<s>
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
(	O
version	O
11	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
seventeenth	O
major	O
release	O
of	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
Apple	O
Inc.	O
'	O
s	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
for	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Big	B-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
is	O
the	O
successor	O
to	O
macOS	B-Device
Catalina	I-Device
,	O
and	O
was	O
succeeded	O
by	O
macOS	B-Device
Monterey	I-Device
,	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
25	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
notably	O
,	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
features	O
a	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
redesign	O
that	O
features	O
new	O
blurs	O
to	O
establish	O
a	O
visual	O
hierarchy	O
and	O
also	O
includes	O
a	O
revamp	O
of	O
the	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
backup	O
mechanism	O
,	O
among	O
other	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
the	O
first	O
macOS	B-Application
version	O
to	O
support	O
Macs	O
with	O
ARM-based	O
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
mark	O
the	O
transition	B-Device
,	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
's	O
major	O
version	O
number	O
was	O
incremented	O
,	O
for	O
the	O
first	O
time	O
since	O
2001	O
,	O
from	O
10	O
to	O
11	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
is	O
named	O
after	O
the	O
coastal	O
region	O
of	O
Big	B-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
in	O
the	O
Central	O
Coast	O
of	O
California	O
,	O
continuing	O
the	O
naming	O
trend	O
of	O
California	O
locations	O
that	O
began	O
with	O
OS	B-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
Mavericks	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Providing	O
some	O
indication	O
as	O
to	O
how	O
the	O
pre-release	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
may	O
have	O
been	O
viewed	O
internally	O
at	O
Apple	O
during	O
its	O
development	O
cycle	O
,	O
documentation	O
accompanying	O
the	O
initial	O
beta	O
release	O
of	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
referred	O
to	O
its	O
version	O
as	O
"	O
10.16	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
when	O
upgrading	O
from	O
prior	O
versions	B-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
macOS	I-Operating_System
using	O
the	O
Software	O
Update	O
mechanism	O
to	O
early	O
beta	O
releases	O
,	O
the	O
version	O
referred	O
to	O
was	O
"	O
10.16	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
exception	O
to	O
this	O
was	O
the	O
Developer	B-Device
Transition	I-Device
Kit	I-Device
,	O
which	O
always	O
reported	O
the	O
system	O
version	O
as	O
"	O
11.0	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
started	O
reporting	O
the	O
system	O
version	O
as	O
"	O
11.0	O
"	O
on	O
all	O
Macs	O
as	O
of	O
the	O
third	O
beta	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
maintain	O
backwards	O
compatibility	O
,	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
identified	O
itself	O
as	O
10.16	O
to	O
software	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
browser	O
user	B-Protocol
agent	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
macOS	B-Device
Catalina	I-Device
,	O
which	O
supported	O
every	O
standard	O
configuration	O
Mac	O
that	O
Mojave	B-Device
supported	O
,	O
Big	B-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
drops	O
support	O
for	O
various	O
Macs	O
released	O
in	O
2012	O
and	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Big	B-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
runs	O
on	O
the	O
following	O
Macs	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
using	O
patch	O
tools	O
,	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
can	O
be	O
installed	O
on	O
earlier	O
computers	O
that	O
are	O
officially	O
unsupported	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
2012	O
iMac	B-Device
and	O
the	O
2012	O
MacBook	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
these	O
methods	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
install	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
on	O
computers	O
as	O
old	O
as	O
a	O
2008	O
MacBook	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
and	O
iMac	B-Device
and	O
2009	O
Mac	B-Device
Mini	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
refreshes	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
described	O
by	O
Apple	O
as	O
the	O
biggest	O
change	O
