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macOS 11 Big Sur with new design, widgets, and more launching on November 12

macOS gets a major overhaul this year with version 11 that comes with an all-new iOS inspired design and much more. At its November Mac event today, Apple has revealed that the macOS Big Sur launch is set for November 12.

This year has been unique with Apple holding three separate fall events for Apple Watch/iPad, iPhone, and Mac. While we normally see Apple debut the next major macOS update in September or October, this year the release of Big Sur was pushed to November to coincide with the Apple Silicon Mac event.

Along with the major new aesthetic design that brings macOS and iOS closer than ever before are an all-new Control Center, Messages app, and Notification Center. The latter is where you’ll find the new Mac widgets that are in-line with the iOS 14 widgets.

Another major update comes with Safari. Apple says its browser is now up to 2x faster at page loads than the competition and Safari also gains a new custom start page, tab improvements, the new translation feature, and a new “Privacy Report.”

More features include 4K video support for YouTube in Safari and Apple Pay support in Catalyst apps.

Check out some of the biggest changes with macOS 11 Big Sur in the video below:

macOS Big Sur is a free update and compatible with the following Macs in addition to the new Apple Silicon Macs:

  • 2015 and later MacBook
  • 2013 and later MacBook Air
  • 2013 and later MacBook Pro
  • 2014 and later Mac mini
  • 2014 and later iMac
  • 2017 and later iMac Pro
  • 2013 and later Mac Pro

Notably, Apple has already been testing macOS 11.0.1 with the beta making it to the release candidate stage. If you’re hesitant to install Big Sur right away, you’ll probably want to wait until at least the 11.0.1 bug fix update arrives for the public.

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Avatar for Michael Potuck Michael Potuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.