Apple Releasing macOS Big Sur on November 12

Apple today announced that macOS Big Sur will be released on Thursday, November 12. The news came out of Apple's "One More Thing" event, where it revealed new Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models with the M1 chip.

macos big sur roundup header
macOS Big Sur was previously revealed at WWDC in June, and will feature an overhauled look with what Apple is calling the biggest design update to macOS since the introduction of Mac OS X. This includes overhauling the curvature of window corners and dock icon designs.

While subtle, the changes should have a fresh feel in comparison to the current macOS. Other changes include lighter windows with additional translucency, a more translucent dock, app icons with a new uniform squircle shape, redone system sounds, and more.

There's a refreshed menu bar with access to a customizable Control Center that includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and AirDrop controls, keyboard brightness, Do Not Disturb, Dark Mode, sound level, and more. Likewise, Notification Center is redesigned with more interactive notifications grouped by app and iOS-style widgets with customizations in three different sizes.

Many of the first-party Apple apps have seen improvements and overhauls as well. Safari is faster and more battery efficient; Messages now support effects, @mentions, inline replies, and more; Maps supports Look Around, indoor maps, and Guides; Photos has expanded editing features; and Apple Music includes a new Listen Now section.

There are many more additions coming to macOS Big Sur on November 12, so be sure to read our full roundup if you're interested. For more coverage on today's event, check out our posts on the new Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro.

Related Forum: macOS Big Sur

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
ios 26 control center b2

iOS 26 Beta 2 Fixes Control Center Design

Monday June 23, 2025 10:58 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26 that Apple provided to developers today, Apple addressed one of the major complaints that people have had with Liquid Glass. iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right The Control Center buttons are now slightly more opaque, making it easier to see the different control options even on a multicolored background. The new, more opaque look is apparent with the ...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These Five Smaller Features You Might Have Missed

Saturday June 21, 2025 11:18 am PDT by
While the dust is beginning to settle on the first iOS 26 beta, we continue to take a closer look at new features coming with the update. Below, we recap five smaller changes that you might have missed. Emoji Game Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada can play a new Emoji Game, which tasks players with completing words and phrases with emoji. This is the fifth game that is...
airpods 4 blue

Apple Offering Free AirPods — Here's How to Get Them

Tuesday June 17, 2025 6:33 am PDT by
Apple is running a new promotion that offers free AirPods to qualifying customers. Now through September 30, college and university students in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Singapore can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount. If you do not want AirPods, the promotion also offers various other...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...

Top Rated Comments

Silverstring Avatar
60 months ago

When your "evolutionary" OS is the most exciting thing launched today eclipsing some huge performance boosts on hardware ... you know there's something wrong with the marketing department.

Yeah the performance boosts of the new hardware are great - but the hardware looks EXACTLY the same as it has for YEARS. What on EARTH is going on in the industrial design department?
You put the chips in ASAP to existing designs to kickstart the transition.

There’s also the minor side benefit of “easing” a big change into comfortable, familiar hardware to reassure buyers who might not want too much change all at once.

(I also wonder if there’s less supply chain waste/learning curve by using very similar outer shells?)

THEN, you design whole new systems from the ground up around the chip as a step 2.

It’s exactly what they did putting the first intel chips into the existing iMac bodies.

I want new designs as much as anyone as a consumer, but this makes business sense, and I’d do the same thing if I was CEO.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thejadedmonkey Avatar
60 months ago

When your "evolutionary" OS is the most exciting thing launched today eclipsing some huge performance boosts on hardware ... you know there's something wrong with the marketing department.

Yeah the performance boosts of the new hardware are great - but the hardware looks EXACTLY the same as it has for YEARS. What on EARTH is going on in the industrial design department?
The idea is that you can't tell if a mac is Intel or ARM. They don't want anyone to be able to tell the difference. You have a mac that looks like X and it will run Y, no matter what's inside of it. That's the point. And Apple usually delivers on it.

Give it a year or two and I bet that you'll see a new design. Depending on lead times, you might even see one for the iMac or [S]Macbook Pro[/S] PowerBook (since it's a RISC chip again!).
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaveMcM76 Avatar
60 months ago
Big Sur 11.0.1 Release Candidate 2 is out and downloading here in the uk...

Attachment Image
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mypyh4ooo Avatar
60 months ago

Finally. It cannot be worse than this Crappalina crap I needed due to Catalyst support. Hopefully it finally fixes the Bluetooth issues (the PB3 did, hadn't tried BS since then).
Crappalina!!! I can’t cope ???
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
meme1255 Avatar
60 months ago
Finally. It cannot be worse than this Crappalina crap I needed due to Catalyst support. Hopefully it finally fixes the Bluetooth issues (the PB3 did, hadn't tried BS since then).
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
routine_analyst Avatar
60 months ago
When your "evolutionary" OS is the most exciting thing launched today eclipsing some huge performance boosts on hardware ... you know there's something wrong with the marketing department.

Yeah the performance boosts of the new hardware are great - but the hardware looks EXACTLY the same as it has for YEARS. What on EARTH is going on in the industrial design department?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)