“Unlike Windows, which fully embraced a mobile-ish interface, but failed to bring desktop-friendly mobile features along for the ride, OS X Yosemite is dedicated to serving notebook and desktop users,” Matt Smith writes for Digital Trends. “At the same time, it adds mobile functionality where it matters. The result is a wonderful operating system that provides the best of both worlds without slipping into a compromised, hybridized approach.”
“Nothing in Yosemite is a better example of its approach to mobile integration than Continuity, which is a phrase that includes four separate features,” Smith writes. “Continuity lets Mac owners with an iPhone send text messages and make phone calls directly from their computer. It also lets any Mac owner with an iOS device transfer app sessions between devices with a single touch. Setting up Continuity is as simple as ticking a checkbox, and the feature is turned on by default. Your Mac, iPhone, and iPad should ‘just work’ together if they’re all connected to a common iCloud account, and they’re within Bluetooth range of each other.”
“Mac OS X Yosemite is an excellent operating system that deftly adds mobile features without compromising the function of the desktop space. In this sense, it’s light-years ahead of Windows 8.1. Continuity, Spotlight, and the new version of Safari are way ahead of the default features Microsoft provides in Windows… this free update is clearly better than Windows 8.1, and is also a major leap forward from OS X Mavericks,” Smith writes. “OS X Yosemite is the perfect desktop operating system for people who just want to get stuff done.”
Read more in the full review here.
Related article:
Apple releases OS X Yosemite; available today as a free upgrade – October 16, 2014
It is very smooth so far, a bit faster, and continuity for the phones work well between the iPhone, iPad, and OSX. Now when 8.1 is released on Monday, hopefully handoff and all the other little bugs will be solved and everything will come full circle.
Actually, Continuity iPhone 6 calls do not work with the iPad Air. They did with iOS 8.0, but 8.0.2 broke it. The call rings on the iPad Air, but the connectivity to answer the call fails. Hopefully, iOS 8.1 on Monday will fix it.
My iPad Air’s Continuity cellular connection started working today. No idea why, since no software updates at my end, but happy all the same.
You’re finding Yosemite faster than Mavericks on the same hardware? I’m waiting for that type of feedback before pressing Update on my MacBook Air.
It’s as fast or faster than Mavericks on my 13″ MBP, and Safari seems to be significantly faster.
No problems so far, still getting used to some of the changes in Safari. Which is noticeably faster.
I found it to be the same speed as Mavericks; definitely not slower. Safari is a great improvement.
It is noticeably faster than Maverick. The finder snaps so fast it is startling at first. Safari is much faster also although I have had a few crashes. Negatives would be poor definition of window edges, a more complex window zoom, Safari looks a LOT different and bookmarks are accessed differently, itunes interface is different but not necessarily improved.
It is quantifiably faster on my 2008 Mac Pro. Boot time has been cut in half. Lunging Applications is a snap. System preferences loads super fast too. So far it looks like Apple optimized the code tremendously. If I am getting these results in a 6 year old Mac, imagine how this OS runs on a brand new Mac Pro!
Yosemite is very snappy on my mid-2011 13″ MacBook Air – noticeably more responsive than Mavericks was.
Yosemite is noticeably faster on my 2012 Mac mini. That was a pleasant surprise, as I certainly wasn’t expecting a performance improvement.
——RM
Everyone should be aware that Continuity works only with hardware supporting Bluetooth 4:
Model Year Range Ability
MacBook Air mid-2011 & above YES
MacBook Pro mid-2012 & above YES
Retina MacBook Pro mid-2012 & above YES
iMac late 2012 & above YES
Mac mini mid-2011 & above YES
Mac Pro 2013 & above YES
The iPad 2 2011 NO
I now have it on 3 machines with no significant issues so far. I love it but it is not perfect. Why are we still stuck with the elderly (1998) HFS+ file system withe bit rot and other flaws? Come on Apple, fix this.
It has been the easiest and smoothest install of any upgrade to OS X.
My initial reactions are positive – it is snappy, has a nice clean design and remains familiar (no weird Metro-style stuff). It also seems to have fixed an annoying “lag” problem I had opening some Apple applications in Mavericks. About my only complaint was the lost – as a default – of the bookmarks bar in Safari, but a little twiddling got it back. Nice work, Apple!
