How To Set A Timer On Mac In macOS Big Sur

macOS Big Sur doesn’t have a stock Clock app and thus is missing many native functions like Alarm and Stopwatch, that are available in iOS, iPadOS and watchOS. However, you can easily set a timer on your Mac with the help of Siri and the Reminders app.

How To To Set Timer On Mac

All that you have to do is summon the virtual assistant with the help of the Hey Siri command, by using a keyboard shortcut or directly from the menu bar.
Next, speak out: Set a timer for [desired time]!
Siri understands your input and sets the timer with the help of the Reminders app.

Tip: To create or edit a Siri keyboard shortcut on your Mac, open System Preferences and click on Siri. Click the field next to Keyboard Shortcut and choose a predefined key-combo or customize your own!

No Clock App In macOS Big Sur

Besides the Timer function, the iOS Clock app also has functions like World Clock, Alarm and Stopwatch.

Set An Alarm On Mac

If you try to ask Siri to set an alarm for you, it will answer that 'I can't set an Alarm here, would you like a Reminder instead?' So, you have to settle with e Reminder instead of an alarm or use a third-party alarm clock from the Mac App Store.

Start A Stopwatch On Mac

Asking Siri to ‘Start a stopwatch!’ doesn’t work either. Your virtual assistant replies 'I'm sorry, but I can't do that here.' Apparently, this feature is currently only available on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

World Clock On Mac

The World Clock is available as a widget though. You can glance at it in the macOS Big Sur Notification Center.
How To: To add or customize it use the Edit Widgets option available at the bottom of the menu. Click on World Clock and select the four cities that you want to display the time for.

Fact: There is also a separate Clock widget that allow you to display your local time, or any other selected city in a larger format.

Would you like to have the iOS Clock app imported to you Mac? What other essential functions are you missing in macOS Big Sur? Use the comments section and share your thoughts!

Related: An essential feature that’s missing from macOS 11 is the Calculator widget! Check out these workarounds that will help you to cope with this new shortcoming!