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macOS Big Sur Features: Everything New in Today's Release

I tried to screen record for the first time last night. Currently running Catalina. Apparently, internal mic recording isn’t available on Catalina. Is it available in Big Sur?
 
So should I upgrade straight from catalina, or do a complete fresh install to destroy all traces of the abomination of the previous Mac OS ?
 
csalm87 said:
Yes, usually around 1 pm EST. I've been on the developer betas for a few months now and I have to tell you, this is probably one of my most favorite releases of macOS ever, and not much can eclipse Mac OS X Tiger in my mind.
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I'm mostly excited that Apple finally updated iMessage!
 
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RFolk said:
Everything looks awesome, just be aware, if you are in the music recording/producing arena, don't update. Most of the plugins will not work. In my case Universal Audio, FAbFilter, iZotope have not released any updates to their software. Same for video , I think...
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If you're using Logic/ FCPX you'll could be ok for a DAW/ recording software, which is why I've been using Logic lately (tired of waiting for Avid to get their **** together).

As for audio interfaces, many of them are class compliant which should work (class compliant interfaces already work on iOS). If your audio interface requires a driver download or a special app to work/ configure, don't upgrade unless the manufacturer says it works.

But yes, any third party plugins you should be very careful or be willing do do without it for now.
 
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andreiru said:
10.15.7 supplemental update is being pushed out... Is it a mandatory precursor to the Big 'Sure'..?
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Quite possibly just the security patches (which would otherwise be bundled together with Big Sur), for those who either choose to stick with Catalina for the time being, or else are running Macs that are not eligible for the upgrade.
 
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CJ Dorschel said:
When I updated to Catalina I noticed I could not open Mail and Contacts and retrieve lost items. I spent weeks reading forums and working with Apple engineers and it seems this is a feature, not a bug. Apple only allows recovering lost items in their core apps by fully restoring an entire Mail or Contacts backup point which defeats a big advantage to “Time Machine” and you lose any current data.
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How about Mail?

Are there any important changes/upgrades or bug fixes?
 
so this maybe a stupid question. I have a 2020 MacBook Air not the newest one. will I be able to use iOS apps on it?
 
GeoStructural said:
Probably the only visual/GUI weakness, I find the overall look of BigSur to be GORGEOUS.
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That and the reduced contrast that makes it hard to discern which is the active window, which is a genuine usability problem (unless they've fixed that in the betas).

I do like the look overall, but I feel like they've also regressed in a few areas.
 
RFolk said:
Everything looks awesome, just be aware, if you are in the music recording/producing arena, don't update. Most of the plugins will not work. In my case Universal Audio, FAbFilter, iZotope have not released any updates to their software. Same for video , I think...
Click to expand...
I wonder if I'll have my Apogee Element 46 and FX Rack plugins working... but I also have a lot of PositiveGrid and iZotope stuff...
P.S.: my Macs don't support Big Sur (Catalina is the end of the line for 2013 MBP and 2012 Mini), but I'm planning buying a new Mini, but don't know if it will be a 2018 Intel one or an AS 2020.
 
Unsupported said:
How about Mail?

Are there any important changes/upgrades or bug fixes?
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Not that I saw. I’ve filed reports for Apple to add the ability to enlarge/zoom in emails using the trackpad as you can with iOS/iPadOS for years and nothing. That’s a big UI element I’d love to see especially with my 5K displays. Rule syncing is another. Otherwise Mail is pretty much the same.

I know some experienced bugs with email syncing, etc but I never had that problem. From what I gather it hasn’t been addressed in Big Sur as those experiencing it in Catalina and Big Sur development still had the same issues.
 
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Been on the public beta since it came out, on my MBP, and it’s been stable for me. Like it much better than Catalina...
 
CJ Dorschel said:
In roughly 20 years using Mac’s I’ve always updated to the latest OS. Catalina was the first time I never updated my Mac Pro’s. Being a developer I needed to run Big Sur on my MacBook Pro.

I loathe it. The UI is terrible. No matter how much I adjusted the contrast and brightness of my displays it always looked washed out and more difficult to navigate. I know Apple wants more unification between the operating systems of their devices yet this is a desktop OS and iOS/iPadOS UI elements just don’t work for me. Add in further extending security measures that make access to root difficult for third-party apps such as TotalSpaces (a great utility I’ve used since Apple ditched ”Spaces” but requires root access - normally I always disable SIP and GateKeeper yet I take other precautions and average consumers should not do so unless they are aware of the risks, etc), Catalina and Big Sur are just headaches.

I may roll back my Mac Pro’s to Mojave as it seems Apple has even dropped “Time Machine” features that have been around since day one such as retrieving individually deleted emails and contacts. When I updated to Catalina I noticed I could not open Mail and Contacts and retrieve lost items. I spent weeks reading forums and working with Apple engineers and it seems this is a feature, not a bug. Apple only allows recovering lost items in their core apps by fully restoring an entire Mail or Contacts backup point which defeats a big advantage to “Time Machine” and you lose any current data.

During Big Sur development I filed bug reports on “Time Machine” and none of them were addressed. Many of us did. I’ve used .Mac/MobileMe/iCloud and Time Machine together for years yet Apple claims iCloud syncing and local Time Machine backups of iCloud services won’t be working moving forward. Meaning restoring individual emails, contacts, etc from Time Machine backups won’t work anymore.

I found a work around for Contacts.

- Open Contacts on your Mac
- Export them in a VCF file
- Disable iCloud Contacts syncing
- Import the VCF file into Contacts
- On My Mac should show in Contacts
- Turn Contacts back on in iCloud

Now you’ll have iCloud and local contacts. I had to select each contact and link it to the other as two of each will show as doubles. If I delete a contact by mistake or I lose my iCloud contacts I can restore the local one on my Mac simply by dragging it to the iCloud group. If I delete both iCloud and local contacts I can also open up Contacts then click on “Time Machine” and restore it as before.

This decision and the others above and more have made Big Sur a Big Mess.

Apple should return to 2 year OS release cycles as they did before making OS X a free annual release. OS X 10.4 - 10.6 when Bertrand Serlet was the head of engineering were by far the best OS’s Apple released. We had to wipe down our drives every two weeks when a new beta was released to ensure third party apps and plugins weren’t causing problems with debugging the core OS and it allowed developers to better update their apps. Now it’s a rushed release cycle to match iOS and iPadOS development only meant to entice more into macOS and increase mac App Store revenue while producing lackluster and much buggier releases. I’d rather pay $129 for a solid OS every 2-3 years than a free OS that is a shadow of former versions.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, didn't prior to OS X Mavericks, Apple did that? I just think they are biting more than they can chew when rolling out osMAC annually. Tight window of one year, leads to more bugs.
 
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