OUTSTANDING ISSUES

The only remaining issues I have with macOS 11 and the M1 Macs are:
  1. Apple has yet to release a version of their ASR (Apple Software Restore) command line utility that works with the M1 macs and until that happens there will be no way to clone a bootable system.
  2. SoftRAID still refuses to mount my Thunderbolt 2 Thunderbay mini array. I have been working with OWC (SoftRAID) on this. I would believe it to be something unique to my system, but I have a friend with exactly the same hardware configuration who is having the identical issue. (The year end holidays have temporarily suspended further work on the issue.)
  3. There has been an annoying Bluetooth connectivity issue effecting my Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, Apple Watch (unlock apps and the Mac itself), and HomePOD.


I can certainly live without the ability to clone my system, so that is not a significant issue, but it would be in my nice to have category. One reason cloning is not a big issue for me is I rely on Time Machine to keep my system backups current and my RAID array is a key factor to that so I really would like to have it back up and running. I have looked for an adequate replacement but everything I have found that I feel should be satisfactory would cost more than my computer. (Admittedly I am pretty anal about backups and backup systems.) As tp the bluetooth connectivity issue, the last beta of macOS 11.2 appears to have solved that issue.

CONCLUSION

My experience leads me to conclude Apple is still optimizing macOS 11 for the M1 Macs, but that optimization is progressing very rapidly. The changes are subtle but in total they are enough to be noticeable. The only way I can describe it is everything is becoming smoother and more fluid.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein