of DropBox that has been working seamlessly on beta 1. I believe it was easily accessible with some googling; it might be noted on DropBox’s forums or in a beta downloads portal.
Wondering if this will be offered as the first public beta, in a day or two.
You could gain some space on the MenuBar by switching to a 24h clock, not showing the month, you know the month, remove the volume MenuBar item, (I) don't see any purpose for that one.
And then something (Stupidity) you can't change, Microsoft Edge in the MenuBar, they should just call it Edge, makes a difference.
The reason people are seeing both 11 and 10.16 is because 11 shows on the DTK, and 10.16 shows on intel Macs. It will probably show as 11 for all when the golden master is released.
To be fair to Apple, you could just start using their tools, like combining some of these into the Control Center. And as for iStat, one of the features is to combine all of the reporting into one much smaller icon.
We want to see what changes were made (if any) since the Beta 1.
I don't use iStat. I also like having everything there rather than hiding it behind an extra click. I could always use Bulldozer or Bartender or whatever to hide some of my menubar icons, but at that point, they lose half their utility
Was there an issue? Mine seems to work ok. There was once were I think it crashed or something, reopened it and it's been fine as far as i can tell
WT...F
The first Screenshot shows my Updates are managed externally, whatever that means, I then changed it's behaviour, had to input my password to change it, then the next screenshot shows up...confused, before I changed it there was no Update.
![Screenshot 2020-07-07 at 19.44.32.png]( "Screenshot 2020-07-07 at 19.44.32.png")
![Screenshot 2020-07-07 at 19.44.52.png]( "Screenshot 2020-07-07 at 19.44.52.png")
The first Screenshot shows my Updates are managed externally, whatever that means, I then changed it's behaviour, had to input my password to change it, then the next screenshot shows up...confused, before I changed it there was no Update.
We're hoping that trend continues. Mojave was a fun beta to test through the Summer. Catalina was...not. With all the changes it will be interesting to track any changes to the UI beta-to-beta.
All Dev certificates will say that. Changing the behavior removes the ability to download dev updates.
Speak for yourself, with Covid-19 sometimes I'm not even sure what year it is anymore.
I'm getting the same error. Haven't found solution yet.
While System Preferences is open to the Software Update page, try hitting Cmd-R (refresh). The update appeared. 9.55 Gbyte. Thank heavens for 100 Mb/sec cable internet