Mac OS X Lion is slated to arrive in summer 2011.
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Here’s a sneak peek at just a few of Mac OS X Lion’s new features:
• The Mac App Store:
– Just like the App Store for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. So it’s as easy to find and download Mac apps as it is to add your favorite magazine to iPad or a new game to iPod touch. You can browse Mac apps by category, such as games, productivity, music, and more. Or do a quick search for something specific. Read developer descriptions and user reviews. Flip through screenshots. When you find an app you like, click to buy it.
– The Mac App Store revolutionizes the way applications are installed on a computer — it happens in one step. Enter the same iTunes password you use to buy apps on iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. And within seconds, your new app flies to your Dock, ready to go.
– You can install Mac apps on every Mac you use and even download them again. This is especially convenient when you buy a new Mac and want to load it with apps you already own.
– Developers are always improving their apps. That’s why the Mac App Store keeps track of your apps and tells you when updates are available. Update one app at a time or all of them at once, and you’ll always have the latest versions.
– You don’t have to wait until next summer, the Mac App Store is coming soon for Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
• Launchpad: A home for your apps that gives you instant access — iPad style. Just click the Launchpad icon in your Dock. Your open windows fade away, replaced by a full-screen display of all the apps on your Mac. It takes just a swipe to see multiple pages of apps, and you can arrange apps any way you like by dragging an app icon to a new location or by grouping apps in folders. Downloaded an app from the App Store? Your new app automatically appears on the Launchpad, ready to blast off.
• Full-screen apps: On Apple’s revolutionary iPad, every app is displayed full screen, with no distractions, and there’s one easy way to get back to all your other apps. Mac OS X Lion does the same for your desktop. You can bring an app to full screen with one click, switch to another full-screen app with a swipe of your MacBook trackpad, Magic Mouse, or Magic Trackpad and swipe back to the desktop to access your multi-window apps. And systemwide support for full-screen apps makes them bigger and more immersive so you can concentrate on every detail of your work.
• Mission Control: A powerful feature that provides you with a comprehensive view of what’s running on your Mac. It gives you a bird’s-eye view of everything — including Exposé, Spaces, Dashboard, and full-screen apps— all in one place. With a simple swipe gesture, your desktop zooms out to Mission Control. There you can see your open windows grouped by app, thumbnails of your full-screen apps, Dashboard, and even other Spaces, arranged in a unified view. And you can get to anything you see on Mission Control with just one click. Making you the master of all you survey.
See screenshots of the features above here and watch Apple CEO Steve Jobs Mac OS X Lion presentation (starts at 54:15) here.