What you need to know
- Apple has released macOS Big Sur 11.3.
- The update brings a ton of features across the Mac experience.
Apple has released macOS Big Sur 11.3 and there are a ton of new features.
The latest update to macOS Big Sur adds support for AirTag in the Find My app, improves the performance of iPhone and iPad apps on M1 Macs, adds new skin tones for emojis, and brings new voices to Siri.
The latest update brings support for AirTag, Apple's new tracker that will be available this Friday.
Support for AirTag to keep track of and find your important items like your keys, wallet, backpack, and more, privately and securely in the Find My app. The Find My network with hundreds of millions of devices can help you find your AirTag, even when it isn't nearby. Lost Mode notifies you when your AirTag is found, and you can enter a phone number where you can be contacted.
macOS Big Sur 11.3 also adds a number of performance upgrades to iPhone and iPad apps on M1 Macs:
- Option to change an iPhone and iPad app's window size
- Support for displaying the highest resolution version of an iPhone or iPad app in full screen
- Keyboard support for iPhone and iPad games designed to use device tilt
- Keyboard, mouse, and trackpad support for iPhone and iPad games that support game controllers
The new update also brings new skin tone variations to the couple kissing and couple with heart emoji as well as some new emojis.
[macOS 11.3] introduces an exciting update for the couple kissing emoji and couple with heart emoji with the ability to select different skin tones. Additional emoji include characters for face exhaling, face with spiral eyes, face in clouds, hearts on fire, mending heart, and woman with a beard, among others.
Apple has also added new voices to Siri, enabling you to choose a voice for Siri that connects best with you.
Siri no longer has a default voice, allowing users to choose the voice that speaks to them when they first set up their device, and in English, users can now select more diverse voice options. These new Siri voices use Neural Text to Speech technology for an incredibly natural sound. These updates further Apple's long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion, with products and services that are designed to better reflect our customers and the world.
City Charts, which showcase the top hits in 100 cities across the world, have now launched in Apple Music.
- Autoplay keeps music playing by automatically playing a similar song, once you've reached the end of a song or playlist
- City charts showcase what's popular in over 100 cities from all over the world
The Podcasts app, which Apple featured in its 'Spring loaded' event last week, has been redesigned with new show pages.
- Podcasts Show Pages are redesigned to make it easier to start listening
- Option to save and download episodes, automatically adding them to your Library for quick access
- Download behavior and notification settings can be customized on a show-by-show basis
- Top Charts and popular categories in Search help you discover new shows
The News app has also been updated with a redesigned News+ feed.
- Redesigned News+ feed enables Apple News+ subscribers to quickly find, download, and manage magazine and newspaper issues
- All-new Search experience that helps you find relevant topics, channels, and stories
Safari has been updated as well to allow users to customize the order of sections on the Start Page.
- Start Page section order can now be customized
- Additional WebExtensions API lets developers offer extensions that replace the new tab page
- Web Speech API lets developers incorporate speech recognition into their webpages for real-time captioning, dictation, and voice navigation
- WebM and Vorbis video and audio format support
Apple has also added the ability to manually sort the Today list in the Reminders app for the first time.
- Ability to sort Today Smart list
- Support for syncing the order of reminders in lists across your devices
- Option to print your reminder lists
The latest update also brings support for the latest Xbox and Playstation controllers.
- Xbox Series X|S Wireless Controller or Sony PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller support
- Mac computers with the M1 chip
- Hibernation support
About this Mac has also been updated to show your warranty and AppleCare+ coverage.
- About this Mac displays Apple warranty status and AppleCare+ coverage in the Service tab when signed in with Apple ID
- Support for purchasing and enrolling in AppleCare+ for eligible Mac computers from About This Mac
This release also fixes a number of bugs:
- Reminders created via Siri may be unintentionally set for early morning hours
- iCloud Keychain might not turn off
- AirPods audio routing to incorrect device for Automatic Switching
- AirPods Automatic Switching notifications might be missing or duplicated
- External 4K monitors may not display in full resolution when connected over USB-C
- Login window may not display properly after restarting Mac mini (M1, 2020)
- The Dwell feature may not work in the Accessibility Keyboard
macOS Big Sur 11.3 is available to download now.
