Apple’s macOS 11 Big Sur is the most exciting Mac beta for a generation, because the steady introduction of support for Apple Silicon means we may encounter unexpected challenges as development accelerates.
Friends don’t let friends install betas on primary Macs
This is also why no one should install either the developer or public beta of the new Mac OS on their primary machine – doing so is a risk every year, but this year could pose unexpected challenges due to Apple Silicon.
Apple is heading toward its third developer beta since the first version appeared at WWDC. It’s probable we’ll see new editions of both the developer and public betas in the coming weeks. (The public beta is typically the same as the preceding developer beta, with any identified wrinkles removed).
The bottom line remains the same – no one should ever install beta software on their main system, particularly if their income depends on that system.
So, why might this year’s beta pose fresh challenges?
It’s all about the Apple Silicon
Apple has made Developer Transition Kit Macs running Apple Silicon available to developer, but most people will be running the latest Mac beta on an Intel-based Mac.
The thing is, under the hood these systems also implement support for Apple Silicon, which means elements of the operating system and new tools/APIs for developers working on the all-Apple platform will be introduced across the beta testing cycle.
That’s great, and Apple Silicon will be the future of the Mac platform, but as anyone who has ever engaged in even the simplest home decorating project knows, every task always reveals an unexpected challenge somewhere down the line.
Sometimes things get broken.
It seems more likely than not that something may get broken during the Big Sur beta cycle.
That’s understandable.
After all, Apple isn’t just improving and enhancing its operating system for Intel-based processors; it is doing so while also building feature and OS parity for Macs running on Apple Silicon. This almost inevitably means we can look forward to a few unexpected problems down the line.
In other words, more than ever before you should avoid testing the new OS on your main work Mac.
More importantly for Computerworld readers, this also means enterprise users should prioritize testing the new OS. Just as they really should move to migrate any of their proprietary apps that use kext to employ Apple’s more stable and secure Extensions architecture.
The first betas have been stable
For all the dire warnings, my personal experience and anecdotal reports from multiple sources suggest Apple has done really well with the first betas of macOS 11.
No one seems to have struck against any egregious problems as yet and the new Mac features (such as the new Safari start page, privacy improvements, Messages and the new Control Center) are so far working without a hitch.
Beyond exciting claims around performance, we’ve not heard too much concerning use of those Developer Transition kits. This is likely because developers must agree to maintain confidentiality, but the lack of any muffled screaming from those quarters suggests we’ve been doing OK so far.
As the beta testing cycle rolls forward, don’t be too surprised if the development process and the need to support Apple Silicon generates unexpected problems. But don’t freak out about this, either: finding and solving these challenges is what beta testing is all about.
The bottom line? As those Apple Silicon code nuggets emerge we will become more able to deduce Apple’s vision for the future of its PC platform.
That emerging vision is what makes this transition the most interesting Mac upgrade for a generation, one that history tells us will define the next decade of the PC.
It seems prudent to predict there may be a few challenges along the way.
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