[macOS] sumukh_rao:
While we wait for macOS Monterey to be rolled out officially to all Mac users throughout the world, Apple has released macOS Big Sur 11.3 with some notable changes and features so here's everything you need to know about the update! This is a sort of a major update since it adds support for Apple's new AirTag which is helpful both if you have an AirTag or just so that your Mac can act as a relay to trace a lost AirTag. Let's go over the new features.

1. Support for AirTag​

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macOS Big Sur 11.3 introduces support for the AirTag which means you can track your wallets, keys, and other belongings directly from your Mac. It also gets the new Find My that can help you track your lost belongings or even ping another AirTag in your vicinity so that the owner can be notified of the exact location in which their item with AirTag was last found.

2. Better support for iPhone and iPad apps​

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Apple introduced support for iOS and iPad OS apps on the Mac with macOS Big Sur. Of course, you need to have a Mac with Apple Silicon to be able to do this so any of the new M1 Macs can run iPhone and iPad apps. With macOS Big Sur 11.3, Apple has improved the support for these apps by introducing resizeable windows, the ability to display apps in the highest resolution they're natively supported in, and finally, keyboard and mouse controls for apps and games which can be really handy since the Mac doesn't have a touch-screen display.

3. New Emojis and Improved Siri​

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The emoji selector now has the option to choose from multiple skin tones for different couple emojis including the one with a kissing emoji and the heart emoji. There have been new face emojis added as well.

As with Siri, there are more diverse options now.

4. Apple Music and Podcasts​

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If you have auto-play enabled, Apple Music will continue to play songs similar to your previously played song once you've reached the end of your playlist. City Charts will now show you popular tracks from over 100 cities around the world.

The Podcasts app has also received some new changes including a redesign helping users to find their favorite podcasts easily. You can now save and download episodes which automatically get added to your Library and can be then accessed easily. More podcasts are now easier to discover using the Top Charts and Popular Categories menus.

5. News and Reminders​

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Apple's News+ service now has a redesigned feed that helps subscribers find newspapers and magazines quickly and easily. Search has become more relevant to find the topics and channels you most prefer.

As with reminders, the ability to sort them and support for syncing the order of reminders across your Apple devices has been introduced. You can now print your reminders and lists as well.

6. Safari, Gaming, and other System Features​

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Safari has undergone a number of changes including customization for the Start Page section, extensions that can replace the new tab page, speech recognition on websites for dictation and voice navigation, and WebM and Vorbis video and audio support.

If you're among the 3 people who play games on their Mac, you can now pair your Xbox Series S and X controller or the new Sony PS5 DualSense Controller which is sweet.

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Macs with the M1 chip now have support for hibernation. Just like the iPhone, the About page on your Mac will now display the warranty status of your Mac along with Apple Care+ coverage. You can even purchase and enroll your Mac into Apple Care+ from this section.

Problems and Issues fixed in macOS 11.3​

Some Reminders created via Siri would go off during early morning hours which has been fixed.

Some users were unable to turn off the iCloud keychain feature which can now be done.

AirPods, which can be used with multiple Apple devices were unable to properly switch between connected devices and this issue has now been reportedly fixed.

While the AirPods are automatically switching between devices, the notifications may be missed at times or they may be duplicated in earlier versions but this has been fixed too.

Fixed the problem with external 4K monitors not displaying full resolution when connected via USB-C.

The Login screen was not being displayed properly on previous versions after restarting on some M1 Macs.

Apart from these new changes and fixes, there are some security updates too on macOS Big Sur 11.3 which make your Mac more secure and protect it from malicious files.

Have you updated to the latest version of macOS? If you use a pair of AirPods or you got yourself Apple's new AirTag, this update is for you as it makes things a lot more seamless, especially with the improved switching on AirPods.