Use Xcode 12 and these resources to build apps for macOS Big Sur.
Mac Os is a series of graphical operating systems, which was developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Apple released the original Macintosh on January 24, 1984. It is the early system software which was partially based on the Lisa OS and Xerox PARC Alto computer. It was originally named “System Software”, or simply “System”. In 1996 Apple rebranded it as Mac OS, due in part to its Macintosh clone program which ended a year later. The Mac OS is characterized by its monolithic system. It was noted as easy to use and featured cooperative multitasking for the most of its history. It is the primary operating system for Apple’s Mac family of computers. It is the second most widely used desktop OS after the Microsoft Windows. The desktop version of the Mac OS X 10.0, was released in March 2001, with its first update, 10.1 arrived a year later. After this, the Apple started naming its releases after big cats, which lasted until OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. From OS X 10.9 Mavericks, Apple named its releases by landmarks in California.
2000-2001: The Early Days of Mac OS X
OS X 10.1 really didn’t have many new features; the entire operating system was, for most people, new. Compared to 10.0, it added DVD playback and a number of performance enhancements, but Apple was working on simply shipping an operating system that worked, and that contained the features required to get users to transition form MacOS 9, at that point. Mac OS X included the Classic Environment, an emulator that allowed users to run programs coded for MacOS 9, enabling a (not always) smooth transition to the new operating system. Classic would remain part of Mac OS X until 10.4, Tiger.
2002: Mac OS X 10.2, Jaguar
The first major release of Mac OS X designed for new Macs featured a new look, with refinements to Aqua, which was the foundation of the Mac OS X graphical user interface. The gumdrops and pinstripes were toned down a bit, but there was still a lot of relief to icons and graphics. The biggest new feature in Jaguar was certainly Apple’s Mail app. Prior to Jaguar, third-party apps, such as Microsoft Entourage, Eudora, and others, were the norm. Under the hood, Apple added Rendezvous (later Bonjour) for simpler network discovery, and Universal Access for accessibility.
This was also the first time that Apple used the code name—Jaguar—as a marketing tool, using that name on the box, and skinning the large X with jaguar spots. The use of the code name would become the norm.
2003: Mac OS X 10.3, Panther
In October, 2003, Apple released Panther, with the new “brushed metal” interface. Advertised as having more than 150 new features, memorable additions include Fast User Switching, Exposé, a built in Zip (file compression) feature, and iChat AV, the combination audio/video/text messaging app.
Safari, Apple’s web browser, which had been previously released during an update to Jaguar, now became the default browser in Panther. iCal, released a bit earlier as a free download, was also bundled with Panther.
2005: Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger
Tiger was released in April, 2005, with Apple this time claiming more than 200 new features. And some of them were pretty big: features like Spotlight, Dashboard, smart folders, smart mailboxes, and more. Other features included Automator, syncing with .Mac—the predecessor to iCloud—and improvements to QuickTime, including support for the now standard H.264 codec. Tiger was, believe it or not, the first version of Mac OS X to include a built-in Dictionary app, with direct lookups from any selected text. It was the last version of Mac OS X to support Classic apps. But it still had brushed metal windows…
2007: Mac OS X 10.5, Leopard
Nearly two and a half years after Tiger, Apple introduced OS X 10.5 Leopard in October, 2007. This release was delayed by the iPhone earlier that year, which took up so much engineering time that Apple wasn’t able to focus on Mac OS X as much as they wanted. But no matter, Leopard was a solid upgrade, with lots of new features. Brushed metal windows were gone, and Cover Flow, originally introduced in iTunes, was added to the Finder.
There was a new Dock, apps such as Front Row and Photo Booth (the former since retired, the latter mostly forgotten), Spaces, which allows users to create virtual desktops, improvements to Preview, and all sorts of new features added to Mail. It also added Quick Look, the feature that lets you view files by selecting them and pressing the space bar, and Boot Camp, which allowed users to run both Mac OS X and Windows on the same computer.
2009: Mac OS X 10.6, Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard, released in August, 2009, was the first of several “maintenance” releases of Mac OS X. It was to Leopard what Mountain Lion would be to Lion what El Capitan would be to Yosemite. Most of what was new was under the hood: the Finder was rewritten to be faster and more responsive, Boot Camp was improved, and a number of features were added to Safari. .Mac had become MobileMe in 2008, and it was now an integral part of Mac OS X. Snow Leopard also saw a huge price drop. Where Leopard cost $129, Snow Leopard was a mere $29. (Remember when OS X wasn’t free?)
