“Almost all of El Capitan’s updates are aimed at detail-oriented power users who are intimately familiar with the platform and its apps. [We’re] sure that not all OS X users even make use of the window management features present in Yosemite, so they’re not really in a position to appreciate the improvements in El Capitan,” Andrew Cunningham and Lee Hutchinson write for Ars Technica. “You’d miss pretty much all of Mail’s improvements if you don’t use trackpad gestures or Full Screen mode. The additions to Safari, Notes, and Maps are all nice but low-key, and things like Metal and System Integrity Protection are, by design, features that don’t draw much attention to themselves.”
“El Capitan follows in the well-worn footsteps of the Snow Leopard or Mountain Lion releases, which introduced some new features but largely focused on polish rather than pizzazz,” Cunningham and Hutchinson write. “That’s a good thing for a platform that’s as mature as OS X has become. iOS 9 is a similar kind of release compared to iOS 7 and iOS 8, and the result is the best x.0 version of iOS we’ve gotten in years. Given the breakneck pace of the yearly release cycles, these quieter years are a good opportunity for Apple (and users) to regroup.”
Reams more in the very comprehensive full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: This release is exactly what we asked for (plus cursor location magnification)!
SEE ALSO:
Apple to release OS X El Capitan on Wednesday, September 30th – September 29, 2015
CIO: With OS X El Capitan, it’s time you looked at the Mac – September 16, 2015
8 tips and tricks for OS X El Capitan – September 14, 2015
El Capitan FAQ: Everything you need to know about OS X 10.11 – September 11, 2015
With Split View in OS X El Capitan, going full screen on your Mac finally makes sense – July 23, 2015
Jim Dalrymple’s first look at OS X El Capitan – June 16, 2015
AnandTech: First look at Apple’s OS X El Capitan – June 15, 2015
First look: OS X El Capitan’s Split View and Mission Control – June 15, 2015
Macs up to 8 years old can still run OS X El Capitan – June 11, 2015
Eight hidden improvements for your Mac in OS X 10.11 El Capitan – June 9, 2015
Open letter to Tim Cook: Apple needs to do better – January 5, 2015
I’ve been testing this since the first beta…and I think it’s safe to say this is my favorite 10x version yet. Being able to hide the finder bar up top is reeeealy nice on a MacBook. I didn’t really get the point on my 27inch iMac..but immediately realized why they did it once I enabled hiding on the MacBook.
I move my mouse around after waking it that I’ve rarely even seen that feature lol at least it’s not annoying. In fact I forgot all about it until you mentioned it. The fact that it’s invisible unless you intend to use it is perfect.