macOS Big Sur is here, especially engineered for Apple M1 chip

Apple has officially revealed the M1 and a new macOS Big Sur. It is the first in-house-designed computer chip that marks the beginning of a new era of Macs. The new Macs will now run on “Apple Silicon” instead of Intel-based chips. The M1 chip brings unified memory architecture, integrated GPU, neural engine, and will deliver longer battery life. New versions of the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini all featuring the new M1 chip will come to India in the coming days.

About macOS Big Sur

macOS Big Sur introduces a beautiful redesign. It is packed with new enhancements for key apps including Safari, Messages, and Maps, as well as new privacy features. Thus, Apple has re-engineered macOS Big Sur, down to its core. It takes full advantage of all the power of the M1 chip to make the macOS experience even better for the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini. The combination of Big Sur and M1 truly takes the Mac to a whole new level with incredible capabilities, efficiency, and more apps than ever before, while maintaining everything users love about macOS.

If you have a Mac from 2013 or newer, there's a good chance your device is compatible with macOS Big Sur. Here's the exact list straight from the horse's mouth:

• MacBook (2015 or later)
• Mac Book Air (2013 or later)
• MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later)
• Mac mini (2014 or later)
• iMac (2014 or later)
• iMac Pro (2017 or later)
• Mac Pro (2013 or later)

Major Features

• Design refresh
• Control Center
• Maps overhaul
• Revamped Messages app
• Built-in translator for Safari
• Major Safari improvements

Other new features include battery history usage for the past 10 days, Family Sharing support for apps with subscriptions, quick style editing and improved search in Notes, an option to assign reminders to people in the Reminders app, improved performance for Spotlight, and severe weather and minute-by-minute precipitation reports in Weather.

macOS Big Sur launched on November 12, 2020, and it is a free update for all compatible Mac models.