H/T to Sean for that.
Ready for Prime Time
Every year I do the same thing. I jump on the macOS beta train, bitch about what a mess it is, uninstall it, and finally end up returning to it shortly before it's released to the public.
This year was no different. I threw caution to the wind and installed Beta 10 on my main drive a few weeks ago. There were some issues, but nothing I wasn't able to eventually iron out. Then there was RC1 (formerly known as the "Gold Master" edition.) At this point everything was running smoothly, so like a lot of other Macolytes, I eagerly awaited the release of the official, production OS. I took myself out of the beta program but knowing the final product wasn't due to be released until the 12th, for shits-n-giggles I checked for updates after Tim's little presentation anyway.
What? Another beta update? I wasn't even in the program any more, so I couldn't understand why I was being offered RC2. But whatever. It was probably the same as the one that would be released anyway, so I went ahead and installed it. No problems.
Then of course, yesterday Big Sur was released officially. RC2's version number was 20B28. The final was 20B29, so they weren't identical, but probably close enough that I'd never run into a situation where it would make any difference.
Unlike for a lot of people, my experience downloading and upgrading went off without a hitch.
Everything works as it should; even Avast, which was giving me grief on the beta.
Yes, some of the icons are still butt-ugly and in places it looks like the UI was designed by first-year graphics students, but it's not a deal breaker; certainly not worth giving up all the positive aspects of the new interface.
Would I recommend an upgrade? Maybe, maybe not depending on what you use your Mac for. For browsing, blogging, email and watching porn, it's probably a safe bet if you want a brand new coat of paint on your experience. If you're involved in multimedia editing, I understand there are still some incompatibilities between Big Sur and some well-known audio hardware and software, so in that case you might want to hold off.
Loving your aspect ratio. I'm still wondering about the kinda-sorta-cartoony backgrounds still though. It's worked out to be a decent upgrade for the sort of things I do. Glad you're also enjoying.
Now, I better get back to my iMeditations… 😉
I don't like all the cartoony backgrounds, but I do like that one of the Pacific Highway as I'm reasonably certain I've been there more than once in real life. Glad you're enjoying it too!