Last week was huge for the Mac, with the release of macOS 11 Big Sur and the first wave of Macs based on Apple silicon: the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the Mac mini, all powered by Apple’s new M1 chip. But not all the Mac news was good—a network failure on Apple’s end on the day of Big Sur’s release rendered millions of Macs nigh-unusable, with odd behavior and app launch failures. Adam Engst explores how it happened, what it means for Mac privacy and security, and how Apple responded. Finally, TidBITS is looking for new volunteer translators for our Dutch and Japanese editions—help us bring TidBITS to a worldwide audience! We have so many notable Mac app releases this week that our email template couldn’t hold them all. They’re all on our site, and this issue includes Timing 2020.10, ChronoSync 4.9.12, Audio Hijack 3.7.7, Piezo 1.6.10, and Airfoil 5.9.5, SoundSource 5.1.2, GraphicConverter 11.3.1, BBEdit 13.5.2, GarageBand 10.4.1, Pages 10.3.5, Numbers 10.3.5, and Keynote 10.3.5, Logic Pro X 10.6, Final Cut Pro X 10.5, Compressor 4.5, and Motion 5.5, OmniFocus 3.10, OmniOutliner Essentials and Pro 5.8, Fantastical 3.3, Merlin Project 7.0, and Microsoft Office for Mac 16.43.
Apple has released macOS 11 Big Sur, but we advise delaying upgrades to production Macs thanks to significant behind-the-scenes changes.
If you can read English and write in either Dutch or Japanese, we could use your help in translating TidBITS!
If you had problems launching apps on your Mac—or if it was just behaving weirdly—around 4 PM Eastern Standard Time on 12 November 2020, here’s why.
Apple has unveiled its first Apple silicon Macs: a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. The new M1 chip gives them impressive performance and remarkable battery life, but Apple made few other notable changes.
Watchlist
Adds full compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur and updates the user interface for Apple's new operating system. ($42 annual subscription, free update, 22.3 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Synchronization and backup tool brings numerous tweaks and additions to ensure support for macOS 11 Big Sur. ($49.99 new, free update, 67.3 MB, macOS 10.11+)
Adds initial compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur to the three Rogue Amoeba audio apps. ($49/19/29 new, free updates, various sizes, macOS 10.13+)
Brings initial compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur along with improvements and bug fixes. ($39 new, free update, 16 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Versatile graphics app is now a macOS Universal app, enabling it to run natively on Macs with Apple's M1 chip. ($39.95 new, free update, 234 MB, macOS 10.9+)
Maintenance update with a smattering of bug fixes for the long-standing text editor. ($49.99 new, free update, 18.7 MB, macOS 10.14.2+)
Introduces a new user interface for macOS 11 Big Sur and improves performance and efficiency on Macs with Apple's M1 chip. (Free, 797.5 MB, macOS 10.13.6+)
Brings compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur and new icons to the three iWork apps. (Free, various sizes)
Wide-ranging maintenance release with a voluminous number of improvements and bug fixes. ($199.99 new, free update, 1.1 GB, macOS 10.15+)
Improves performance on Macs with Apple's M1 chip for Apple's trio of professional video editing apps. ($299.99/$49.99/$49.99 new, free updates, macOS 10.15.6+)
Task management app introduces support for macOS 11 Big Sur. ($39.99 new, free update, 69.6 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Brings compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur to the outlining and information organization apps. ($9.99/59.99 new, free update, 40.1 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Adds support for macOS 11 Big Sur widgets in Notification Center and Macs running on Apple's M1 chip. ($39.99 new, free update, 40.4 MB, macOS 10.13.2+)
Major upgrade for the project management app brings new collaboration features and support for macOS 11 Big Sur. ($149 annual subscription, free update for subscribers, 28.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Monthly maintenance update for the productivity suite, with details on the October update's release of the refreshed Outlook app. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update)