After many months of fine-tuning, Apple finally released macOS 11.0 Big Sur in November 2020. The major features (like the new Safari) have been announced much earlier and fans, as well as haters, had their say. Still, many users ask themselves, whether macOS Big Sur is worth it. So, let’s take a look at macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina to find out what improvements it brings.
Big Sur has more demanding system requirements than Catalina and you may also need to free up space on your Mac to install it. CleanMyMac X can help with both of those by running scripts to optimize your Mac’s performance and highlighting files you can safely remove, potentially freeing up several gigabytes of space.
Big Sur vs. Catalina: user interface
Whether you’re looking to test-drive MacOS Big Sur or waiting until it’s generally available, you’ll need to have a compatible Mac to run the new OS. Here are all the Mac models that can run. Testing conducted by Apple in October 2020 on production 1.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5-based 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and prerelease macOS Big Sur. Systems tested with WPA2 Wi-Fi network connection while running on battery power, with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%.
Testing conducted by Apple in October 2020 on production 1.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5-based 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and prerelease macOS Big Sur. Systems tested with WPA2 Wi-Fi network connection while running on battery power, with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%.
In Big Sur, Apple redesigned the interface for its built-in apps like Photos and Mail. They now have sidebars that stretch the full height of the window and toolbars with sleeker, simplified icons.
Finder windows now have more curved corners and plain white (or dark) backgrounds on title bars and toolbars.
The Dock has also been redesigned. The corners of the Dock are more rounded, and app icons are all the same shape, giving it a tidier look. Icons also have enhanced shading and shadows that make them appear less flat than in Catalina.
Control Center appears on the Mac for the first time in Big Sur, accessible from a menu bar item. Like on iOS, it allows you to control things like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and AirDrop and volume and display brightness. You can drag your favorite items to the menu bar.
The Notification Center in Big Sur now puts notifications and widgets in a single view and it groups notifications by app. Some notifications are interactive, so, for example, you can play a podcast episode directly from Notification Center.
Sheets, the alerts that dropdown from the top of windows to request you take action, now scale to the center of the window, are accompanied by the rest of the screen dimming, but also are less obtrusive than previously.
Symbols for things like Share or Undo are now more consistent, all taken from one library of symbols.
macOS Big Sur vs. macOS Catalina: Safari
Apple says that the update to Safari in Big Sur is the biggest ever. It boosts performance, reduces energy consumption, and adds features to improve privacy. Big Sur Safari also allows you to customize your homepage by adding a background image. Then you can add elements like your reading list, iCloud tabs, and even a Privacy Report.
Tabs have been re-designed to allow you to see more of them at once, and hovering over a tab brings up a preview of the page. Safari can also translate pages between seven languages with one click, tell you if any of your saved passwords have been compromised, and show a report of all the cross-site trackers it is blocking to protect your privacy.
macOS Catalina vs. Big Sur: Messages
Messages in Big Sur gets lots of new features, many of them similar to those that have been in other messaging apps for years, but better late than never. In Big Sur Messages, you can pin up to nine conversations to the top of the message list, reply directly to messages in group conversations and “mention” others, and add an image to identify a conversation.
Messages also allow you to search for and add GIFs and trending images, create and add Memoji on the Mac, and search messages more quickly. Early reports from Big Sur users suggest that searching in Big Sur is much faster than in Catalina and that Messages on the Mac is finally on a par with the iOS version, which is great news.
macOS Big Sur vs Catalina: Maps
Maps is another app that has lagged behind its iOS version. However, in Big Sur, that looks to have changed. Maps now allows you to create guides to locations, as well as access guides created by others.
It also has cycling routes, charging points for electric vehicles, and indoor maps for some locations. And then there’s Look Around, Apple’s version of Google Street View, also in Big Sur Maps. Look Around allows you to get a street-level 3D view of locations. Apple hasn’t yet said which areas will be covered, but it’s likely to be very limited initially.
Big Sur vs. Catalina: App Store
Privacy has been a key theme of the last couple of macOS releases, and Big Sur is no different. As well as the privacy report in Safari, Apple now displays privacy information in the App Store. For each app, types of data collected by the app are split into three categories: data used to track you, data linked to you, and data not linked to you. That makes it very easy to see at a glance how a specific app is using, say, your location data, or your financial information.
Big Sur vs. Catalina: More changes
There are lots of smaller improvements in Big Sur. Photos gets a refreshed interface, improved retouch tool that is driven by a machine-learning algorithm, new editing options, and better Memories with new soundtracks.
