11 Things You Can Do in macOS Big Sur That You Couldn’t Do Before

The next major update for macOS is here , andBig Sur brings with ita bunch of new features as well as a important revamp on the visual side . These are 11 of the most significant rising slope that enable you to do more with your Mac , once you ’ve downloaded and set up the 2020 update .

1. A fresh face for Music

open up up the Music app in macOS Big Sur and you ’ll notice there ’s a novel Listen Now selection in the piloting pane . This is your new home for everything audio , featuring passport for Apple Music , euphony you ’ve recently toy , playlist premix , and more .

It ’s kind of like the old For You tab , but with a few subtle changes : more miscellany in the pick you get offered first and adept integrating for podcasts , for example . Apple enunciate that lookup has been ameliorate , too , so results should show up on screen faster than before .

2. Open the new Control Center

macOS Big Sur looks significantly dissimilar from macOS Catalina . It ’s a cleaner , more modern face across the board , with sidebars stretching to the full height of window , a subtle use of coloration emphasis , and icons that are more detailed and three - dimensional .

check into out the new iOS - style Control Center , for deterrent example : dawn the toggle switch icon on the menu bar , and you ’ve got easy access to wifi , Bluetooth , and AirDrop connection configurations , as well as shortcuts for video display brightness , loudness control , and culture medium playback .

3. Customize the Notification Center

The Notification Center gravel a ocular redevelopment as well — alerting from the same app now get grouped together , while thingamajig become more customizable and resizable , too ( though you may have to wait a while for non - Apple apps to patronize the new features ) .

enter the Notification Center by clicking on the clip and date in the top right-hand corner ( the dedicated icon has gone ) , then penetrate Edit Widgets to add and remove widgets . To change a doojigger size of it and the information display , mightily - select a doojigger and choose Edit Widget .

4. Customize the Safari start page

As part of what Apple calls “ the enceinte Safari update ever ” in macOS Big Sur , you could do much more in terms of personalizing the starting line page that appears when the web browser launches or when a new tab opens . tick the sliders icon ( lower right ) to get started .

You ’re able-bodied to foot out a scope paradigm for the start pageboy — either something suggest by Safari or a picture of your own — and choose which elements are shown on screen , from your Favorites leaning to the newfangled Safari Privacy Report to iCloud Tabs undecided on other devices .

5. Check what’s tracking you around the web

speak of the Safari Privacy Report , it ’s the latest initiative to write out down on the number of tracker that follow you around the vane — or at least make you more mindful of them . To see what ’s been blocked over the last 30 days , click Privacy Report on the Safari menu .

You ’ll get a elaborated report card of how many tracker have been stop on each site , and the names of the individual trackers themselves . To see a paper just for an individual land site , open it and then click the unexampled shield ikon just to the left of the speech bar in Safari .

6. Search your Mac more quickly

The system - wide spot search shaft has been given an upgrade in macOS Big Sur . You ’ll detect the interface has been streamline , and there are some under - the - punk advance as well , so your event should show up quicker as soon as you start up typing .

Support for Quick Look has been added to Spotlight — enabling you to view and even cut sure files without open up the relevant app — and the same Spotlight engine has been added to more of Apple ’s native apps , too , including Safari , Pages , and Keynote .

7. Do more with Messages

The Messages app gets a major raise to bring it up to speed with the features available in Messages on the iPhone and iPad . you may immobilize conversations to the top of the list , tot up inline replies to individual substance , and bring up the great unwashed by name in a group chat .

There are more message issue to peck from and more memoji stylings available , and image and GIF discovery has been improved too . All of these changes match iOS and iPadOS , so pin messages will synchronise across multiple Apple devices , for example .

8. Dig into recent battery usage

If you care to keep a close eye on shelling wellness and story , then you ’re go to wish what macOS Big Sur has in store : Click the barrage fire icon in the menu bar , then Battery Preferences to see usage ( and screen clip ) over the last 24 minute or the last 10 days .

magnanimous Sur is also smart when it fall to charging , learn how you charge your MacBook to figure out when it ’s going to be plugged in for an extended period of time and adapt the charging rate accordingly . This should trim down battery habiliment and meliorate its lifespan .

9. Check up on apps before you install them

One of the change come to macOS Big Sur afterwards this year — so you might not have it yet — is the introduction of simplified privacy policy for Mac apps . Apple says they ’re plan to put to work like victuals recording label on food packaging : dewy-eyed and enlightening .

These novel privacy label should make it well-situated to see at a glance what an app wants to do and why . Apple Arcade is more prominent in macOS Big Sur , too , with the introduction of secret plan pages and a more seamless agency of proceed a game from another Apple machine .

10. Apply more edits in Photos

Photos might be primarily focus on still images , but the background app also gets some extra video - redaction features with the arrival of Big Sur . This is n’t going to replace iMovie or Adobe Premiere Pro , but you may at least apply some fixes to your captured footage .

you may fine-tune colors and clean proportion , reduce noise , crop your TV and apply a variety of filter , too . Extra editing options have also been added for your photos , including an improved retouch cock and new intensity adjustments for photograph filter .

11. Look around in Apple Maps

Apple Maps is another app to get a big overhaul with the arrival of macOS Big Sur . One of the feature article added to the desktop version is Look Around ( Apple ’s version of Street View ) in selected cities . Indoor maps can also now be access through Apple Maps in macOS .

Cycling directions and electric fomite charge data along path have been tally to match the iOS 14 release , and Apple has also introduce what it ’s calling Guides , which are curated assembling of travel advice about certain spots from contented partner ( and the power to create your own , if you want to ) .

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