- Thank you to Intego for sponsoring this video.
I'm Andru Edwards, and you're watching your Gear Live.
(upbeat music)
This fall, Apple is set to release its next major version
of its desktop operating system.
And they're finally taking it all the way to 11
with macOS Big Sur.
In many ways, Big Sur is the biggest update
since the original release of macOS, since it will also run
on the all-new Apple Silicon processors.
And in turn, that will support running iPhone and iPad apps
right on the desktop on Apple Silicon computers.
However, in this video, I'm gonna go over
the five major features that macOS 11 Big Sur
will bring to everyone, regardless of
if they're running on Intel or Apple Silicon Macs,
starting with the all-new design.
When you update and log into a Mac,
running Big Sur for the first time,
you're greeted by an all-new updated design,
just about everywhere that you look.
The dock has newly designed app icons
that more closely match what you see on iOS and iPadOS.
New translucent windows and menu bar.
Redesigned Control Center.
And even the new widgets that we see in iOS 14,
can be found in the Today View Notification Center.
It still feels like the Mac, but with a new fresh design
for 2020 and beyond.
Up next, let's talk about an update
that a lot of Mac users have been waiting for
for a long time.
Messages.
In macOS Big Sur, messages finally gets parody
with the messages app you use on your iPhone or iPad.
Up until now, messages on iOS had extra features
that weren't supported on the Mac.
Things like built-in memoji, message effects,
imessage apps, pinned conversations, and more,
will now be available in messages in Big Sur.
And that includes new features like threaded messaging,
mentions in group chats, memoji and memoji stickers,
trending gifts, and more.
Next up, let's talk about what's new in Safari,
Apple's web browser.
If you weren't aware, Safari is the fastest
desktop web browser, and not only does it lead in speed,
but also in power efficiency,
when compared to Chrome and Firefox.
This year, Apple has made Safari even faster
while adding one huge feature
to get even more people to use it.
When I ask people who use a Mac, why they don't use Safari,
the number one response that I get is that,
they use Chrome instead, because of the extensions.
And I get it, Chrome extensions add a ton of utility
to the browser.
Well, in Big Sur, Safari will support
the same extension architecture,
which means that Chrome extension developers
can easily make those same extensions available
in Safari as well.
Apple will also be adding a new Safari extensions category
to the Mac App Store to make them easy to find.
Safari also gets a customizable start page,
so you aren't just looking at a blank canvas
when you open a new window or tab,
including the ability to add a background image as well.
Tabs are updated with full color favicons,
and hover over website previews,
there's a built in translation for seven languages.
And a brand new privacy report feature
where Safari will use intelligent tracking prevention
to identify trackers on websites that you visit,
and prevent them from profiling you
and following you across the web.
You can even get a full report on any webpage
to see how many trackers Safari prevented.
And speaking of protecting yourself on the web,
I wanna give a big shout out to this video sponsor, Intego.
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which is a complete Mac protection and security suite.
The Mac Premium Bundle X9 contains five apps,
including antivirus, firewall, backup, and more.
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that's half off of Intego's Mac Premium Bundle X9.
And thanks again to Intego for sponsoring this video.
Okay, up next, let's talk about the big changes
Apple has made to Maps in Big Sur.
In 2019, Apple released an entirely rebuilt
from the ground up Map, and in Big Sur,
they add a bunch of extra functionality.
If you drive an electric vehicle,
you'll be able to get driving directions
that take into account the need to stop to charge up.
Cyclists can get directions optimized for biking,
which will give information like elevation changes,
how busy a street is, and when they might encounter stairs
along their routes.
There are also a new city guides
that will help you explore a city,
recommending things to do, places to eat, and more.
You can even create your own guide in maps,
and share them with others.
And last on my list of the major features you'll find
in macOS Big Sur, is background system updates.
Now, Apple didn't really talk about
the new system update feature for Big Sur,
but I'm actually very excited about this one so much so
that I'm mentioning it here,
as well as in my other video about the features
Apple didn't have time to go into at WWDC 2020.
So you know how when there's a new software update
for your Mac, you have to download it, then reboot,
and then wait about 30 to 45 minutes for your Mac
to be usable again while we the update process takes place.
Well, macOS Big Sur speeds up this process substantially
by taking care of incremental updates
in the background while you work.
This means that when you reboot to a plan update,
the majority of the work has already been done.
This makes it much easier and way less of an annoyance
to keep your Mac secure and up to date.
I know so many people who delay updating simply because
they see it as an inconvenience.
So it's great to see Apple tackling this one in Big Sur.
Now, as I mentioned, I do have another video I'm working on,
giving you a look at the features in macOS Big Sur
that Apple didn't have time to go over
during the WWDC keynote.
If you wanna see that one,
be sure to hit that subscribe button down below,
along with the bell notification,
so you don't miss anything in the future.
Thank you so much for watching this one.
As always, guys, I appreciate your support.
I'm Andru Edwards, and I will catch you in the next video.