2011: Mac OS X 10.7, Lion
Nearly two years after Snow Leopard, Lion was released, in July, 2011. Now that Apple had time to work on features, rather than just catching up, there were—according to Apple—more than 250 new features. One major change was the availability of the operating system by download from the Mac App Store, and costing only $30. (The Mac App Store, released a few months earlier, was bundled with Lion.) You could also download it in Apple Stores, if you didn’t have the bandwidth, or buy a USB flash drive with Lion for $70.
New features included Air Drop (which has never worked reliably), Launchpad, auto save, full-screen apps, along with enhancements and improvements to many of the bundled apps. The interface was refined, with color unfortunately being removed from icons in the Finder sidebar. And Lion was the first version of Mac OS X to add the restore partition, which helps you if you have problems with your operating system. It lets you run first aid on your disk, or re-download OS X.
2012: OS X Mountain Lion
Just a year after the release of Lion, OS X (no more “Mac” in the name) Mountain Lion was another maintenance upgrade. It added a number of features that came from iOS, such as Game Center, Notification Center, Notes, and Reminders, and the Messages app replaced iChat. A minor yet useful addition was AirPlay Mirroring, which lets you send your Mac’s screen to an Apple TV. AirPlay audio was also extended to the entire system, instead of just iTunes, spawning a major streaming platform that has since garnered a great deal of support from hi-fi companies. MobileMe was renamed iCloud. And OS X now cost only $20.
2013: OS X Mavericks
With Mavericks, released in October, 2013, Apple finally realized they didn’t need to charge for their operating system. A number of new apps were added, some of them inspired by their iOS equivalents, such as Maps and iBooks. iCloud keychain sync allowed users to keep their passwords in sync between their Macs and their iOS devices, and Apple’s iWork apps—Pages, Numbers, and Keynote—also became free. The Finder inherited tabs, and skeuomorphism—such as the “rich Corinthian leather” of iCal—was banished.
2014: OS X Yosemite
Back to an annual release schedule, Yosemite saw the light of day in October, 2014, and adopted the flat design of iOS. New features included Continuity and Handoff, the Today section of Notification Center, and the Photos app, which replaced iPhoto. Spotlight was enhanced, and Calendar and Safari saw many improvements. However, Yosemite was widely criticized for having far too many bugs (I still can’t get the Continuity and Handoff features to work reliably), leading to—you guessed it—one more “maintenance” update.
2015: OS X El Capitan
El Capitan, released in September, 2015, has hardly any new features, but does address many of the bugs that were annoying users of Yosemite. There’s a new system font, some enhancements to the Notes app, and pinned tabs in Safari (quite a useful feature), but the main advantage of El Capitan is its stability. (Though Continuity features and Air Drop are still hit or miss.)
2017: Sierra
macOS Sierra (version 10.12) is the thirteenth major release of macOS (previously known as OS X and Mac OS X), Apple Inc.’s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name “macOS” stems from the intention to uniform the operating system’s name with that of iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada.[5] Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri.
2017: Sierra
macOS Sierra (version 10.12) is the thirteenth major release of macOS (previously known as OS X and Mac OS X), Apple Inc.’s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name “macOS” stems from the intention to uniform the operating system’s name with that of iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada.[5] Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri.
| Mac OS Version | Mac OS Name | Year of Release |
| Public Beta | Kodiak | 2000 |
| Version 10.0 | Puma | 2001 |
| Version 10.2 | Jaguar | 2002 |
| Version 10.3 | Panther | 2003 |
| Version 10.4 | Tiger | 2005 |
| Version 10.5 | Leopard | 2007 |
| Version 10.6 | Snow Leopard | 2009 |
| Version 10.7 | Lion | 2011 |
| Version 10.8 | Mountain Lion | 2012 |
| Version 10.9 | Mavericks | 2013 |
| Version 10.10 | Yosemite | 2014 |
| Version 10.11 | El Capitan | 2015 |
| Version 10.12 | Sierra | 2017 |
| Version 10.13 | High Sierra | 2017 |
| Version 10.14 | Mojave | 2018 |
| Version 10.14 | Catalina | 2019 |
| Version 11 | Big Sur | 2020 |