Apple todays seeded the first beta of an upcoming macOS Big Sur 11.1 update to public beta testers, with the beta coming a day after the developer release and two weeks after the launch of macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, the release version of the software.
Beta testers who signed up for Apple's beta testing program can download the macOS Big Sur beta through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the proper profile.
Mac users who want to be a part of Apple's beta testing program can sign up to participate on the beta website, which gives users access to iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS betas.
There's no word yet on what's included in macOS Big Sur 11.1, but it likely includes performance improvements, security updates, and fixes for bugs that weren't able to be addressed in the release version of macOS Big Sur. No significant new feature changes were discovered in the first developer beta.
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...
Please tell me they brought back quick reply in messages notifications! It's so annoying to have to click 3 times to open the reply field. Not to be overly dramatic, but the loss of this feature spoils the entire OS for me
So wouldn’t the .1 release be equivalent to the yearly macOS releases of previous years? I would think all Big Sur-related fixes/features updates would be .0.x ...and that an 11.1 release would be analogous to a new California location release. Otherwise, going to 12.0 would imply drastic changes again only a year later. Thoughts?
It's a bummer that Apple still frequently does betas without explaining what to test.
So wouldn’t the .1 release be equivalent to the yearly macOS releases of previous years?
Probably not.
Mac OS X had this odd thing where major releases like 10.4 Tiger and 10.15 Catalina actually had the minor version bumped up.
This was different in the Mac OS Classic days, and has always been different on iOS.
This 11.1.0 release is presumably equivalent to an iOS 14.1: it will add some minor features and fix a lot of bugs.
We've also already had a 11.0.1 point release: whereas the Apple Silicon Macs shipped with 11.0.0, Intel Macs got 11.0.1 as the first final release.
I would think all Big Sur-related fixes/features updates would be .0.x
Bug fixes: .x.y
Features: .x.0
...and that an 11.1 release would be analogous to a new California location release. Otherwise, going to 12.0 would imply drastic changes again only a year later. Thoughts?
