macOS Big Sur supports Apple M1 and Intel Macs, runs iOS apps and games

Following a long and somewhat tumultuous five-month beta testing period, Apple today announced the general public release of macOS Big Sur, the latest operating system for Mac computers. Also known as macOS 11, Big Sur is the first to support Macs built with either Intel or Apple M1 processors, and it features an improved version of the Mac’s desktop interface Finder, apps and games brought over from Apple’s mobile devices, and a substantially enhanced version of the Safari web browser.

From a user-facing standpoint, Big Sur’s most obvious changes may be cosmetic, as the user interface has been refreshed to incorporate transparent panes and bolder icons with depth shadowing, visual cues that weren’t as prominent in recent macOS releases. Notification Center, Control Center, and the traditional icon dock now have more in common than not with iPads. But there’s another bonus for users of Macs with Apple’s new M1 chips: They’ll also be able to run iPad and iPhone apps and games, which will now be downloadable from the Mac App Store, complete with resizable windows and support for trackpad/mouse controls.