It appears Apple broke Thunderbolt again under Big Sur for Drobo users, which took months to sort out when Catlinina was released and had a similar issue. The story is the same as last time when thunderbolt and Drobo devices worked fine together up until the final release. So if you value accessing your Drobo devices via Thunderbolt then you should wait at least 3 months before upgrading. In the meantime, if you didn’t read this warning in time you can downgrade or access your data via USB or maybe you got lucky and your combination of hardware works.
Specifically, if you’re a Sony photographer previous firmware updates will not work and future ones might take a while to work properly. Also if you use imaging edge remote or capture one tethering might not be working at this time. There are probably lots of other programs broken by Big Sur but these are the big issues I am aware of for Sony users. If these issues concern you TURN OFF AUTO UPDATE on your Mac.
Personally, I am considering dumping Mac for the first time in 20 years due to how poorly the last two upgrade cycles have gone for the operating system and accessories they have broken. The new design philosophy is also not for me. Be careful with the new software and hardware Apple is releasing because you can’t depend on your Mac just working as you expect anymore. Mac users are going to have to start doing their research before upgrading from now on or risk waiting months for their devices to be supported if support is added at all.
Also if you’re interested in the new Apple Silicon Mac’s keep in mind that they will only run Big Sur and many accessories like eGPU are not supported at this time by these new systems and might need to be redesigned to work with Apple Silicon. It’s a shame that Apple has failed to continue its “it just works reputation” with the Mac, while Microsoft has done so much to improve Windows while preserving reverse compatibility in a way that Apple decided to abandon years ago for “security” which also isn’t as good as it used to be. Sure Apple still has a great ecosystem, but I’m finding it harder to take the good with the bad, and Big Sur is really bad in my opinion and experience.
UPDATED: More disturbing facts about Big Sur have surfaced, which you can read here.
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