- The Music and Podcasts apps, which replaced iTunes in Catalina, have new For You recommendations and new layouts. Podcasts also gets a Listen Now feature and a more focused Up Next to make it easier to find the next episode of the podcasts you’re listening to. There’s a new section to help you find the latest episodes of podcasts you subscribe to, and there are hand-picked episode recommendations. The startup chime that disappeared from some Macs has been restored. And system sounds have been updated to make them easier on the ear. Apparently, this has been done using snippets of the original sounds. So the new sounds should be familiar, yet more pleasing to listen to.
- Spotlight has been beefed up in Big Sur and is now faster than ever. And it presents results in a more streamlined format to make them easier to browse. It also has Quick Look features that allow you to preview the whole of a document or web page by scrolling through it. It has the same markup tools that were added to the Finder in Catalina, allowing you to do things like rotating an image, cropping it, or signing a PDF, all within Spotlight. Spotlight also powers Find in Safari, Keynote, Pages, and other Apple apps.
- Siri can now answer questions you ask by searching the web then telling you what it has found.
- Voice memos, introduced in Catalina, gets the ability to organize recordings in folders and smart folders. It can also remove background noise automatically and room reverb with a click. And you can mark recordings as favorites.
- The weather widget in Notification Center gets some of the features Apple acquired when it bought Dark Sky. In the US, it will display a minute-by-minute chart showing the intensity of rain or snow over the coming hour. In the US, Europe, Japan, Canada, and Australia, it will display government alerts about severe weather. And all users will be able to see when the weather will be much warmer, colder, or wetter the next day.
How to improve your Mac’s performance with Big Sur
- Download CleanMyMac X if you haven’t done so already, and follow the instructions to install it.
- Launch it from your Applications folder.
- Choose the Optimization module and click View All Items.
- Review each category and check the boxes next to those you want to remove.
- Press Perform.
- If an item can’t be removed independently of its host app, click ‘Enabled’ next to its name to disable it.
There are many differences between the macOS Big Sur and Catalina. Some of the most obvious ones are the addition of Control Center, the change to Notifications, and the improvements in Safari. But there are many other changes too. Before you upgrade, it’s worth running CleanMyMac X to optimize the performance of your Mac and clear space.
macOS Big Sur vs. Catalina: The sumup
Big Sur | Catalina |
Compatibility: | |
MacBook models from early 2015 or later MacBook Air models from 2013 or later MacBook Pro models from 2013 or later Mac mini models from 2014 or later iMac models from 2014 or later iMac Pro (all models) Mac Pro models from 2013 or later | 2012 and Early 2013 MacBook Pro 2012 MacBook Air 2012 and 2013 iMac 2012 Mac mini MacBook models from early 2015 or later MacBook Air models from 2013 or later MacBook Pro models from 2013 or later Mac mini models from 2014 or later iMac models from 2014 or later iMac Pro (all models) Mac Pro models from 2013 or later |
Control Center: | |
Yes | No |
Notification Center: | |
One tab | Two tabs |
Designed for: | |
Intel and ARM-powered Macs | Intel Macs |
2020-12-21 15:00:27 • Filed to: macOS 11 • Proven solutions
As expected, Apple announced the newest and more advanced Mac operating system at the Worldwide Developer Conference. The macOS 11, which goes by the name Big Sur, comes with a newer user interface and menu bars, redesigning icons and other features. It is better than macOS 10.15, Catalina, due to its powerful improvement and new features. However, Apple dropped various Mac versions, making installation of macOS 11 on unsupported Macs almost impossible. In this article, you will learn about the compatible devices and how to install macOS 11 on older Mac or unsupported devices. You can still enjoy macOS 11 regardless.
Which Devices Are Compatible with macOS 11
Apple constantly provides software updates and support to its devices. If you own a MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac or Mac Pro, you need to understand that not all Macs can support macOS 11 officially. Any Mac purchased from late 2013 could be compatible.
So, before installing macOS 11 on any device, it is important to verify if it is among the supported Macs. The following is a list of the supported Mac versions that can receive all macOS 11, Big Sur, updates without errors.
- Mac Pro 2013 and later
- MacBook Pro and Air Late 2013 and later
- iMac 2014 and later
- Mac mini 2014 and later
- MacBook 2015 and later
- iMac Pro 2017 and all later models.
From this list, it is evident that the requirements for compatibility have moved forward by approximately one year, model-wise, from macOS 10.15 upgrade. High Sierra, Catalina and Mojave are known to function perfectly in the older Macs.
