Apple releases second macOS Big Sur public beta

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in macOS edited August 2020
Apple on Thursday issued a second beta version of the upcoming macOS Big Sur operating system to public beta testers, offering members of the Apple Beta Software Program an early look at the software ahead of release this fall.




Today's public beta should share similarities with a fifth developer beta version that was pushed out alongside new test updates to iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14 and watchOS 7 on Wednesday. An initial macOS Big Sur public beta was issued on Aug. 6.

Members of the Apple Beta Software Program can download the macOS Big Sur update through the Software Update option in System Preferences. Those interested in taking a sneak peek at the next-generation operating system can sign up for the program via Apple's website.

According to release notes, Apple plans to seed a more substantial update with macOS Big Sur 11 beta 3, suggesting additional features and improvements will be made available for testing. An incremental update will also be available for those averse to "unexpectedly large" downloads.

Big Sur benefits from an updated and refreshed user interface that takes after iOS with rounded windows and more transparency. New features include a new Control Center, a Catalyst version of Messages that more closely mimics the utility of the app on iOS, a significant update to Safari, and more. Perhaps most importantly, Big Sur offers under-the-hood support for the upcoming shift to Apple silicon.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    OutdoorAppDeveloperOutdoorAppDeveloper Posts: 1,293member
    You would think a company worth over 2 trillion dollars could add a line of code to check the computer's model ID before installing a version of MacOS that won't run on it.
    razorpit
  • Reply 2 of 7
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,417member
    OutdoorAppDeveloper said:
    You would think a company worth over 2 trillion dollars could add a line of code to check the computer's model ID before installing a version of MacOS that won't run on it.
    Huh?
  • Reply 3 of 7
    dr. xdr. x Posts: 282member
    OutdoorAppDeveloper said:
    You would think a company worth over 2 trillion dollars could add a line of code to check the computer's model ID before installing a version of MacOS that won't run on it.

    huh? It does check the model ID legally but there are ways around that in order to install on an unsupported Mac but this is as much as I'm going to say.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    OutdoorAppDeveloperOutdoorAppDeveloper Posts: 1,293member
    You can install it on a 2020 iMac which bricks the system and forces you to do a complete wipe and reinstall of the OS from safe mode.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    OutdoorAppDeveloperOutdoorAppDeveloper Posts: 1,293member
    dr. x said:
    OutdoorAppDeveloper said:
    You would think a company worth over 2 trillion dollars could add a line of code to check the computer's model ID before installing a version of MacOS that won't run on it.

    huh? It does check the model ID legally but there are ways around that in order to install on an unsupported Mac but this is as much as I'm going to say.
    It installs on a 2020 iMac which is not supported by MacOS 11.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    dr. xdr. x Posts: 282member
    OutdoorAppDeveloper said:
    You can install it on a 2020 iMac which bricks the system and forces you to do a complete wipe and reinstall of the OS from safe mode.
    Woah, sorry to hear this, I hope you had a backup of your data. It's a beta and betas can have issues. I've heard this happen with previous versions of the operating system where it's bricked peoples machines. I've got the crash to login screen every now and then, it goes to gray screen and asks me to login but hopefully this will be resolved with the next beta.
    OutdoorAppDeveloper said:
    dr. x said:
    OutdoorAppDeveloper said:
    You would think a company worth over 2 trillion dollars could add a line of code to check the computer's model ID before installing a version of MacOS that won't run on it.

    huh? It does check the model ID legally but there are ways around that in order to install on an unsupported Mac but this is as much as I'm going to say.
    It installs on a 2020 iMac which is not supported by MacOS 11.

    A 2020 iMac should be supported by MacOS 11 as it's recent enough. If you do decide to install, make sure you create a second partition to install it to so you can keep your main stable OS in working order. This is what I did on my own machine.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    jamesmcdjamesmcd Posts: 68member
    Running on a dev machine – MacBook Pro 13/2020/32/512. It's very buggy, in fact while the first public beta issues appear mostly resolved, this has introduced a raft of new ones. 
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