macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty. macOS Big Sur brings a refined new design that gives you even more of the things you love about Mac. Enjoy the biggest Safari update ever. Discover new features for Maps and Messages. Get even more transparency around your privacy.

Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Big Sur

To see which model you have, click the Apple icon in your menu bar and choose About This Mac. The following models are supported:

  • MacBook (2015 or later)
  • MacBook Air (2013 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (Late 2013 or later)
  • Mac mini (2014 or later)
  • iMac (2014 or later)
  • iMac Pro (2017 or later)
  • Mac Pro (2013 or later)

Design

  • New design for apps makes it easier to focus on your content and take action with space efficient toolbars and full height sidebars
  • Updated menu bar features wider spacing and a new translucent material that becomes more vibrant when you interact with it
  • Refreshed system sounds include the boot chime and sounds for transferring files, moving items to the trash, locking files, and more

Control Center

  • Control Center puts your favorite menus and controls in one handy place in the menu bar so you can quickly adjust settings as you work
  • Additional controls appear when you click to expand Control Center menus
  • Support for pinning favorite menus from Control Center to the menu bar

Notification Center

  • Updated Notification Center brings notifications and widgets together in one view
  • Interactive notifications display additional actions you can take with a deep press
  • Beautiful, new data-rich widgets for Calendar, Clock, Notes, Photos, Podcasts, Reminders, Screen Time, Stocks, and Weather
  • Edit view lets you to add new widgets and customize their size
  • Support for widgets from third-party apps

Safari

  • World's fastest desktop browser with industry-leading performance and energy efficiency*
  • Customizable new start page lets you set a background image and decide what appears, including Reading List, iCloud Tabs, Privacy Report and more
  • Expanded extensions support and new dedicated category in the App Store for discovering new extensions
  • New tab design featuring favicons in tabs, and website previews that appear when you hover over a tab
  • Translation (beta) for English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Russian or Brazilian Portuguese
  • Privacy Report gives you visibility into how Safari keeps your browsing your business, with an overview of trackers blocked by Intelligent Tracking Prevention
  • Safari password monitoring securely screens saved passwords for any that may have been involved in a data breach
  • Safari privacy prompts for extensions let you choose when a website can work with an extension

Messages

  • Pinned conversations keep up to nine of your favorite threads at the top of the list
  • Mentions let you direct a message to an individual in a group conversation
  • Inline replies let you reply to a specific message earlier in the conversation
  • Message effects for balloons, confetti, lasers and more
  • #images helps you find and add trending GIFs to messages
  • Memoji makes it simple to create a personalized character and send stickers that match your mood and personality

Maps

  • Guides offer recommendations for places to go and things to do, curated by a selection of trusted brands
  • Look Around to explore cities in a high-resolution, interactive 3D experience
  • Indoor maps for major airports and shopping centers
  • Cycling directions helps you find bike-friendly routes to your destination
  • Electric vehicle routing helps you plan trips for supported vehicles that you add on iPhone

What's New

AppleMobileFileIntegrity

  • Available for: macOS Big Sur
  • Impact: An app may be able to access user-sensitive data
  • Description: This issue was addressed by enabling hardened runtime.
  • CVE-2023-23499: Wojciech ReguÅa (@_r3ggi) of SecuRing (wojciechregula.blog)

curl

  • Available for: macOS Big Sur
  • Impact: Multiple issues in curl
  • Description: Multiple issues were addressed by updating to curl version 7.85.0.
  • CVE-2022-35252

dcerpc

  • Available for: macOS Big Sur
  • Impact: Mounting a maliciously crafted Samba network share may lead to arbitrary code execution
  • Description: A buffer overflow issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
  • CVE-2023-23513: Dimitrios Tatsis and Aleksandar Nikolic of Cisco Talos

PackageKit

  • Available for: macOS Big Sur
  • Impact: An app may be able to gain root privileges
  • Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved state management.
  • CVE-2023-23497: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)

Screen Time

  • Available for: macOS Big Sur
  • Impact: An app may be able to access information about a user's contacts
  • Description: A privacy issue was addressed with improved private data redaction for log entries.
  • CVE-2023-23505: Wojciech ReguÅa of SecuRing (wojciechregula.blog)

WebKit

  • Available for: macOS Big Sur
  • Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution
  • Description: The issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
  • WebKit Bugzilla: 248268
  • CVE-2023-23518: YeongHyeon Choi (@hyeon101010), Hyeon Park (@tree_segment), SeOk JEON (@_seokjeon), YoungSung Ahn (@_ZeroSung), JunSeo Bae (@snakebjs0107), Dohyun Lee (@l33d0hyun) of Team ApplePIE
  • WebKit Bugzilla: 248268
  • CVE-2023-23517: YeongHyeon Choi (@hyeon101010), Hyeon Park (@tree_segment), SeOk JEON (@_seokjeon), YoungSung Ahn (@_ZeroSung), JunSeo Bae (@snakebjs0107), Dohyun Lee (@l33d0hyun) of Team ApplePIE

Windows Installer

  • Available for: macOS Big Sur
  • Impact: An app may be able to bypass Privacy preferences
  • Description: The issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
  • CVE-2023-23508: Mickey Jin (@patch1t)