macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 (20G224) Update What's New?

macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 (20G224)Update is now available for all users!

UPDATED: 10/25

Apple just dropped a new macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 Update! Let’s jump in and find out what’s new!

Is the 2021-00x Security Update name format dead?

I think it is. Normally Apple does not stop normal point release updates that include bug fixes until the next release of macOS. In this case, it looks like apple has moved to Security Updates only mode. From now until Big Sur’s end of life in 2 years it will only receive security updates.

In the past, this would mean that we would get the following Big Sur update name format

Big Sur 2021-001 Security Update

Now we have

Big Sur 11.6.1 Security Update

I am 100% for this! Thank you Apple for making the security update version number easier for normal users to understand.

11.6.1 FULL INSTALLER?

Apple did not initially release a full installer for 11.6.

#MacAdmins got pretty upset about this, we need to send out Macs that are secure from the start.

We are lucky enough that Apple HAS released a full installer for 11.6.1!

Apple Security Document = waiting

Apple posted a security document

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222

macOS Big Sur Update Summary

0 – New Features
0 – Resolved Issues
– Security Fixes

1. Apple Links
2. Apple Articles of interest related to the macOS Big Sur Update
3. Undocumented macOS Big Sur Update changes & fixes
4. Big Sur 11 Final Release History
5. macOS Big Sur 11 Standalone Pkg downloads no longer available.
6. macOS Big Sur Full Installer.app
7. macOS Big Sur Update sizes for Intel and M1
8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update
9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update
10. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update
11. Safari Update
12. What’s new for enterprise in macOS Big Sur
13. Security Content of the macOS Big Sur Update
14. macOS Big Sur Release Notes / Patch Notes / Changes

Click “Continue Reading” for the rest of the article.

1. Apple Links

AppleSeed Notes Link = appleseed.apple.com/

Developer Public Link = developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes

Direct Link to macOS Big Sur Patch Notes – https://developer.apple.com/documentation/macos-release-notes/macos-big-sur-11_5-release-notes

macOS Deployment References Changes – https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment-reference-macos/document-revision-history-apd04dff7069/web

2. Articles of interest & info related to the macOS Big Sur Update

1. None as of right now.

3. Undocumented macOS Big Sur update changes & fixes

1. None as of right now.

4. Big Sur 11 Final Release History

15. Big Sur 11.6.1 (20G224) -10/25/21 – Current Release
14. Big Sur 11.6 (20G165) – 9/13/21 – My Release Notes
13. Big Sur 11.5.2 (20G95) – 8/11/21 – My Release Notes
12. Big Sur 11.5.1 (20G80) – 7/26/21 – My Release Notes
11. Big Sur 11.5 (20G71) – 7/21/21 – My Release Notes
10. Big Sur 11.4 (20F71) – 05/24/21 – My Release Notes
9. Big Sur 11.3.1 (20E241) – 05/03/21 – My Release Notes
8. Big Sur 11.3 (20E232) – 04/26/21 – My Release Notes
7. Big Sur 11.2.3 (20D91) – 03/08/21 – My Release Notes
6. Big Sur 11.2.2 (20D80) – 2/25/21 – My Release Notes
5. Big Sur 11.2.1 (20D74) – 02/09/21 – My Release Notes
4. Big Sur 11.2 (20D64) – 02/01/21 – My Release Notes
3. Big Sur 11.1 (20C69) – 12/14/20 – My Release Notes
2. Big Sur 11.0.1 (20B50) – 11/19/20 – My Release Notes
1. Big Sur 11.0.1 (20B29) – 11/12/20 – My Release Notes

5. macOS Big Sur 11 Standalone Pkg downloads no longer available.

Note: Starting with macOS Big Sur, Combo and Delta update pkg’s aka packages are not available as standalone downloads.

More Info – eclecticlight.co/2020/12/17/apple-has-stopped-providing-standalone-installers-for-macos-updates/

6. macOS Big Sur Full Installer.app

The full installer of MacOS Big Sur is AVAILABLE

In the link below, I have a listing and links to all of the Final & Beta versions of the macOS Big Sur Full installer.

https://mrmacintosh.com/macos-big-sur-full-installer-database-download-directly-from-apple/

InstallAssistant.pkg = Full download. Installing this package will add the full “Install macOS Big Sur.app” to your applications folder.

Link – macOS Big Sur Mac App Store

Requirements – macOS Big Sur 11 Requirements

7. macOS Big Sur Update sizes for Intel and M1

Apple Silicon M1 Update

Delta Update size for Apple Silicon M1 Mac devices. The size listed is for one update behind.

12. Big Sur 11.6.1 Update Size = 2.93 GB
11. Big Sur 11.6 Update Size = 2.6 GB
10. Big Sur 11.5.2 Update Size = 2.2GB
9. Big Sur 11.5.1 Update Size = 2.31GB – (3.23GB Actual)
8. Big Sur 11.5 Update Size = 2.93GB – (3.84GB Actual)
7. Big Sur 11.4 Update Size = 3.06GB – (3.96GB Actual)
6. Big Sur 11.3 Update Size = 2.4GB – (3.30GB Actual)
5. Big Sur 11.2.3 Update Size = 5.71GB – (6.42GB Actual)
4. Big Sur 11.2.2 Update Size = 2.44GB – (3.37GB Actual)
3. Big Sur 11.2 Update Size = 2.5GB – (3.43GB Actual)
2. Big Sur 11.1 Update Size = 3.26GB – (4.19GB Actual)
1. Big Sur 11.0.1 Update Size 3.66GB – (4.59GB Actual)

