MacOS Big Sur Beta 8 Available to Download
Apple has released macOS Big Sur beta 8 to those who are beta testing the macOS release. Usually developer betas come out first and are soon followed by public beta releases.
Although beta system software is typically less stable than final stable versions, anyone with a Big Sur compatible Mac can install the public beta of Big Sur if they want to. It’s generally recommended to only install beta software on secondary devices that are not your primary hardware.
MacOS Big Sur 11 includes a redesigned user interface, with new icons, refreshed Dock, and more white space with brighter UI elements. MacOS Big Sur also brings Control Center to the Mac, and new improvements and features are included in Messages app and Safari, along with instant language translation, and a variety of other improvements and changes.
How to Download MacOS Big Sur Beta 8
Backup the Mac with Time Machine before proceeding with any software update.
- Go to the Apple menu, then select “System Preferences”
- Select “Software Update”
- Choose to update to macOS Big Sur beta 8
The Mac will reboot in to complete installation.
Apple has said the final version of MacOS Big Sur will be released to the general public sometime this fall
Separately, Apple has finalized and released iOS 14 for iPhone, iPadOS 14 for iPad, tvOS 14 for Apple TV, and
watchOS 7 for Apple Watch to all users with eligible devices.
I got an opportunity to try out Big Sur yesterday. It reminds me of my iPad, and while iPads are great for what they do, I don’t want to turn my Mac Pro into a giant iPad. The overall feel was that my mac was not so much simplified but “dumbed down”.
First time in awhile I’m not that interested in a new MacOS. I’ve struggled so much with Catalina since its release that I really don’t want to start all over again. I hope this time the beta testers weed out more bugs and not rush to push out this release. Catalina is working well now so I think I will wait awhile before embracing Big Sur.
Looks great, will be exciting to take a look at some of the changes.