A Look At OS X Yosemite And iOS 8.1
by Brandon Chester on October 27, 2014 8:00 AM EST
Introduction
It has been a busy year for Apple, although one could argue it has been more of a busy few months. The yearly updates for most of Apple's products now occur in September and October, and as a result we've seen the release of a number of new products and services in a very short period of time. On the hardware side we have the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the iPad Air 2 and Mini 3, the iMac with Retina 5K display, and a preview of the upcoming Apple Watch. The software side has arguably been even more exciting with the release of iOS 8 and its first major update iOS 8.1, OS X Yosemite, and Apple Pay.
The theme this year appears to be integration and the power of a software and hardware ecosystem. Apple has always had some level of integration between iOS and OS X. As time went on, both operating systems began to share a core set of applications like Reminders, Calendar, and Notes. The iPad extended this even further by bringing the iWork and iLife suites to mobile. iCloud also played a key role in integrating both systems, by synchronizing documents and photos between all of a user's devices. However, the launch of iOS 7 with its visual and functional enhancements left many of the shared features and applications on OS X feeling left behind.
OS X Yosemite brings with it a massive visual overhaul, on a scale even greater than what we saw with iOS 7. This makes sense, as OS X is an operating system for desktops and laptops which makes it inherently more expansive and complex than iOS. Although OS X is not nearly as popular as iOS in terms of user base, the fact that the redesign changes some visual elements that have existed for over 14 years makes it quite a monumental moment in Apple's history. These changes finally unify the visual styles of both operating systems, which were once united but split with the launch of iOS 7.
The integration of these two operating systems goes far beyond a common type of visual design. OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.1 also include new features that allow them to work together in unprecedented ways. Features like Handoff blur the borders between the iPhone, the Mac, and the iPad by allowing you to continue work you began on one device on another. SMS and call forwarding takes communication abilities that were typically reserved for the iPhone and brings them to every device.
There's a lot to talk about, and it all begins at the aesthetic level with the new design of Yosemite.
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Jamezrp - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
Yeah but have you used sidesync? It's crap. I had it on a laptop awhile back and with my GS3 it was next to worthless.That said, we have this thing called the cloud. Why the hell do we need so much damn connectivity between the phone and computer? I don't need to start writing an email from my phone and move over to a laptop most of the time. And the few times I do, the draft is saved in the cloud somewhere.
Hell, most of the Apple apps are garbage anyways on OS X. I have no problem with Yosemite, and certainly don't like Windows 8 whatsoever (love Win7 though), but handoff is a waste.
SirPerro - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
Thing is, using google services you have the same sync capabilities as iCloud. It's just you don't need OS X at all.Being attached to Apple acosystem, with their latest soldered-ram/batteries and other anticonsumer practices seem a really really bad idea.
If you don't like google services, you zip all your data into your computer, and kiss google goodbye. If you don't like Apple services you have to buy a plethora of new $1K devices in the first place.
tim851 - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
> If you don't like google services, you zip all your data into your computer, and kiss google goodbye. If you don't like Apple services you have to buy a plethora of new $1K devices in the first place. <If you don't like Apple's cloud, you can leave it just as easily as Google's.
There's absolutely no reason to rebuy all your devices, Apple's devices work fine without iCloud.
SirPerro - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
An undeniable truth is that you can enjoy google services in all the devices, but you can only enjoy apple services on apple devices.That for me is a showstopper on apple ecosystem. With iOS being a niche out of the US, and enterprise market completely neglecting OS X worldwide, binding your life to iCloud looks rather ackward.
If OS X had the type of hardware variety Windows/Linux have, I'd be less hessitant. But again, jumping into iCloud and be forced to pay for very expensive device replacements is very dangerous in my opinion.
I understand the love though. Thank god we're free to ignore ecosystems we don't want.
stranger-in-the-dark - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
That said, you can also use google services on iOS and OSX devices. I bought my iPhone because I liked the look, and at the time the android podcast apps I tried were bad. And I got a macbook for my birthday when I started at university. But on both most of the cloud stuff is either on feedly or through some google service or another. I since use both linux at work and windows at home. And who knows, my next phone might be run ubuntu or android.So yes, you can have apple product without using the ecosystem. And you can easily switch even if you dont (there are programs for that). But that said, I would not buy into apple FOR the connectivity.
stranger-in-the-dark - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
*even if you do*FATCamaro - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
Are you trolling? Your first post is oh I hate OSX now and my macbook pro will be the last after being an Apple customer for 13 years. Now you're talking about vendor lockin. It took you 13 years to realize that there is a degree of vendor lockin in Apple's ecosystem?And you can leave iCloud just as easily as Google drive, even though iCloud is on fewer devices.
retrospooty - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
"I am shocked that standards of journalism and market insight are slipping so low, so fast How long before this becomes yet another fanboy blog?"It's been that way for several years already. Anand now works at Apple and his disciples are now clamoring for Apple's teet... For whatever reason.
anactoraaron - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
It's only a matter of time before this site has a name change to 'AppleTech'austinsguitar - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
^ lvl up!