Two days with macOS Big Sur
After close to half a year of public beta testing and a rather “un-Apple-like” launch, macOS 11 Big Sur is finally here. So, here are my impressions of the first two days of use.
First of all, macOS 11 Big Sur is special. It is the first operating system for Mac’s since 2001 that isn’t some version of macOS X. It is the operating system that enables the new Mac’s with Apple Silicon. Hence, it certainly is a huge leap forward for Apple and Mac users around the world.
Apple presented Big Sur at WWDC to the world, and public beta testing lasted almost half a year. However, when they released the operating system on the 12th of November, there were some issues. Extremely long download times (five days displayed), error messages, and websites breaking down. The release was quite messy, and users all across the world weren’t too pleased with how it went down. However, about 12 hours after it first was available, I managed to download Big Sur.
First impressions
The first thing I noticed was the new “old” startup chime. It isn’t the same as the one my mid-2012 MacBook Pro has, yet it sounds good to have it back. Following that, I noticed the new App Icons and the new desktop wallpaper. The wallpapers are stunning, and I especially like the dynamic ones that change a lot during the day.
Another thing you’ll notice almost instantly is the newly designed sidebars. The redesigned menu’s located on the left side of some Apps look pretty and more uniform now. It is also noticeable that these sidebars are now over the full screen, which gives you quite a lot more options to work within applications like mail.
The new Icons, however, let’s just say not all of them look as stunning as the fresh wallpapers. Some of the icons are incredibly similar to iOS icons, which isn’t such a bad thing, yet others aren’t similar and additionally don’t look great. Overall though, Big Sur looks terrific, and even though some features and new designs take some time to get used to, the innovations give macOS a modern feel.
New features
After the initial, mostly positive first impressions, I immediately tried out some of the new features. I organized the available widgets in my notification center, which puts some of my favorite information just a swipe away. Furthermore, I also arranged the control center to my liking, so all the utility I use regularly is quickly and easily accessible.
I also checked out the revised apps, like Apple Maps and messages, and while they provide some new features, they aren’t as exceptional for me. For once, Apple Maps in Switzerland doesn’t profit so much from the new features because cycling directions aren’t available, and look around isn’t available either. While messages is available and works great, it isn’t commonly used, so my use for it is also limited.
The most notable feature for me in the first two days with macOS Big Sur was the new safari experience. Not only does Safari has a new look, but there are also a lot of improvements. For one, you can now play YouTube videos in 4k, which is excellent for procrastinating, but there are also more useful and notable features. First of all, Safari feels much faster than before. While I don’t have any numbers, it seems quite a bit faster than on macOS Catalina.
macOS 11 Big Sur still feels a lot like a Mac
Also, the new privacy features and the report of the trackers is useful and insightful. Then, there are some excellent design alterations, with new placements for some buttons and the ability to add a background picture for your browser.
Other new features include the privacy information in the App Store and refreshed dock as well as automatic headphone switching with supported headphones like we already know and love on iOS 14.
Overall, the new features are convenient, and I feel they give you many options within just a few clicks. Examples of that are the new control center and the widgets in the notification center. The privacy compartment innovations are welcomed, and the redesign provides a more uniform look across the whole Apple ecosystem. Yet, macOS 11 Big Sur still feels like a Mac.
Performance
As previously mentioned, Safari feels fast, as does the whole OS. Apps and programs launch really fast, and everything is snappy. Even intensive programs like Affinity Photo and Final Cut Pro X run seamlessly and feel well optimized. So far, I haven’t encountered any performance issues in Big Sur.
Not only is performance excellent, but also battery life has been similar to Catalina for me. I haven’t had any problems with excessive battery usage or less screen-on time in the new operating system. Even though this was my expectation, I still had concerns that the new OS could impact battery life.
As I am using an Intel-based Mac, I cannot really speak on the performance of the newly introduced M1 chips running Big Sur, but I can confidently say that Big Sur is also well optimized for Intel-Mac’s.
Overall, performance on macOS Big Sur is excellent. Even though I did not have time to test too intense tasks like 4k editing in Final Cut Pro X over long periods, the short time my MacBook Pro had to work hard, it did it amazingly.
The hick-ups
While Big Sur has been mostly incredible over the first two days of me using it, there are some hick-ups in the new OS. First of all, the release was a nightmare. The problems with the download, repeated error messages, and so on made the upgrade quite messy. I resolved the issue by going to bed and trying again on Friday morning, which finally allowed me to download the Big Sur. Even though I finally got Big Sur, the whole process of updating to Big Sur wasn’t pleasant and was very “un-Apple-like”.
After the initial problem with the download, I had some other minor bugs too. For one, Safari once crashed on me, yet I am not sure if this is due to the new OS or another problem, as it crashed on Catalina as well sometimes.
The other major hick-up I had was the duplication of Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5. After updating both Apps, the old, as well as the new icons, appeared on the launchpad, while there was only one program in the Applications folder. I tried to resolve the problem by deleting the old icons but ended up deleting both programs. While it wasn’t consequential as I could just download them again, it was certainly not the way I imagined it.
The only other notable hick-up of Big Sur I found was related to automatic device switching of AirPods and other headphones featuring Apple’s H1 chip. While listening to something on the iPhone and opening up the MacBook Pro, there was a drop in volume and an irritating switching of the side from where the sound was coming.
However, this only lasted for about one to two seconds. Afterwards, everything went back to how it was previously, and I could switch devices or continue listening on the AirPods normally.
Overall, I didn’t notice any other bugs or hick-ups in Big Sur. While Apple public beta tested the software for close to half a year, this is quite extraordinary.
In Summary
MacOS 11 Big Sur feels like a modern version of Mac. It is very comfortable to use and feels familiar to earlier versions of macOS. Even though I ran into some hick-ups and some icons in the user interface won’t win any awards for prettiness (looking at you, the battery icon in System Preferences), I like the new version of my Mac.
The new OS brings welcomed innovations and provides excellent performance and decent battery life while not scarfing anything. However, if you want to be on the safe side and are concerned about bugs and other problems, I’d suggest you wait a bit longer and then explore Big Sur.
I use macOS 11 Big Sur on a 2019, 16inch MacBook Pro with a 2.3Ghz 8-Core Intel I9 CPU, and an AMD Radeon 5500M GPU.
Stay safe
Raffael