since	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
standard	O
apps	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
Dock	O
and	O
the	O
Menu	O
Bar	O
,	O
are	O
redesigned	O
and	O
streamlined	O
,	O
and	O
their	O
icons	O
now	O
have	O
rounded-square	O
shapes	O
like	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
apps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compared	O
to	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Big	B-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
's	O
icons	O
include	O
more	O
shading	O
and	O
highlights	O
to	O
give	O
a	O
three-dimensional	O
appearance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
aesthetic	O
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
neumorphism	B-Application
"	O
,	O
a	O
portmanteau	O
of	O
new	O
and	O
skeuomorphism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
OS	O
also	O
brings	O
further	O
integration	O
with	O
Apple	O
's	O
SF	O
Symbols	O
,	O
enabling	O
easier	O
use	O
by	O
third-party	O
developers	O
as	O
UI	O
elements	O
for	O
their	O
applications	O
through	O
AppKit	B-Operating_System
,	O
SwiftUI	O
,	O
and	O
Catalyst	O
,	O
which	O
makes	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
unify	O
third	O
party	O
applications	O
with	O
the	O
existing	O
Apple-made	O
design	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
interface	O
with	O
quick	O
toggles	O
for	O
Wi-Fi	O
,	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
,	O
screen	O
brightness	O
and	O
system	O
volume	O
has	O
been	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
menu	O
bar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
interface	O
is	O
functionally	O
and	O
visually	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Control	B-Operating_System
Center	I-Operating_System
on	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Notification	O
Center	O
is	O
redesigned	O
,	O
featuring	O
interactive	O
notifications	O
and	O
a	O
transparent	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Notification	O
Center	O
also	O
features	O
a	O
new	O
widget	O
system	O
similar	O
to	O
that	O
in	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
14	I-Operating_System
,	O
displaying	O
more	O
information	O
with	O
more	O
customization	O
than	O
previously	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
is	O
the	O
first	O
release	O
of	O
macOS	B-Application
for	O
Macs	O
powered	O
by	O
Apple-designed	O
ARM64-based	O
processors	O
,	O
a	O
key	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
transition	B-Device
from	O
Intel	O
x86-64-based	O
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
chip	O
mentioned	O
in	O
demo	O
videos	O
,	O
and	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Developer	B-Device
Transition	I-Device
Kit	I-Device
,	O
is	O
the	O
A12Z	B-Device
Bionic	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
November	O
10	O
,	O
2020	O
,	O
Apple	O
announced	O
the	O
first	O
Mac	O
Apple	B-Device
silicon	I-Device
chip	O
,	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
M1	I-Device
,	O
in	O
the	O
Late	O
2020	O
Mac	B-Device
Mini	I-Device
,	O
MacBook	B-Device
Air	I-Device
,	O
and	O
MacBook	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
has	O
said	O
that	O
it	O
will	O
support	O
Intel	O
Macs	O
"	O
for	O
years	O
to	O
come	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
most	O
software	O
that	O
has	O
not	O
been	O
ported	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
ARM	O
Macs	O
can	O
use	O
Rosetta	O
2	O
,	O
an	O
update	O
of	O
a	O
compatibility	O
mechanism	O
originally	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
PowerPC-to-Intel	O
x86	O
transition	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
Apple	O
also	O
introduced	O
an	O
updated	O
universal	O
binary	O
format	O
,	O
Universal	O
2	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
developers	O
to	O
package	O
their	O
applications	O
so	O
that	O
they	O
can	O
run	O
natively	O
on	O
both	O
ARM64	B-Architecture
and	O
x86-64	B-Device
processors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Macs	O
based	O
on	O
Apple	B-Device
silicon	I-Device
,	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
can	O
run	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
applications	O
natively	O
and	O
without	O
any	O
modifications	O
needed	O
from	O
developers	O
,	O
aside	O
from	O
allowing	O
the	O
app	O
to	O
be	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
Mac	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
Macs	O
with	O
this	O
capability	O
are	O
those	O
that	O
use	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
