The problem is that in Big Sur, Apple went backwards with these icons by adding 3D shadows, which are especially apparent in the new icons for Messages and FaceTime on Mac. For example, the icons for Messages and Mail - which used to look completely different between the Mac and the iPhone or iPad - now use the same colors and shapes in their icons across the different operating systems.

It brings them more in line with iOS, which isn't a bad thing. Big Sur does some weird stuff with its icons. Going all the way back to the launch of the Mac in 1984, icons have been one of the things that made the Mac the Mac. There's one nitpicky thing I noticed right away, and which I think plenty of you will notice too when you first try Big Sur. We'll talk about the most interesting new stuff in Big Sur in a minute, but first I want to talk about the most annoying thing to get it out of the way. In most cases, that's a good thing, because it brings consistency across the iPhone, iPad and Mac, and that makes a more user-friendly experience for most people. That's because Big Sur imports a bunch of stuff from iOS, from design elements to popular features.

It's a nice touch because there are changes in Big Sur that are going to make some Mac veterans uncomfortable.

If you're a traditional Mac user, you're going to like the return of the classic Mac startup sound - once made more famous in the movie Wall-E. But it also teams up with Apple's new M1 chip (the first in a line known as Apple silicon) to turn the page on a new chapter for the Mac. MacOS 11 Big Sur arrived last month, and it's got a few geeky features for long-time Mac users.

Soundflower mac big sur