Apple's macOS 11 Big Sur is now available for everyone

Today, Apple released its latest big update for Mac PCs, macOS 11 Big Sur. While the rest of this year's major updates launched last month, the Cupertino firm held back macOS a bit, so it could launch alongside its new ARM64 MacBooks and Mac mini, which were announced earlier this week.

The software update is big enough to merit the first major version number increase in decades; indeed, Mac OS X launched in 2001. But while there's plenty that's new for everyone, probably the biggest feature is that it has ARM64 support. It's the first time that Apple has switched to a new CPU architecture since it moved to Intel in 2006. Now, it's using its own custom ARM64 processors.

Along with all of those under-the-hood goodies, there's also a complete visual overhaul, such as transparent layers and a new floating dock. It also brings the Control Center to macOS for the first time, and adds new iOS 14-style widgets to the newly redesigned Notification Center.

And of course, it comes with the app improvements that we've seen in iOS 14, such as improvements in Messages, Maps, and more. If you want to check it out, you can find it on the Mac App Store here.