Macos Big Sur Preview Control Center HeroSource: Rene Ritchie

What you need to know

  • Apple announced the new M1 chip today.
  • It also confirmed that macOS Big Sur can really benefit from the new chip.
  • Everything's quicker, instant app launches and power-on to be expected.

Apple today announced its new M1 chip and the company also confirmed that the new SoC will also make macOS Big Sur purr in ways Intel chips wouldn't previously be able to do.

With the addition of Apple's new silicon macOS Big Sur benefits from new features and speed benefits, not least what Apple claims will be instant-on power management as well as instant app launch. We'll have to see that in action to be sure how accurate it is, however.

Apple Big Sur WakeSource: Apple

Speed improvements extend to a 1.5x speed increase in Safari JavaScript management, as well as Logic Pro running at up to three times the speed – meaning more instruments and plugins will be available. All of Apple's first-party apps will be optimized for the new silicon and macOS Big Sur too, of course.

The improved power management afforded by the new M1 will also mean we can look forward to quieter Macs which, if you've ever used a MacBook Air at full load, is something we're really looking forward to!

The addition of Apple silicon will also mean that users can enjoy universal versions of their iPhone and iPad apps, although developers will need to make that happen properly.

All of this will be available to all machines running the new M1 chip and, presumably, any future Apple silicon.

Here are 15 shortcuts for Apple's iWork apps on both iOS and macOS
Mastering iWork

Here are 15 shortcuts for Apple's iWork apps on both iOS and macOS

Pages, Keynote, and Numbers are built for Shortcuts on iPhone, iPad, and Mac — the new actions make accessing documents, creating templates, and even inserting data into spreadsheets. We've covered each action, built example shortcuts, and show you how to take advantage of iWork with the Shortcuts app.