• This forum is for posting news stories or links from rumor sites. When you start a thread, please include a link to the site you're referencing.

    THIS IS NOT A FORUM TO ASK "WHAT IF?" TYPE QUESTIONS.

    THIS IS NOT A FORUM FOR ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO USE YOUR MAC OR SOFTWARE.

    This is a NEWS and RUMORS forum as the name implies. If your thread is neither of those things, then please find the appropriate forum to ask your question.

    If you don't have a link to a news story, do not post the thread here.

    If you don't follow these rules, then your post may be deleted.

First Look: macOS Big Sur With Redesign, Safari Updates, New Messages App and More

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Joined
Oct 18, 2009
Messages
143
Reaction score
22
Points
18
Location
South Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
2021 iMac running Sonoma. 1TB SSD, 16 gigs RAM. iPhone 15 Max Pro, iPad Air
First Look: macOS Big Sur With Redesign, Safari Updates, New Messages App and More | MacRumors Forums

The new look. Not sure I like it but since this is only a preliminary look and from Beta 1, I "assume" Apple will refine it with each Beta release.

So, in other words, Big Sur is replacing CATALINA? What was the purpose of CATALINA at all then? This reminds me of Windows. It took every other platform launch to be any good.

I saw another post which is correct. It's all about the money.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
863
Reaction score
52
Points
28
So, in other words, Big Sur is replacing CATALINA? What was the purpose of CATALINA at all then? This reminds me of Windows. It took every other platform launch to be any good.

I saw another post which is correct. It's all about the money.

Not sure where you're coming from here. Every release of macOS "replaces" the previous one. And upgrades are free.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
863
Reaction score
52
Points
28
Personally, I think the new look is great. I was cracking up at the extreme overreactions to the icon redesigns on MacRumors. Some people have no sense of balance. If they don't like it 100%, it's "trash" and "atrocious" or "scandalous" LOL. When you use up all the most extreme adjectives for little things like icons, I wonder what you're left with when you encounter real issues. I guess you just have a panic attack at that point.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2009
Messages
143
Reaction score
22
Points
18
Location
South Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
2021 iMac running Sonoma. 1TB SSD, 16 gigs RAM. iPhone 15 Max Pro, iPad Air
Not sure where you're coming from here. Every release of macOS "replaces" the previous one. And upgrades are free.

I Understand that every release “replaces” the previous one. I just get frustrated with all the upgrades. When I went to Catalina, some programs I use weren’t supported. 32 bit vs 64 bit. Ended up going backwards which was a royal PITA. I won’t be upgrading again until I get a new computer, at which time I’ll be forced to. It’s one reason I hated Microsoft and switched to Apple. Now it just feels like Apple is becoming Microsoft. Sorry for being so negative, but if you had any idea of how many times I’ve had to call Apple Support because of changes, you’d understand where I’m coming from.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
863
Reaction score
52
Points
28
I Understand that every release “replaces” the previous one. I just get frustrated with all the upgrades. When I went to Catalina, some programs I use weren’t supported. 32 bit vs 64 bit. Ended up going backwards which was a royal PITA. I won’t be upgrading again until I get a new computer, at which time I’ll be forced to. It’s one reason I hated Microsoft and switched to Apple. Now it just feels like Apple is becoming Microsoft. Sorry for being so negative, but if you had any idea of how many times I’ve had to call Apple Support because of changes, you’d understand where I’m coming from.

Just curious, aside from the 32-bit apps issue (which Apple did give plenty of advanced warning about), what other issues have you had with macOS updates/upgrades? I guess I've just been lucky, because I recall nothing major in the way of issues within my range of macOS experience, which would be Tiger (10.4) through Catalina (10.15).
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2009
Messages
143
Reaction score
22
Points
18
Location
South Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
2021 iMac running Sonoma. 1TB SSD, 16 gigs RAM. iPhone 15 Max Pro, iPad Air
Just curious, aside from the 32-bit apps issue (which Apple did give plenty of advanced warning about), what other issues have you had with macOS updates/upgrades? I guess I've just been lucky, because I recall nothing major in the way of issues within my range of macOS experience, which would be Tiger (10.4) through Catalina (10.15).

