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Apple Releases macOS Big Sur 11.4 With Apple Podcasts Subscription Support

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Apple today released macOS Big Sur 11.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Big Sur operating system that launched in November 2020. macOS Big Sur comes one month after the release of macOS Big Sur 11.3, an update that added M1 optimizations, AirTag integration, and more.

macOS Big Sur Feature Orange
The new ‌‌‌‌macOS Big Sur‌‌‌ 11.4 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Preferences.

macOS Big Sur 11.4 lays the groundwork for two upcoming Apple Music features: Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio, both of which will be available on the Mac.

It also adds support for Apple Podcasts subscriptions, and fixes a number of bugs, as outlined in Apple's release notes.

macOS Big Sur 11.4 adds Apple Podcasts subscriptions and channels and includes important bug fixes.

Podcasts
- Apple Podcasts subscriptions are available for purchase via monthly and annual subscriptions
- Channels group together collections of shows from podcast creators

This release also fixes the following issues:
- Bookmarks in Safari may get reordered or moved into a folder that can appear hidden
- Certain websites may not display correctly after your Mac wakes from sleep
- Keywords may not be included when exporting a photo from the Photos app
- Preview may become unresponsive when searching PDF documents
- 16-inch MacBook may become unresponsive when playing Civilization VI

For more detailed information about this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT211896
For detailed information about the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

Apple's attention will soon be focused on the next-generation version of macOS, macOS 12, which is expected to be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference that kicks off on June 7.

Related Forum: macOS Big Sur

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Top Rated Comments

PBG4 Dude Avatar
PBG4 Dude
69 months ago

Nearly 4 GB download every time!! What ever happened to incremental updates? 😩
That is an incremental update. Full install is over 12GB.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
Reason077
69 months ago

There are reports that 11.4 allegedly fixes SSD "thrashing" issue on M1 Macs. I can't test that personally cause i have Intel MacBook.
macOS thrashed the SSD pretty hard on my Intel MacBook too: 119 TB over ~36 months. But it does seem even worse on M1: 27.7 TB after 3 months! In fact it's gone up 0.2 TB since this morning. Both 8 GB machines.

[Update June 8th: Disk writes are now at 30.1 TB, so I am averaging 0.17 TB per day in the 14 days since installing the 11.4 update. Still seems pretty high?]
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
Reason077
69 months ago
Nearly 4 GB download every time!! What ever happened to incremental updates? 😩
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9
9927036
69 months ago

Don't waste your time with that. It won't help.
Agreed. All they know is "reinstall macOS".
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Westside guy Avatar
Westside guy
69 months ago
Seems like a relatively unimportant update. Think I'll hold off and let the guinea pigs... er, eager beavers update first.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
csalm87 Avatar
csalm87
69 months ago

Apple released Intel Macs in 2006 on Tiger 10.4. You could upgrade a PPC Mac to Leopard 10.5, but no further. Snow Leopard in 2009 did no support PPC Macs.

I'll give you two more versions after Big Sur, tops. But macOS 14 or whatever will be Silicon only.
Honestly, I think this time will be different. Apple has many, many more Intel Macs out there now than they did PPC ones back then. I can't see them dropping support that quickly. There are rumors that an updated Mac Pro is on the way with an Intel chip, which will most likely be Apple's last Intel Mac. If this is the case, I can see support for Intel Macs for at least another 5 years.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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