The 2016 MacBook Pro introduced the Touch Bar, a context-sensitive Retina touchscreen that replaces the row of Function keys. More and more developers are now updating their software to add. Feb 14, 2016.
Apple devices come standard with award-winning accessibility features that let people experience everything Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple TV have to offer. And with accessibility APIs on all Apple platforms, you can make your apps seamlessly functional for a broad range of users.
macOS
macOS includes a wide variety of features and assistive technologies that include screen and cursor magnification, a full-featured screen reader, visual flash alerts, closed captioning support, and much more.
Learn moreiOS
With built-in accessibility features, Accessibility APIs, and a host of developer tools and utilities, iOS provides an extraordinary opportunity to deliver a superior mobile experience to every customer, including those with special needs.
Learn morewatchOS
Apple Watch is the first consumer wearable with a range of accessibility features — including the VoiceOver screen reader — built right in.
Learn moretvOS
Apple TV comes with assistive technologies that open up the future of television to everyone. Customize Apple TV specifically for your vision. Choose from a range of color filters, hear audio descriptions of apps, or use Zoom to magnify menus and keyboards.
Learn moremacOS Big Sur takes the most advanced operating system in the world to a whole new level of power and beauty, making your apps look better than ever on an all-new interface. New widget features and the new widget gallery help you deliver more value to your users. Adding intelligence to your apps with machine learning is even simpler and more extensive with new tools, models, training capabilities, and APIs. You can create more powerful Mac versions of your iPad apps with Mac Catalyst. And you can now easily bring your extensions to Safari — and to the App Store.
All-new Interface
macOS Big Sur brings a new design that's been finely tuned for the powerful features that make a Mac a Mac. Core features, such as the menu bar and Dock, take advantage of the large Mac display, with translucent backings and spacious pull-down menus. The new Control Center, designed just for Mac, provides quick access to controls while keeping the menu bar clutter-free. Notification Center puts recent notifications and powerful new widgets together in a single view for at-a-glance information as you work. And a streamlined new design for apps features full-height sidebars and integrated toolbar buttons.
Widgets
Easily build widgets using the WidgetKit framework and the new widget API for SwiftUI. Widgets now come in multiple sizes, and users can visit the new widget gallery to search, preview sizes, and add them to Notification Center to access important details at a glance.
Safari Extensions
With support for the popular WebExtension API, it's even easier to bring powerful extensions to Safari. Xcode 12 even includes a porting tool to streamline the process.
The new Extensions category on the Mac App Store showcases Safari extensions, with editorial spotlights and top charts to help users discover and download great extensions from the developer community.
Machine Learning
With macOS Big Sur, creating apps that leverage the power of machine learning is even easier and more extensive with additional tools in Core ML for model deployment, new models and training capabilities in Create ML, more APIs for vision and natural language, and improved resources for training on Mac and converting models to Core ML format.
Mac Catalyst
Create even more powerful Mac versions of your iPad apps. Apps built with Mac Catalyst now take on the new look of macOS Big Sur and help you better define the look and behavior of your apps. You can choose to turn off automatic scaling of iPad controls and layout, allowing you to precisely place every pixel on the screen. Provide full control of your app using just the keyboard, take advantage of the updated Photos picker, access more iOS frameworks, and more.
User privacy on the App Store.
Later this year, the Mac App Store will help users understand apps' privacy practices. You'll need to enter your privacy practice details into App Store Connect for display on your product page.
macOS
macOS includes a wide variety of features and assistive technologies that include screen and cursor magnification, a full-featured screen reader, visual flash alerts, closed captioning support, and much more.
Learn moreiOS
With built-in accessibility features, Accessibility APIs, and a host of developer tools and utilities, iOS provides an extraordinary opportunity to deliver a superior mobile experience to every customer, including those with special needs.
Learn morewatchOS
Apple Watch is the first consumer wearable with a range of accessibility features — including the VoiceOver screen reader — built right in.
Learn moretvOS
Apple TV comes with assistive technologies that open up the future of television to everyone. Customize Apple TV specifically for your vision. Choose from a range of color filters, hear audio descriptions of apps, or use Zoom to magnify menus and keyboards.
Learn moremacOS Big Sur takes the most advanced operating system in the world to a whole new level of power and beauty, making your apps look better than ever on an all-new interface. New widget features and the new widget gallery help you deliver more value to your users. Adding intelligence to your apps with machine learning is even simpler and more extensive with new tools, models, training capabilities, and APIs. You can create more powerful Mac versions of your iPad apps with Mac Catalyst. And you can now easily bring your extensions to Safari — and to the App Store.
All-new Interface
macOS Big Sur brings a new design that's been finely tuned for the powerful features that make a Mac a Mac. Core features, such as the menu bar and Dock, take advantage of the large Mac display, with translucent backings and spacious pull-down menus. The new Control Center, designed just for Mac, provides quick access to controls while keeping the menu bar clutter-free. Notification Center puts recent notifications and powerful new widgets together in a single view for at-a-glance information as you work. And a streamlined new design for apps features full-height sidebars and integrated toolbar buttons.
Widgets
Easily build widgets using the WidgetKit framework and the new widget API for SwiftUI. Widgets now come in multiple sizes, and users can visit the new widget gallery to search, preview sizes, and add them to Notification Center to access important details at a glance.
Safari Extensions
With support for the popular WebExtension API, it's even easier to bring powerful extensions to Safari. Xcode 12 even includes a porting tool to streamline the process.
The new Extensions category on the Mac App Store showcases Safari extensions, with editorial spotlights and top charts to help users discover and download great extensions from the developer community.
Machine Learning
With macOS Big Sur, creating apps that leverage the power of machine learning is even easier and more extensive with additional tools in Core ML for model deployment, new models and training capabilities in Create ML, more APIs for vision and natural language, and improved resources for training on Mac and converting models to Core ML format.
Mac Catalyst
Create even more powerful Mac versions of your iPad apps. Apps built with Mac Catalyst now take on the new look of macOS Big Sur and help you better define the look and behavior of your apps. You can choose to turn off automatic scaling of iPad controls and layout, allowing you to precisely place every pixel on the screen. Provide full control of your app using just the keyboard, take advantage of the updated Photos picker, access more iOS frameworks, and more.
User privacy on the App Store.
Later this year, the Mac App Store will help users understand apps' privacy practices. You'll need to enter your privacy practice details into App Store Connect for display on your product page.
Universal App Quick Start Program
Best New Mac Apps
Get your apps ready for Apple Silicon Macs. Create next-generation Universal apps that take full advantage of the capabilities the new architecture has to offer. Get all the tools, resources, support, and even access to prototype hardware you'll need. You can also watch a collection of videos from WWDC20 to help you get started.
Tools and resources
Best Mac Apps For Developers 2016 Free
Use Xcode 12 beta and these resources to build apps for macOS Big Sur.