I’ve had issues with mail, iTunes, photos, backups, iCloud, slooooow mac. Probably others. Some of the issues were probably how my computer was set-up, but changing OS definitely contributed to the issues.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
863
Reaction score
52
Points
28
I’ve had issues with mail, iTunes, photos, backups, iCloud, slooooow mac. Probably others. Some of the issues were probably how my computer was set-up, but changing OS definitely contributed to the issues.

Aside from mail, I regularly use everything you listed and haven't had slowing down issues. Definitely sounds like there's something else going on, because it's not inherent to the OS. What year and Mac model are you using? Specs?
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,596
Reaction score
1,072
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
So, in other words, Big Sur is replacing CATALINA? What was the purpose of CATALINA at all then? This reminds me of Windows. It took every other platform launch to be any good.

I saw another post which is correct. It's all about the money.
Apple has followed the pattern of a major OS revision annually for several years now. Each revision is free and users aren't forced to upgrade. The change to Catalina was more noticeable because 32-bit apps are no longer supported.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2009
Messages
143
Reaction score
22
Points
18
Location
South Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
2021 iMac running Sonoma. 1TB SSD, 16 gigs RAM. iPhone 15 Max Pro, iPad Air
Aside from mail, I regularly use everything you listed and haven't had slowing down issues. Definitely sounds like there's something else going on, because it's not inherent to the OS. What year and Mac model are you using? Specs?

I have a late 2015 iMac with 8GB memory. Apple Support has looked at it and can’t figure out what causes it to run so slow. When they screen share, they are surprised how slow it is. Still have a 2007 iMac and it runs great. As I mentioned, it is likely caused by something outside of the OS. It wasn’t always like this. For example, we have wiped it clean and restored from Time Machine with no improvement. They looked through Utilities and didn’t see anything that was causing the problem.

Nevertheless, it is quite frustrating.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
863
Reaction score
52
Points
28
I have a late 2015 iMac with 8GB memory. Apple Support has looked at it and can’t figure out what causes it to run so slow. When they screen share, they are surprised how slow it is. Still have a 2007 iMac and it runs great. As I mentioned, it is likely caused by something outside of the OS. It wasn’t always like this. For example, we have wiped it clean and restored from Time Machine with no improvement. They looked through Utilities and didn’t see anything that was causing the problem.

Nevertheless, it is quite frustrating.

Well, if you ever feel up to trying again in the future, I'd suggest you do the clean install but don't restore anything. Just use the computer and see if it's faster. It could be that culprit is something that's being put right back on the drive from Time Machine. Not sure if it has a fusion drive of straight SSD, but it could also be that it is failing.
 
Joined
Feb 1, 2011
Messages
4,407
Reaction score
2,098
Points
113
Location
Sacramento, California
I have a late 2015 iMac with 8GB memory. Apple Support has looked at it and can’t figure out what causes it to run so slow. When they screen share, they are surprised how slow it is. Still have a 2007 iMac and it runs great. As I mentioned, it is likely caused by something outside of the OS. It wasn’t always like this. For example, we have wiped it clean and restored from Time Machine with no improvement. They looked through Utilities and didn’t see anything that was causing the problem.

If you want to start a new thread, I'd be happy to help you troubleshoot this. I've never seen a slowdown problem that I've been unable to diagnose.

The first thing that I would do would be to have a look at this Web site and see if anything there helps:

Macintosh Slowdown Solutions
Macintosh OS X Slowdown Solutions

You are a previous Windows user. I bet you downloaded anti-virus software first thing. If you did, it's probably strangling your Mac. Completely uninstall it (this may require an uninstaller program from the app's developer) and see if things are better.

None of the above helped? Try this: Create a new user account on the computer, with no third party software installed,

On your Mac, choose Apple menu --> System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.

Click the lock icon at the bottom of the pane, enter an administrator name and password, then click Unlock.

Click the Add button at the bottom of the list on the left.

Click the New Account pop-up menu.

Enter a name and password for the user.

Click Create User.

now boot from it (choose Log Out in Apple menu, then log back in via the new account). Are things better? If they aren't, the problem is almost certainly a hardware problem rather than a software problem.

If the problem continues to exist when logged into a fresh new user account, then I'd download:

DriveDX - free demo
DriveDx - the most advanced drive health diagnostics and monitoring utility

and see what it says about the health of your hard drive.
 
