Big Sur introduces a beautiful redesign and is packed with new enhancements for key apps including Safari, Messages, and Maps, as well as new privacy features.

"Big Sur has been engineered, down to its core, to take full advantage of all the power of the M1 chip to make the macOS experience even better for the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini," Apple said in a statement late on Thursday.

Big Sur delivers a spacious new design that makes navigation easier, while putting more controls at users' fingertips.

The all-new Control Center gives users quick access to controls for Do Not Disturb, displays, keyboard brightness, and more, right from the menu bar.

Users can see more relevant information at a glance in the updated Notification Center, including interactive notifications and redesigned widgets.

The biggest update to Safari since its original launch in 2003 makes the world's fastest browser even faster while maintaining industry-leading battery life.

Safari's JavaScript engine helps it outperform other browsers on Mac and PC, and loads frequently visited sites an average of 50 percent faster than Chrome.

"And on new Macs with M1, Safari is now up to 1.5x speedier at running JavaScript and nearly 2x more responsive. Streaming on popular platforms is more vivid and clear with the addition of both YouTube and Netflix in 4K HDR," Apple said.

Messages on the Mac offers new tools to help users manage their favourite group conversations and fun, engaging ways to express themselves.

Users can pin conversations to the top of their Messages list for fast access, and search has been completely redesigned to help users quickly find links, photos, and matching terms.

Messages for Mac also works seamlessly across iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, so conversations stay in sync, Apple said.

New group messaging features streamline interactions with family, friends, and colleagues.

Maps has been entirely redesigned and brings exciting new features for exploring the world on the Mac.

Users can discover places to visit and things to do with Guides from brands they trust, as well as create custom guides of favorite restaurants, parks, and vacation ideas to share with friends and family.

"Look Around provides an immersive 360-degree view of a destination, and new detailed indoor maps help with navigating major airports and shopping centers. And for the first time, cycling and electric vehicle trips can be routed on a Mac and sent directly to iPhone to have when on the go," Apple informed.

Coming later this year, the Mac App Store will include a new section on each product page showing a developer-reported summary of the privacy practices of an app.

With Big Sur, Apple's community of more than 28 million developers have access to the tools they need to create amazing experiences for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.