Apple Seeds new macOS Big Sur public beta for public beta testers

Apple today seeded a new beta version of the upcoming macOS 11 Big Sur update for its public beta test pool, allowing non-developers to test the software before its public release this fall. The new beta for public testers comes a few weeks after the last beta, and a day after the ninth beta has been seeded for developers.

Beta testers who signed up for Apple’s beta testing program can download macOS Big Sur beta through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences after installing the appropriate profile.

Mac users who want to be a part of Apple’s beta testing program can sign up to participate on the beta website, which gives them access to iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS beta. Potential beta testers should do a full backup before installing OSmacOS Big Sur‌, and it may not be advisable to install the update on a main machine because beta versions can be unstable.

macOS Big Sur features a refined design for the macOS operating system, which is more similar to iOS but immediately familiar to Mac users with tweaks to window layout, color palette, application icons, system sounds, toolbars. menu and sidebars.

The update brings Control Center to the Mac for the first time, giving faster access to system controls for things like volume, keyboard brightness, screen brightness, Wi-Fi connection, and more.

An updated Notification Center includes more interactive notifications and redesigned widgets that reflect the new ‌widgets‌ in iOS 14. Notifications are now grouped by app and you can customize which ‌widgets‌ are displayed.

Safari has a new customizable home page, built-in translation, and a Privacy Report feature that lets you know which trackers each website is using to follow you across the web. There’s a new Mac App Store category for extensions, and now you can control the specific sites that extensions can work with for added privacy.

The Messages app for Mac has been revised to be more in line with the Messages app for iOS and supports features such as pinned conversations, mentions, online replies, message effects, and creation of Memoji and Memoji stickers. Search is also better at making it easier to find old conversations, photos, links, and more.

A redesigned maps app in macOS Big Sur adds support for Look Around, Indoor Maps, Guides, and Shared ETA updates, plus it can be used to generate cycle routes and routes with charging stops for electric vehicles, which can be sent to the iPhone.

There are also smaller updates for apps like Photos, Music, and Home, with a full list of everything new in macOS Big Sur available in our roundup.