I am on a 2008 MBP with a 2.5Ghz Core2Duo and this national park is very snappy. Management of my meagre 6Gb of RAM is excellent. No problems installing. Looks great and loving it.
For long-time Windows users, many who are STILL running ancient XP on aging hardware, OS X Yosemite will be a far more familiar user experience than the latest Windows. Unlike Microsoft, Apple respects laptops and desktop computer users who want nothing to do with “tiles” and touching their screens.
Apple should create and run a marketing campaign targeting disgruntled and alienated Windows users, called “Welcome HOME to Macintosh.”
I’ve noticed how snappy Yosemite is on a 2009 MacBook Pro 3.06 GHz Core2Duo, and a Mac mini Server 2.66 GHz Core2Duo. I usually don’t upgrade my Mac Pros and MacBook Pros until version 10.x.3, but the performance of Yosemite has me chomping at the bit!
That’s good to know. I found the Public Beta to not run so well after a fresh install on a 2012 MacBook Pro test machine, so I was skeptical about it.
Just a heads-up y’all: this only works if your Mac supports Low Energy Bluetooth. My 2010 iMac doesn’t. Got this from an Apple rep today when I called in because Yosemite sat with a progress bar 1/2 way across and the Mac ignored input frame keyboard and track pad. I was however, able to hear the audio from EyeTV, so the restart got far enough to load the entire system, but the UI never came up. Good news: a forced power down resolved the issue.
Yeah, it took forever for it to install for me and I had to do a forced power down twice. Also, it was a pain in the ass installing updates for the iLife/iWork apps. But aside from those issues, it’s been pretty great. Late 2011 Macbook Pro.
I like it. But there are predictable problems. Software Update has been a problem. Among its other issues is that it wanted me to update iPhoto (apparently with the identical update) at least three times so far. And I miss the option to select Software Update in the Apple Menu. I turned off the automatic update feature since I like to know what’s going on myself. But it’s now a multi-step process.
Another complaint I have is with the voice features. A small thing, but I have missed some little things like asking, “What time is it?” and hearing it tell me. Other old standbys, too. In fact, there is no feedback anymore, as far as I can tell. Did I miss this in Mavericks?
It also fails to interact with a number of apps. In the past, it was not necessary for apps to be optimized to work with speech. They just did.
Dictation still bothers me since correcting errors (by voice) is often not possible. That’s pretty much a basic if one is going to use it effectively. I have tried all the basic options as well as the available speech commands without success. Anyone have a suggestion?
I suspect more will turn up, too.
This is not to say I am not excited about it. But it needs some adjustments and rethought choices by . Not unexpected in a new system, but I hope they’ll get thing fine tuned in a couple updates.
I’m thinking the interpreted commands, a la “What time is it?” are going to move into a Siri for OS X. In their place you have a pretty strong vocabulary for working with document dictation.
The vocabulary are good, but the tools are weak. Those of us who work with Dictate can get a bit frustrated at some oversights. Even some simple things appear overlooked. I would expect Dictate to be stronger for dictation. It does make fewer errors. But Apple has been working with dictation and voice controls for many, many years now and it’s still feeling like a work-in-progress. In the case of some things, they removed them. One might wonder why they did that. Hopefully, a Siri for OS X will surprise us with massive power and accuracy.
Or not.
The vocabulary IS good…
MDN? Isn’t the ability to correct posts, at least for some limited period, one of the top requests by people here? 🙂
LOL – MDN is far too busy telling us how Apple should be run to keep its app up-to-date or respond to requests for improvements from its users. /s
The real subline was, “OS X Yosemite is the perfect desktop operating system for people who just want to get stuff done.”
I disagree somewhat. It’s an update that makes it easy for iOS users to push stuff back and forth between their iOS gadgets and their Mac. Yosemite does nothing to aid the pro in managing high definition audio or video files from pro-level gear, and it does nothing to make it easier or faster to manage.
Helvetica Nueu and flat icons are even more underwhelming on the big screen as they are on the iPhone. UGLY.
The article also pans the Notification Center, which indeed needs the user to tamp down hard for it not to become primarily an annoyance to the user whose primary reason to have a Mac is to do creative work, not to blab to Zuckerberg all the exciting stuff that is likeable today..
iCloud limitations have been relaxed somewhat, but certainly not for professional users. If seems Apple indeed is running as fast as it can toward the consumer buyer instead of continuing to keep the Mac the absolute best it can be for professional desktop and laptop users.