M1	I-Device
SoC	O
(	O
system	O
on	O
a	O
chip	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
backup	O
mechanism	O
introduced	O
back	O
in	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
10.5	I-Application
Leopard	I-Application
,	O
has	O
been	O
overhauled	O
to	O
utilize	O
the	O
APFS	B-Application
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
introduced	O
in	O
MacOS	B-Operating_System
High	I-Operating_System
Sierra	I-Operating_System
)	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
outdated	O
HFS+	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
the	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
makes	O
use	O
of	O
APFS	B-Application
's	O
snapshot	B-Application
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Apple	O
,	O
this	O
enables	O
"	O
faster	O
,	O
more	O
compact	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
reliable	O
backups	O
"	O
than	O
were	O
possible	O
previously	O
with	O
HFS+	B-Application
-formatted	O
backup	O
destinations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
independent	O
evaluation	O
of	O
this	O
claim	O
found	O
that	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
on	O
macOS	B-Operating_System
11	I-Operating_System
in	O
conjunction	O
with	O
APFS	B-Application
was	O
2.75-fold	O
faster	O
upon	O
initial	O
local	O
backup	O
and	O
4-fold	O
faster	O
upon	O
subsequent	O
backups	O
relative	O
to	O
macOS	B-Device
10.15	I-Device
'	O
s	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
implementation	O
using	O
HFS+	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
USB	O
-	O
or	O
Thunderbolt-connected	O
)	O
and	O
network-connected	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
backup	O
destinations	O
are	O
formatted	O
as	O
APFS	B-Application
by	O
default	O
,	O
though	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
can	O
continue	O
backing	O
up	O
to	O
existing	O
HFS+	B-Application
backup	O
volumes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
no	O
option	O
to	O
convert	O
existing	O
,	O
HFS+	B-Application
-based	O
backups	O
to	O
APFS	B-Application
;	O
instead	O
,	O
users	O
who	O
want	O
to	O
benefit	O
from	O
the	O
advantages	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
,	O
APFS-based	O
implementation	O
of	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
need	O
to	O
start	O
with	O
a	O
fresh	O
volume	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
,	O
encryption	O
appears	O
to	O
be	O
required	O
(	O
instead	O
of	O
merely	O
optional	O
)	O
for	O
local	O
disks	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
remains	O
elective	O
for	O
networked	O
volumes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
possible	O
to	O
restore	O
the	O
whole	O
system	O
using	O
a	O
Time	B-Operating_System
Machine	I-Operating_System
backup	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
signed	O
system	O
volume	O
is	O
not	O
backed	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spotlight	B-Application
,	O
the	O
file	B-Application
system	I-Application
indexing-and-search	O
mechanism	O
introduced	O
in	O
Mac	B-Application
OS	I-Application
X	I-Application
10.4	I-Application
Tiger	I-Application
,	O
is	O
faster	O
and	O
the	O
interface	O
has	O
been	O
refined	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spotlight	B-Application
is	O
now	O
the	O
default	O
search	O
mechanism	O
in	O
Safari	B-Application
,	O
Pages	O
,	O
and	O
Keynote	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
volume	O
containing	O
the	O
core	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
is	O
cryptographically	O
signed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
macOS	B-Operating_System
Big	I-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
supports	O
encryption	O
at	O
the	O
file	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
versions	B-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
macOS	I-Operating_System
(	O
10.15	O
Catalina	O
and	O
older	O
)	O
supported	O
encryption	O
only	O
at	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
entire	O
volumes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
June	O
2020	O
,	O
this	O
capability	O
is	O
known	O
to	O
be	O
compatible	O
with	O
Macs	O
based	O
on	O
Apple	B-Device
silicon	I-Device
;	O
it	O
is	O
unclear	O
whether	O
it	O
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
Intel-based	O
Macs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
macOS	B-Application
startup	O
sound	O
is	O
now	O
enabled	O
by	O
default	O
(	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