Joined
Feb 24, 2015
Messages
23
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Pro 5,1 12 core 3.46 GHz 64GB RAM
Aside from mail, I regularly use everything you listed and haven't had slowing down issues. Definitely sounds like there's something else going on, because it's not inherent to the OS. What year and Mac model are you using? Specs?

Well what you are saying in untrue as, for a start iTunes does not work in Catalina, and was replaced, by Music, Books and Podcasts, all of which are sadly lacking in functionality.
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,596
Reaction score
1,072
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
Well what you are saying in untrue as, for a start iTunes does not work in Catalina, and was replaced, by Music, Books and Podcasts, all of which are sadly lacking in functionality.
What functionality are you looking for that's missing? I'm not saying some things haven't changed but I'm wondering what you're missing.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
863
Reaction score
52
Points
28
Well what you are saying in untrue as, for a start iTunes does not work in Catalina, and was replaced, by Music, Books and Podcasts, all of which are sadly lacking in functionality.

Actually it was member exncite was the one who said they used "iTunes" on Catalina, but I didn't correct the semantics because I figured they just meant the Music app. After "iTunes" has been the app for 19 years, it can be sort of hard to break the habit of saying "iTunes".

Also not sure what you're implying by "for a start," as I don't see anything else in my post that could be called into question on a technicality. Surely you're not questioning my personal experience running these apps without slowdowns, as of course that would not be something you could determine ;)
 
Joined
Feb 24, 2015
Messages
23
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Pro 5,1 12 core 3.46 GHz 64GB RAM
What functionality are you looking for that's missing? I'm not saying some things haven't changed but I'm wondering what you're missing.

Books is almost useless for audiobooks, it also duplicates audiobook files thus doubling the disk space they take up and the duplicates it uses have no recognizable naming so are virtually impossible to find, also you cannot edit tags in audiobook files.

Music is like a kindergarten version of a music player. I have over 90,000 tracks and it is hard to search with the same flexibility as was available in iTunes. It IS usable though but a far cry from the old iTunes. I have tried various other players, but I liked iTunes best. In fact I was able to install iTunes in an early beta version of Catalina, but unfortunately it died later.

To #usagra, I am not challenging your experiences, mine are with functionality not with speed. I have had no problems with speed at all. "For a start" iTunes does not work in Catalina. Pretty straightforward I would have though. I think what I am challenging is there are no major issues with Catalina compared to Mojave. I have had more issues with this pate than any other incremental update, and I have been with MacOS X since the public beta of 10.0.

So far having played with macOS 11.0 beta, things are looking very interesting although the Music and books apps need more work to my way of thinking.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
863
Reaction score
52
Points
28
To #usagra, I am not challenging your experiences, mine are with functionality not with speed. I have had no problems with speed at all. "For a start" iTunes does not work in Catalina. Pretty straightforward I would have though. I think what I am challenging is there are no major issues with Catalina compared to Mojave. I have had more issues with this pate than any other incremental update, and I have been with MacOS X since the public beta of 10.0.

"For a start" implies there was something more in my post you thought was "false/not true" beyond the simple misnomer of "iTunes." And the issue I was discussing with the other member was speed, not functionality, so you've actually confirmed what I was saying. Your issue of functionality is a separate one.

Speaking of your separate issue, what are you wanting search in Music to do besides return song, artist, and album results?
 
Joined
Jun 24, 2011
Messages
215
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Brighton
Hello All

Given that Big Sur is on the horizon is there any point in upgrading from Mojave to Catalina for just a few months?
Thanks.
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,596
Reaction score
1,072
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Ventura, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
If you're planning upgrade to Big Sur as soon as it's released (probably late September/mid October) then there's no real hurry to jump to Catalina. Keep in mind though that many people don't upgrade as soon as a new OS is released. They wait for a bit and see if there are any significant issues. If you're going to do that then the question is how long are you likely to wait?
 
Joined
Jun 24, 2011
Messages
215
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Brighton
If you're planning upgrade to Big Sur as soon as it's released (probably late September/mid October) then there's no real hurry to jump to Catalina. Keep in mind though that many people don't upgrade as soon as a new OS is released. They wait for a bit and see if there are any significant issues. If you're going to do that then the question is how long are you likely to wait?

Thanks, since I haven't installed Catalina yet I'm clearly not an early adopter, my Mac came with Mojave installed late last year and I have waited until now. I'll probably stick with Mojave for another six months or so and then go straight for Big Sur.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top