Yosemite runs very well.
Disappointed by the look, though. Apple has carried their pursuit of simplicity too far. In fact, the Yosemite style reminds me of Windows from around 1998, which I happily gave up when I bought my first Mac.
You know there’s a problem when you look at their Yosemite announcement at the App Store. One of the major design changes they mention is the streamlined Dock look. Wow….
When it comes to OS X, Apple has style anorexia. Thinner isn’t always better, for women or for design. Hope they get something to eat.
Funny. But I’m getting used to the “simple” look, MaxBay. I do like it at the moment. But you’re right that it can be taken too far and there is also beauty in depth and other art styles and colors. Don’t worry though. After a time, the pendulum will swing again. Nothing lasts too long.
The skinny flat gray look has lasted WAY too long.
Have confidence! All will be fine! Things really do change! Give it another 12 years!
That’s the point right there. “The pendulum will swing back”
It never should have gone too far to begin with. Apple was always about the human interface and making the best one that they could. Changing the look because of some design fad is insane! Not to mention stupid and short sighted.
Incremental change to improve is good. Make a drastic change, then you better do many trials with average users to see if it makes it easier or more difficult to use. Not just pretty and usefulness be dammed.
I half-agree about the flatness. It will take a bit of getting used to. Probably improved in logic and effectiveness HI wise but less delightful than brushed metal, cherry buttons, liquid metal progress bars etc.
I think the they’ll add some relief (literally) as time goes on, but only where it helps with both usability and aesthetics. Love the new system font.
Glad to hear that Yosemite SEEMS to run okay on older hardware (2009 MacBook Pro; 2011 iMac).
By contract, upgrading my iPad 2 to run iOS 8 last month was a DISASTER.
It. Literally. Slows. The. iPad. Down. To. A. Crawl.
my iPad 3 runs slower as well with 8
Was thinking of doing a complete wipe and start new and not from a backup. Done it before and everything sped up.
BTW, you can use tools like Phoneview or iexplorer to pull out specific app data, and put it back after a full wipe/install. (like game saves that would normally be gone without a backup/restore through iTunes)
As long as I don’t hear any horror stories, i’ll probably update to Yosemite tomorrow night. Already have a 3D dock app downloaded, black 3D dock again? yes please! Just need to swap icons, flat crap annoys me.
The official release of Yosemite seems VERY stable. I’m currently running it as a clean install on a 64GB SDXC flash card in my Mac mini’s high-speed SD card slot. (FYI – That slot is very fast for booting my Mac mini.) I haven’t decided if I’m going to do a clean install on the main internal drive (and migrate my user data), or upgrade over the existing Mavericks system.
I think the 3D Dock was annoying. Until Mavericks, I used the Terminal trick to set the 2D Dock look (when you put the Dock along side of screen), as the bottom Dock. But that trick did not work with Mavericks, so I’m happy to get the 2D Dock back “by default.” I also like the new “Use dark menu bar and dock” option.
Thanks for pointing out that “Use dark menu…” option!
I’m hoping it is.
My problem is I just don’t have the time to install it, and fix/adjust anything that may get broken.
I was hoping i’d have time tonight… It’s starting to look like Monday. Downloaded the install file though. I always save the file so I can make a USB install with it.
Thank you so much to the DESIGN TEAM !!! It is the best ever that Apple has created… Thank you !
Was worried 7GB of free HD space wouldn’t be enough. Not only did it install without a hitch, it freed up another 5GB!
The upgrade was flawless for me. I like Yosemite a lot, but in some ways, it’s a little two stark. The icons look awesome, but how about some color in the sidebar? Apple took color away from us when Lion debuted. Also, I don’t see the need to make everything look the same between iOS and OS X. All this said, I’m very happy with Yosemite.
there are ways to get the color back in finder’s sidebar. I’d assume it still works in Yosemite.
I agree with the iOS/OS X looking the same part, some things are fine.. others Apple messed things up.
Apple’s desire to make iOS and OS X look the same.. reminds me of MS with Winbloat 8.. all their tablets/phones/pc’s all look exactly the same. (and run like crap)
I wouldn’t go that far 🙂 iOS and OS X don’t run like crap.