Intel Big Sur Delta Update

This is the update is for updating from a previous version of Big Sur

11.6 > 11.6.1 = 2.6GB

11.5.2 > 11.6.1 = 2.7GB

11.5.1 > 11.6.1 = 2.9 GB

8. Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update

This update has a new firmware update. This version number is reported in System Information under “System Firmware Version“

Apple Silicon M1 Firmware Update =

Previous Firmware Updates

19. Big Sur 11.6.1 -Waiting
18. Big Sur 11.6 – 6723.140.2
17. Big Sur 11.5.2 – 6723.140.2
16. Big Sur 11.5.1 – 6723.140.2
15. Big Sur 11.5 – 6723.140.2
14. Big Sur 11.4 – 6723.120.36
13. Big Sur 11.3.1 – 6723.101.4
12. Big Sur 11.3 – 6723.101.4
11. Big Sur 11.2.3 – 6723.81.1
10. Big Sur 11.2.2 – 6723.81.1
9. Big Sur 11.2.1 – 6723.81.1
8. Big Sur 11.2 – 6723.81.1
5. Big Sur 11.1 – 6723.61.3
2. Big Sur 11.0.1 – 6723.50.2
1. Big Sur 11.0 – 6723.41.11

9. Intel T2 BridgeOS Update

The Version of BridgeOS for your T2 Security Chip (2018-2020 Intel Macs) was updated.

BridgeOS Version –

Previous T2 Bridge Updates

22. Big Sur 11.6.1 = Waiting
21. Big Sur 11.6 = 18.16.14759.0.1
20. Big Sur 11.5.2 = 18.16.14759.0.1
19. Big Sur 11.5.1 = 18.16.14759.0.1 – Build version 13
18. Big Sur 11.5 = 18.16.14759.0.1
17. Big Sur 11.4 = 18.16.14663.0.0
16. Big Sur 11.3.1 = 18.16.14556.0.0 – Build version 29
15. Big Sur 11.3 = 18.16.14556.0.0
14. Big Sur 11.2.3 = 18.16.14347.0.0 – Build version 5
13. Big Sur 11.2.2 = 18.16.14347.0.0
12. Big Sur 11.2.1 = 18.16.14346.0.0
11. Big Sur 11.2 = 18.16.14346.0.0
10. Big Sur 11.1 = 18.16.13030.0.0
9. Previous 11.1 Beta = 18.16.13017.5.3
8. Previous Beta RC2 = 18.16.12560.5.1
7. Previous Beta 11 = 18.15.12551
6. Previous Beta 10 = 18.16.12402.5.2
5. Previous Beta 9 = 18.16.12390.5.1
4. Previous Beta 8 = 18.16.12380 Build Version 3
3. Previous Beta 7 = 18.16.12380
2. Previous Beta 6 = 18.16.12370.5.1
1. Previous Beta 5 = 18.16.10358.5.2

10. Apple Silicon IPSW Restore file Update

Apple has released the full IPSW restore file for Apple Silicon Macs. I keep track of all of them in my Apple Silicon Firmware Database

https://mrmacintosh.com/apple-silicon-m1-full-macos-restore-ipsw-firmware-files-database/

14. macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 = Waiting
13. macOS Big Sur 11.6 = UniversalMac_11.6_20G165_Restore.ipsw
12. macOS Big Sur 11.5.2 = UniversalMac_11.5.2_20G95_Restore.ipsw
11. macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 = UniversalMac_11.5.1_20G80_Restore.ipsw
10. macOS Big Sur 11.5 = UniversalMac_11.5_20G71_Restore.ipsw
9. macOS Big Sur 11.4 = UniversalMac_11.4_20F71_Restore.ipsw
8. macOS Big Sur 11.3.1 = UniversalMac_11.3.1_20E241_Restore.ipsw
7. macOS Big Sur 11.3 = UniversalMac_11.3_20E232_Restore.ipsw
6. macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 = UniversalMac_11.2.3_20D91_Restore.ipsw
5. macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 = UniversalMac_11.2.2_20D80_Restore.ipsw
4. macOS Big Sur 11.2.1 = UniversalMac_11.2.1_20D74_Restore.ipsw
3. macOS Big Sur 11.2 = UniversalMac_11.2_20D64_Restore.ipsw
2. macOS Big Sur 11.1 = UniversalMac_11.1_20C69_Restore.ipsw
1. macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 = UniversalMac_11.0.1_20B29_Restore.ipsw

11. Safari Update

The new version of Safari was included in the macOS Big Sur update.

The Current version of Safari is 15.0

8. Big Sur 11.6.1 = Big Sur updates no longer include Safari Updates, they are a now a separate install.
7. Big Sur 11.6 = 14.1.2 (16611.3.10.1.6)
6. Big Sur 11.5.2 = 14.1.2 (16611.3.10.1.6)
5. Big Sur 11.5.1 = Safari 14.1.2 (16611.3.10.1.3) Same as 11.5 Update
4. Big Sur 11.5 = Safari 14.1.2 (16611.3.10.1.3)
3. Big Sur 11.4 = Safari 14.1.1 (16611.2.7.1.4)
2. Big Sur 11.3.1 = Safari 14.1 (16611.1.21.161.6)
1. Big SUr 11.3 = Safari 14.1 (16611.1.21.161.3)

12. What’s new for Enterprise in macOS Big Sur

New Enterprise Features

None at this moment.

Fixed Enterprise Issues