disabled	O
by	O
default	O
on	O
some	O
machines	O
released	O
in	O
2016	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
option	O
in	O
System	O
Preferences	O
was	O
added	O
to	O
enable	O
or	O
disable	O
this	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Big	B-Operating_System
Sur	I-Operating_System
includes	O
Safari	B-Application
14	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
also	O
released	O
for	O
macOS	B-Device
Catalina	I-Device
and	O
macOS	B-Device
Mojave	I-Device
on	O
September	O
16	O
,	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Safari	B-Application
14	O
includes	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
new	O
home	B-Operating_System
page	O
in	O
which	O
users	O
can	O
customize	O
what	O
features	O
are	O
visible	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
set	O
a	O
custom	O
wallpaper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
allows	O
the	O
viewer	O
to	O
preview	B-Language
a	O
page	O
and	O
favicon	O
before	O
visiting	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Safari	B-Application
14	O
also	O
includes	O
built-in	O
web	O
page	O
translations	O
in	O
English	O
,	O
Spanish	O
,	O
German	O
,	O
French	O
,	O
Russian	O
,	O
Chinese	O
and	O
Portuguese	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
support	O
for	O
4K	B-Architecture
HDR	I-Architecture
content	O
from	O
Netflix	O
on	O
Macs	O
with	O
an	O
Apple	B-Device
T2	I-Device
chip	O
,	O
although	O
none	O
of	O
these	O
were	O
made	O
available	O
for	O
macOS	B-Device
Catalina	I-Device
and	O
Mojave	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Privacy	O
features	O
such	O
as	O
iCloud	B-Application
Keychain	B-Application
(	O
which	O
notifies	O
users	O
of	O
compromised	O
passwords	O
)	O
,	O
extension	O
privacy	O
management	O
and	O
Privacy	O
Report	O
(	O
which	O
monitors	O
privacy	O
trackers	O
and	O
further	O
increases	O
Safari	B-Application
's	O
security	O
)	O
were	O
added	O
for	O
Safari	B-Application
14	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
were	O
now	O
also	O
able	O
to	O
import	O
password	O
from	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
Chrome	I-Application
browser	I-Application
in	O
addition	O
to	O
being	O
notified	O
of	O
compromised	O
passwords	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Safari	B-Application
14	O
also	O
supports	O
WebExtensions	O
API	O
,	O
the	O
WebP	O
image	O
format	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
VP9	B-Algorithm
decoding	O
,	O
the	O
latter	O
of	O
which	O
allows	O
for	O
the	O
playback	O
of	O
4K	B-Architecture
and	O
HDR	O
content	O
from	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
.	I-General_Concept
</s>
<s>
Safari	B-Application
14	O
ended	O
support	O
for	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
Player	I-Operating_System
in	O
September	O
,	O
3	O
months	O
prior	O
to	O
its	O
end-of-life	O
on	O
December	O
31	O
,	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Messages	B-Protocol
app	O
was	O
rewritten	O
to	O
be	O
based	O
upon	O
Apple	O
's	O
Catalyst	O
technology	O
to	O
enable	O
it	O
to	O
have	O
feature	O
parity	O
with	O
its	O
iOS	B-Application
counterpart	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
app	O
included	O
a	O
refined	O
design	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
pin	O
up	O
to	O
nine	O
conversations	O
that	O
can	O
sync	O
across	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
and	O
macOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
were	O
also	O
now	O
allowed	O
to	O
search	O
for	O
messages	B-Protocol
and	O
share	O
their	O
names	O
and	O
photos	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
users	O
could	O
mention	O
contacts	B-Operating_System
by	O
putting	O
the	O
@	O
symbol	O
in	O
front	O
of	O
their	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
also	O
able	O
to	O
reply	O
to	O
specific	O
messages	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Memojis	O
,	O
3d	O
avatars	O
were	O
also	O
made	O
available	O
on	O
Messages	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Messages	B-Protocol
,	O
users	O
could	O
now	O
select	O
photos	O
based	O
on	O
parameters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Refinements	O
and	O
new	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
Mac	B-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Third	O
party	O
Notification	O
Center	O
widgets	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
also	O
added	O
in	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
iPadOS	B-Operating_System
14	O
.	O
</s>
