Apple officially revealed OS X 10.10 Yosemite, the next free update to its Desktop operating system, at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) back in June. Built to better integrate with iOS 8 as well as boost productivity and performance on iMac all-in-ones and MacBook laptops, Yosemite is an important step forwards for the company which Apple fans will no doubt be excited to get their hands on. We've had access to early betas since the early reveal to find out what Yosemite has to offer, but we should only be a few days away from the full version being released to the public.
OS X Yosemite release date
All current bets are on Apple releasing OS X Yosemite on the 16th October 2014 at its 'It's been way too long' event. Following on from the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in September, this month's gathering of technology journalists, developers and bloggers will primarily focus on the iPad Air 2, and may see at least one new iMac computer revealed, but it should also provide us with an official release date for Yosemite. We're expecting to find out exactly when the update will be made available for download at 6PM UK time.
Considering the Golden Master candidate version of Yosemite has already been released to everyone on the beta programme, there's a very good chance Apple will make it available either on the day or very shortly after: Gold Master is usually the point at which a piece of software can be considered finished and ready to be distributed to the public. Considering the word 'candidate' is clearly in the name of the download, however, it seems like there could be a few remaining bugs and tweaks to be made before we'll actually be able to download it.
In many ways, OS X Yosemite is very much the final peice of the puzzle for Apple's 2014 strategy, with its new features (see below) more tightly integrating the mobile and desktop products. We'll be live at tomorrow's event, so keep an eye on the site for the latest information.
OS X Yosemite Mac compatibility, how to download
If your Mac laptop or Desktop is capable of running OS X Mavericks, you'll be able to download and install Yosemite. The system requirements are the same: 2GB of RAM, 8GB of available storage space and OS X 10.6.8 or higher. That means virtually any Mac product bought after 2009 should be eligible for upgrade, with some 2007 MacBook Pro models also making the list.
When Apple finally releases Yosemite to the public, you'll be able to download it through the Mac App store. This was added in OS X 10.6.6 Snow Leopard, and is available on all Mac machines running newer versions of the operating system. Unlike the public beta versions of the OS, which require a separate partition on which to inistall Yosemite, the final version will upgrade your existing operating system - meaning it's a good idea to back up your files just to be on the safe side.
OSX Yosemite new features
Apple customers have gotten used to the current OS X interface, which hasn't changed dramatically since 10.7 Lion introduced the Launch Pad quick access panel and multi-touch gestures, but the company has never been afraid to give things a visual overhaul. It's done just that for Yosemite, changing icons, UI elements and fonts, but it has also focused on integrating iCloud across a wider range of apps and services, as well as letting OS X work more closely together with iOS. We've highlighted the biggest changes below, so customers know what to expect come launch day.
New interface
Although Finder and app windows themselves haven't changed much, their borders are now slightly transparent, partially showing the colours of the window or desktop behind them. While this can be turned off, it's quite a subtle effect, making the OS look that little bit more modern - but avoiding the headache-inducing effects seen in Microsoft's disastrous Windows Vista.
Spotlight has been moved from its old place in the top right corner of the Finder window, so it now appears proudly in the middle of the active display. It's a better place for it, and the larger window makes it easier to see and use. Of course, it still searches apps, online and documents in one go.
The new Notification screen, which pops-out from the right-hand side of a display, has been pulled almost directly from iOS. This has the Today screen, which displays widgets from apps, such as the weather report and stocks, and upcoming appointments; and it has the Notification screen for alerts. Widgets on the Today screen can be customised; for example, you can add the calculator into this screen, or download new widgets from the OS X app store. This replaces the old Dashboard screen, which was the screen to the left of the first desktop.
iPhone and iPad integration - Continuity
Just as with iOS 8, your Mac is now part of your Apple environment, letting devices share features and functions. Provided your Mac is on the same network as your iPhone, when a phone call comes in, your Mac will 'ring' and you can answer the phone call directly from it. You can also initiate a regular telephone call from your Mac, routing the call through your mobile. You'll be able to send SMS messages using a similar trick, although you're going to have to wait until iOS 8.1 is launched for that feature to be enabled.
iPhone and iPad integration - Handoff
Handoff is Apple's technology for sending a task from one device to another. For example, you can start writing an email on your iPhone, then finish writing it on your Mac. For this feature to work, you need to have Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) on your Mac and iOS device, and have Wi-Fi enabled. Bluetooth LE has been available on mobile since the iPhone 4S, and on the MacBook Pro and iMac since mid-2012, while the MacBook Air has included the hardware since 2011. Systems produced prior to this date do not include Bluetooth LE hardware, and will not work with Handoff, although there's nothing stopping you from installing Yosemite and using its other features anyway.
iPhone and iPad integration - AirDrop
AirDrop, Apple's technology for sharing files, links, contacts and more, previously only worked iOS-to-iOS or OS X-to-OS X. Now, it can be used cross-system, so you can send stuff from your iPhone to your Mac.
iCloud Drive
With previous versions of the OS, you could save documents from certain applications into iCloud, but you could then only open the file in the same application. With iCloud Drive, you can now managed an access your storage through Finder and open any file saved in it in any application.
Photos
Apple's set to get rid of iPhoto, replacing it with Photos for OS X instead. This will be able to save all of your photos, including RAW files, to iCloud, letting you access them from any Apple device. Currently in a closed beta, we don't know when this feature will be enabled properly.
iCloud pricing
Given how many services are reliant on iCloud and the extra storage burden it will put on the service, Apple has dropped the prices of its storage plans. You still get 5GB storage for free, but can upgrade to 20GB for 79p per month and 200GB for £2.99 a month.
Apple has added Mail Drop to its mail client, which lets you send attachments up to 5GB in size using iCloud as storage. Other Apple users will see the attachment as normal, but people using other operating systems will just get a link to the file.
