My mini review.
Okay, I am apparently one of the few who actually loves the new interface. I don't understand why people here are screaming that it is ugly after installing it. It's not like Apple hasn't released 10 beta's to make your eyes get used to the new colors. It is YOUR decision to upgrade and you knew what you signed up for. Out with they old grey, in with the refreshing white! Yes, it's still a little rough around the edges here and there but at least Apple updated its entire OS at once, in stark contrast with some other major operating system that still hasn't made the full transition from it's 2006-2009 interface to its current one, 5 years after its introduction.
The installation went unfortunately not as smooth as hoped, it hang on the setup assistant (beachball and a black screen with only the top bar visible), but after 30 minutes of waiting (as advised by multiple users) and then a forced shut down and restart I could immediately log-in.
The interface is very fresh, yet familiar. I haven't been looking for any button that I suddenly couldn't find. I like the transparency in the side bar and more consistency throughout the OS. I would like to see a rebuild system preferences panel though because that looks very outdated (hasn't changed much since OS X 10.0) and really crammed. Hello Apple, I have a 27 inch 5K iMac, not an 1024x768 iBook anymore.
The new dock is my favorite part about Big Sur, as my biggest icon-annoyances are finally gone: No more "some icons are slightly tilted some are not". I am curious to see if iOS 15 might introduce some Big Sur kind of icons with slightly more depth or that Apple will keep these two OS-es separated from each other icon-wise.
Performance wise I have noticed some slowdowns here and there, especially after boot up. But once it's up and running I don't notice major differences compared to Catalina. The Photos app has become noticeably faster though!
The new Maps app is finally what it should have been years ago. Same features as on iOS and I love the new look-around! The image quality is very high. Can't wait for Apple to roll the new maps and look-around out to my country too (although i don't see that happening before late 2021).
4K Youtube in Safari is amazing! Finally Apple/Google! Better late than never, although scrolling on the Youtube homepage still isn't fluid, but i'm blaming Google for that.
Bugs: So far only 1 major bug found: I cannot unlock my Mac with my Apple Watch anymore. I get the error "Your Mac was unable to communicate with your Apple Watch."
Although slightly annoying, it's not the end of the world (not being able to shut down my Mac with Catalina was way worse) Other thing I have noticed is that the Music still isn't as fluid and smooth as it should be, I am staying with Spotify. Also the Apple TV app is still confusing. Apple should make it more clear what the difference is between Apple TV and Apple TV+.
Final thing I had hoped for: number of unread mail should (like iOS) always be displayed on the Mail icon, not only when you have the app running.
The Good:
+ New Interface feels fresh, much more consistent yet familiar. No Windows 8 kind of drama.
+ New Sounds are funky (and were extremely long overdue for an update.)
+ Safari now supports Youtube in 4K and has more privacy features.
+ Widgets are now located in a place where they make sense.
The not yet so good:
/ Design inconsistencies here and there
/ Some parts of the OS feel outdated (e.g. system settings)
/ Boot-up feels sluggish
The bad:
- Bugs like Apple watch unlock, rocky installation.
- Music / TV App still not up to standard after last years introduction
- Stocks app still shows old news with stocks.
- No Apple News app in my country
- Launchpad still not able to sort apps alphabetically.
Conclusion:
With the introduction of Big Sur suddenly the drama of Catalina has been explained. Apple has been working for much longer on this OS, but suddenly realized they also had to come up with something in September 2019. That's why Catalina had such a disastrous launch. I wouldn't have mind to use Mojave for another year, if Apple had focussed even more on Big Sur then they have done so far. It's a good start though, and Apple has finally put some effort in bringing certain apps in MacOS on par with its iOS version (like Maps and iMessage). I really hope Apple will continue to invest in MacOS to keep improving its design, but with the new Apple Silicon chipset it's certain that they haven't forgotten about us Mac users. The new interface feels very consistent and should be an example to others as to how to repaint your house, but still keeping it your home.
