MacOS Big Sur

macOS Big Sur (version 11.0) is the next major release of macOS, succeeding MacOS Catalina. It was announced at the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22, 2020.

New features
Big Sur features an iPadOS-style dock, translucent menus, and other new features closely tied to iOS 14.

Changes

 * App Design changes introducing full-height sidebars and more integrated toolbars.
 * Simplified Dock interface.
 * Application icons now conform to iOS' Round Rect boxes.
 * Notification Center now more iOS-like, with grouped notifications in-line with widgets, and all interactive.
 * Safari: improved performance and energy consumption, new privacy protections, more customizable home screen, in-tab .previews, data breach notifications, privacy reports, on-system translation service.
 * Messages: group tracking, contextual linking, pinned conversations, inline replies, mentions, group photos, improved memoji, stickers, hashtags, searching.
 * Maps: new trip-planning tools, location research tools, guides, EV and bicyle-centric route planning, 3D look Around, Indoor maps.
 * App Store: Safari Extensions get their own area, privacy information enhanced.
 * Photos: Retouch now Machine Learning enhanced.
 * Peripherals: AirPods now do automatic device switching across macOS 10.16 and iOS/iPadOS 14+ devices.
 * HomeKit: improved face recognition and activity zones.
 * Music: iTunes/Apple Music now Listen Now.
 * Siri: Better website integration.
 * Software Update: improved updating mechanism; non-interactive bits happen in the background, update process sped up.

Development
Big Sur was developed with Xcode as a dual-binary (referred to as Universal 2) that supports both Intel and Apple processors. Rosetta 2 will allow 64-bit Intel software to run in emulation on Apple processors. The first system provided by Apple to run Big Sur natively on an Apple A12Z processor is the 2020 Developer Transition Kit.