The UI of macOS Big Sur is the most changed version of macOS in the past 6 years. Among the many new features, some of which you may not realize yet, we have summarized some useful but little-known "8 macOS Big Sur little-known tips", it is worth a try.
1. AirPods automatically switch
AirPods have automatic audio switching between devices. As long as the device is logged in to the same iCloud account, and the first connection and pairing with the AirPods headset has been completed on each device, then the AirPods can automatically connect with the device that outputs the audio source to realize smart switching between devices.
Automatic audio switching across devices is a new feature Apple introduced this year for several new systems such as iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, macOS Big Sur.
In the past, to switch audio between iPhone and iPad while wearing AirPods, you need to open the headphone cover, the device will display a pop-up animation, and then click OK to switch audio; or directly click AirPods in the Bluetooth list. After the system is updated, the iPhone and iPad can be seamlessly switched automatically.
For example, I am wearing AirPods to listen to music played on the iPhone, and then I turn on the video on the iPad, and the audio stream on the AirPods is automatically switched to the iPad, and I can almost listen to the streaming media on the iPad within 1 second the sound of. When the audio is automatically switched, a banner reminder will appear on the top of the device.
For macOS Big Sur, there is no need to click AirPods in the Bluetooth list of the Mac. When switching from the iPhone or iPad to the audio of the Mac device, a pop-up banner will appear on the upper right of the Mac. The switching mode is the same as the previous switching audio between iPhone and iPad When the time is the same, the audio is automatically switched to the Mac. vice versa.
The switching process is almost completed within 1 second without any delay, and it is very convenient to use.
In the Bluetooth list on the Mac, Apple also provides convenient control for AirPods, and even if the AirPods are connected to the iPhone, the AirPods noise reduction mode can still be switched through the Mac.
Click the AirPods icon in the Mac status bar to pop up the AirPods sound control page, select the audio output track, or switch the noise reduction mode.
Apple also explained on the official website that the automatic switching of the device is applicable to all Apple and Beats headsets equipped with the Apple H1 headset chip, including AirPods Pro, AirPods (second generation), Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro and Beats Solo Pro.
Apple has opened up the iCloud account system in its own devices, opened up the audio protocol between the devices, realized the cross-device audio streaming of AirPods, and improved its competitiveness through a smooth user experience.
2. Drag and drop menu bar icons
macOS Big Sur introduces the control center we are familiar with in iOS and iPadOS. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, volume, display brightness, etc. can all be adjusted here, and we can also control devices that are added to home applications. Various functions of the control center can also be fixed in the menu bar by dragging with the mouse, so that we can use common functions more quickly.
Click on the control center and place the cursor on the function to be moved to the menu bar.
And directly drag the function to the menu bar, the function will be moved to the menu bar. If you want to remove it, open System Preferences.
Select the dock and menu bar, select the function just added to the menu bar, and cancel the display in the menu bar
Then remove the function just added to the Mac menu bar, as shown in the figure.
3. Enhanced voice memo
When using voice memos in Big Sur, there is a new option to automatically reduce background noise and echo with a single click, which is very useful when recording lectures or meetings.
Apple has made a series of changes to voice memos in macOS Big Sur, including enhanced recording and smart folders. The following is how to master the latest additional functions of the memo recording software.
As the name suggests, the new "Enhanced Recording" option can make recordings clearer by reducing background noise and any reverberation. This is mainly to make it easier for the listeners to hear recordings made in a busy environment, or to better hear softer sounds.
This is to reduce the likelihood that the audience will misheard or misunderstand the content of the memo, which makes it useful for those who create typing transcriptions.
The enhanced audio icon is a magic wand, which can be found in the edit menu.
How to enhance voice memo in macOS Big Sur in the
selected recording in the sidebar.
Click the "Edit" button in the upper right corner.
Click the "Enhance" button with the magic wand icon.
Preview the audio by pressing the "Play" button.
Click Finish.
You can also perform the same procedure to delete the enhancement of the entire audio clip. Enhancement is the audio filtering of the original audio. Since the original recording exists and has not been processed, it can be easily reversed.
Although you can enhance the entire clip, you can't just enhance one section of the clip without affecting the rest. This is more advanced editing than the current form of Voice Memos can perform.
If you share the enhanced version of the recording with others, only the enhanced version will be provided instead of the original file. This means you can still delete the enhanced version, but the recipient of the shared file cannot.
4. Safari supports 4K resolution to watch YouTube videos
Since the OS supports YouTube's VP9 codec, you can watch YouTube videos in 4K HDR in "macOS Big Sur".
Note that the 4K YouTube options will be limited to newer Macs by default, but there is a trick to enable them on older Macs.
Enable the "Development" menu in the Safari settings, select "Experimental Features", and make sure that both the VP9 decoder and the VP9 SW battery decoder are enabled.
5. Adjust the size of widgets
"macOS Big Sur" has a new widget interface, if you right-click on any widget with resizing options, you can select a new size.
In terms of widgets, the widgets in macOS Big Sur support small, medium, and large sizes like the mobile platform, and do not support smart stacking. It should be noted that the previous application widgets cannot be used on macOS Big Sur, and developers need to re-adapt this new system function.
6. Notification Do Not Disturb
In any incoming notification in the "Today" center, if you right-click, you can select "Implicit Push". This setting will prevent future notifications from this application from popping up on the screen, but you will see them in the notification list.
7. Send messages with effects
Messaging in macOS Big Sur is more like the messaging app on iOS devices. You can use message effects to enhance messages, find GIFs and insert photos. Just click the small "A" on the left side of the text bar to see a drop-down list of options.
8. Disable the "desktop coloring" function
In the latest beta version of macOS Big Sur, a new option has been added to "System Preferences" to disable "Allow window tint adjustment based on wallpaper" when using "Dark Mode".
In order to "fuse the help window with the surrounding content", Apple added the "desktop coloring" function to macOS Mojave. However, users have mixed opinions on this feature. Some people think that this feature is very easy to use, and some people think that this feature is not effective when used with dark mode. Therefore, in macOS 11 Big Sur, users can choose to disable the "Allow window tint adjustment based on wallpaper" function in "System Preferences".
If users want to disable the "desktop coloring" function, they only need to open the "System Preferences", select "General", and look for the "Allow to color wallpapers in windows" option. By default, this box is checked, and users can disable this feature by simply unchecking it.
The above are the tips for everyone: 8 little-known tips for using macOS Big Sur, and more tips for using macOS. Pay attention to macz, a dry Mac software download site.