High Sierra was functional on multiple older machines, including those going back to 2009. Mojave supported Apple computers made from 2012 onwards, while also applied to Catalina. However, Big Sur has a different support strategy starting with 2013 models; its support for the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models moved from 2012 to 2013.
Apple took these measures because it does not support its hardware forever. Additionally, it continuously produces new operating systems that come with new features that require better processors to work. So, the older the machines, the less powerful they tend to be
Having knowledge of the Macs that are compatible with macOS 11 is not enough. You need to be aware of the Mac versions that Apple dropped this time. They include the following;
- MacBook Air 2012
- 2012 Mac mini 2012
- iMac 2012, 2013 iMac
- MacBook Pro 2012, Early 2013 MacBook Pro
How to Install macOS 11 on Unsupported Mac
If you find that your Mac is not in the compatible list, you will definitely wonder, “Can I install macOS 11 on older Mac?” The answer is Yes you can, and so you do not need to worry.
However, you need to back up your data before installing macOS 11 on older Mac. Problems could occur in the process of upgrading your operating system to macOS 11, or there could be unexpected changes that could cause loss of data. So use the following procedure to back up your Mac files;
- Find Time Machine on your Mac and launch it
- Select the Select Backup Disk option
- Choose the location for saving the files, such as the external drive.
- Turn on Time Machine through the On function, which is on the left of your screen.
- Notice the three options under the storage device; Oldest backup, Latest backup and Next backup. Within 5 minutes, the backup will be scheduled.
- Use the Back Up Now option to fasten the procedure.
The following steps will answer “how do I install macOS 11 on unsupported Mac?” The method is easy if you focus on the commands line as well as other installation procedure.
Step 1: To install macOS 11 on older Mac, you must download two required files from the links below.
- Download pkg from http://swcdn.apple.com/content/down…kxzj3zjshu1srsh4n74a41n4/InstallAssistant.pkg
- Download https://forums.macrumors.com/attachments/really-simple-installer-hack-zip.926156/
After downloading these two files, copy the hax.dylib and paste it to the home folder.
Step 2: Once the code is pasted to the home folder, double-click on InstallAssistant.pkg to install its contents.
Step 3: You will automatically go to the Install Assistant installer Introduction page, where you must five steps to finish the installer process. Proceed by hitting Continue.
Step 4: Note that the file will occupy 20.1MB of your Mac computer. To perform a standard installation of this software on the disk “Macintosh SSD”, click on the Install utility. You will receive a request, asking you to enter your password and then hit the Install Software function.
Step 5: Proceed by booting into recovery mode, which is through holding Cmd-R immediately on startup, until recovery starts booting. You can also hold down Cmd-Option-R if you don’t have recovery partition. As soon as installation and recovery modes are done, go to Utilities and access Terminal. Here, type csrutil disable and press Enter.
Step 6: Once you restart Mac, open Terminal and type the following commands line in the terminal;
- Terminal command 1: sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.libraryvalidation.plist DisableLibraryValidation -bool true
- Terminal command 2: launchctl setenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES $PWD/Hax.dylib
Once you have applied the first commands, ensure that you type in your password to proceed with applying the second command.
Step 7: Having applied the two commands line, run macOS Big Sur installer that you installed earlier from InstallAssistant.pkg. Click on Continue and complete instructions to complete installation.
Step 8: Be patient as you complete installation, and when it’s done, the macOS 11 Big Sur wallpaper will appear on the Mac screen. This is indication that you have successfully installed macOS 11 on unsupported Mac.
Best PDF Editor for macOS 11 – PDFelement for Mac
Once you have installed macOS 11 on older Mac, get the best PDF editor for your PDFs, PDFelement for Mac. This is a hassle-free PDF editor with a simple interface for Mac users, including beginners, hence learning how to use it is non-problematic. It is the most affordable PDF management tool compared to multiple other PDF solutions on the market, because it gives you access to all its features at a low and reasonable price.
PDFelement for Mac can do major activities for your macOS 11, such as batch process to convert PDF to other types of files like Excel, PowerPoint, TEXT, Word and images. It can also watermark and insert bate numbers and background images in multiple files in a short span. Note that batch process proceeds unsupervised. If your macOS has legal contracts, PDFelement for Mac enables you to create and insert digital signatures.
Therefore, PDFelement for Mac benefits you by making it easier to deal with documents that comprise of equations, numbers, presentations and essays, pictures and other work. Watermarking proves the authenticity of your PDF, making it difficult for frauds to copy your content. Similarly, backgrounds make PDFs unique. Digital signing also approves the originality of your contracts.
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