Yesterday brought the news that three Mac models were going to have Apple’s first ARM CPU, a variant of what’s been powering their iOS devices since 2010.
With the MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro all available to order now, with a delivery date set for next week.
However, its new version of their operating system, macOS Big Sur, was announced in June at their remote ‘WWDC’ conference, bringing a fresh new look, useful features and optimised for Apple’s ‘M1’ chip.
However, what is the release date for ‘Big Sur’? And what Macs are compatible for it? Intel and M1 or just the M1?
What Macs are compatible with Big Sur?
Every year, Apple release a list that states explicitly which Macs work with the latest version of their operating systems. The same is true here, where the following work with ‘Big Sur’:
- iMac ( 2014 and later)
- iMac Pro (2017 and later)
- Mac Pro (2013 and later)
- Mac mini (2014 and later)
- MacBook Air (2013 and later)
- MacBook Pro (Late 2013 and later)
- MacBook (2015 and later)
It’s important to make sure that your Mac does indeed work with Big Sur, and to find this out, you only need to click the apple logo on the top left when in the OS, click ‘About This Mac’, and it will show the year of when this Mac was released.
There are several reasons why earlier models aren’t supported, from the CPU that’s installed, to the type of display, or even the battery. There’s many factors which need to meet the requirements for Apple, so if you’re finding that your Mac from 2012 is slower than usual, it may be time to look for an upgrade.
READ MORE: Apple M1 Silicon chip revealed; What is it, what does it really mean?
When does it Release?
Apple were quiet for Big Sur soon after it was announced in June, and especially so when the last two events announced the iPad Air 4, iPhone 12 line and much more.
Beta releases were still being sent to developers, however, when the latest event was announced with the three new Macs, Big Sur also got its time to shine.
From watching the above, you can see that Big Sur releases on Thursday, 12th November.
It’s genuinely an exciting time to be a Mac user again, and with reviews in progress for the three new Macs, it will be interesting to see how the M1 chip handles the pro apps, games and much more, compared to the Intel variant of Macs.
READ MORE: Three Macs with Apple M1 announced! Details here..
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