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UPDATE November 12, 2020

Update brings a fresh, new design, enhancements to Safari, Messages, Maps, and privacy, and is engineered for Apple’s powerful M1 chip

macOS Big Sur, the latest version of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, is now available to Mac users as a free software update. Big Sur introduces a beautiful redesign and is packed with new enhancements for key apps including Safari, Messages, and Maps, as well as new privacy features. And Big Sur has been engineered, down to its core, to take 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.

Refreshed Design: Focused and Familiar

Developers: Bringing More Apps Than Ever to the Mac

With Big Sur, Apple’s community of more than 28 million developers have access to the tools they need to create amazing experiences for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. Developing apps is now even easier, as macOS provides a range of incredible technologies to simplify the transition to Apple silicon. Xcode 12 makes it easy for developers to update their existing Mac apps to Universal 2 application binaries, adding native support for both M1- and Intel-based Macs within a single app. Universal apps are quite simply the fastest, most powerful Mac apps available, with access to the full power of the M1 chip. And with the Neural Engine now coming to the Mac, developers have new opportunities for amazing machine learning apps.

Images of macOS Big Sur Availability

  1. “World’s fastest browser,” “industry-leading battery life,” and “loads frequently visited sites an average of 50 percent faster than Chrome”: 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. Battery life tested with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75 percent. Safari tested with HD 1080p content, Chrome and Firefox tested with HD 720p content, all on macOS. Not all features are available on all devices. Performance compared to other browsers on Mac and PC using JetStream 2, MotionMark 1.1, and Speedometer 2.0 benchmarks and Windows 10 Home, version 2004, running in Boot Camp. Scores represent browsers that completed the test. Tested with prerelease Safari 14.0.1, Chrome v86.0.4240.75, and Firefox v81.0.1 on macOS, as well as Chrome v86.0.4240.75, Microsoft Edge v86.0.622.38, and Firefox v81.0.1 on Windows Home, with WPA2 Wi-Fi network connection. Page load performance tested using snapshot versions of 10 popular websites under simulated network conditions with prerelease Safari 14.0.1 and Chrome v85.0.4183.121 on macOS. Performance will vary based on usage, system configuration, application workload, network connection, and other factors. “Up to 1.5x speedier at running JavaScript and nearly 2x more responsive”: Testing conducted by Apple in September and October 2020 using JetStream 2 and Speedometer 2.0 performance benchmarks. Tested on preproduction MacBook Air and Mac mini systems with Apple M1 chip and 8-core GPU, as well as production 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based 13-inch MacBook Air systems and 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3-based Mac mini systems, all configured with 16GB RAM, 2TB SSD, and prerelease macOS Big Sur. Tested with prerelease Safari 14.0.1 and WPA2 Wi-Fi network connection. Performance will vary based on system configuration, network configuration, network connection, and other factors.