A Look At OS X Yosemite And iOS 8.1
by Brandon Chester on October 27, 2014 8:00 AM ESTConclusion
It has definitely been a busy few months in the Apple world. September delivered the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, along with iOS 8, and a preview of the still mysterious Apple Watch. This month we got the iPad Air 2, the iPad Mini 3, the iMac with Retina 5K display, iOS 8.1, Apple Pay, and OS X Yosemite. Those last three points are some of the most interesting, and they all happen to be part of Apple's software ecosystem. I don't think that's a coincidence. We're reaching a point where it's becoming more and more difficult to differentiate your products based on hardware alone. Great software driving a great experience is where the focus needs to be moving forward.
Apple's strategy to provide that experience appears to be deep integration of their services across all of their product lines. It starts with the cloud, with new additions to iCloud like iCloud Drive and Photo Library. From there it goes to software commonality, with a design language that exists on both iOS and OS X, and applications that exist on both platforms. On the opposite end of the spectrum from the cloud are the new continuity features which provide integration between all the devices that you have right there with you. SMS Forwarding and iPhone call transferring expands communication on iPad and the Mac to new areas, while Handoff makes the transition between applications seamless and accurate right down to where your cursor was.
What interests me the most about Apple's stategy is how it provides incentive for a user with one Apple device to buy other Apple devices. This exists to a certain degree with other manufacturers as well. If you own a Samsung smartphone, you may be more inclined to buy a Samsung tablet due to the similar hardware design and user interface. But apart from any brand loyalty you feel, you don't really have any incentive to buy a Samsung laptop which runs Windows and doesn't integrate with your other devices. Apple's integration covers their entire lineup of devices. An iPhone user has a lot to gain by choosing a MacBook over a Windows Ultrabook, and an iPad over a Nexus 9. It would be interesting to analyze what percentage of people purchasing a new Apple device already own one or more Apple products.
Overall, I'm happy with the work that Apple has done with iOS 8.1 and OS X Yosemite. It's clear that a lot of this has been in the works for some time now, and integrating products and services to this degree requires a lot of planning to position your hardware and software so that it will be capable of working together in the ways you want them to. The Yosemite redesign has also gone quite well, and there aren't as many jarring inconsistencies as there were with iOS 7 at launch despite OS X being a more expansive operating system. Apple has definitely learned from their experiences with the iOS redesign. That being said, there is still a lot of work to do. Apple Pay needs to expand rapidly, and iCloud Photo Library isn't as far developed as I had expected it to be.
It's hard to say where Apple will go as we move forward. It will be hard to outdo the work that has been done with Yosemite. However, history tells me that there are still great things yet to come from Apple. It seems that year after year Apple is able to make updated products and proclaim them to be the biggest advancements in that product's history, and regardless of my initial reaction, I somehow always find myself agreeing .
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EnzoFX - Saturday, November 1, 2014 - link
Do you really think the average joe is removing screws and changing ram? loldesignerfx - Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - link
I see you skiping over the soldered ram and battery part. Let me assure you, that matters just as much as forcing things to be command line is equally stupid. That's the opposite of good UX design.cgpublic - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
"As a long term OSX power user and a long term Android power user I feel constantly dissapointed by OSX updates." If you say so."I certainly understand Apple efforts to unify their experiences and make them consistent under the same ecosystem. That's good for their business." It also provides a benefit to users.
"Unfortunately I'm on a situation where OSX for me is more a handicap than something I'd like to pay for, and that's something which is reinforced on every single release." Handicap? Compared to Linux or Windows? Please expand this thought. Also, you are not directly paying for OS, you pay for the HW.
"I will not use a system which is focused to my grandma and obfuscates all the advanced features under complex bash commands in an effort to make them not available to the users. I will not buy a 2K laptop with soldered RAM and battery, let alone the stupid joke the new iMac is." The purpose of a GUI to simplify user interaction. You can choose Terminal if that is your preference. Also, there are very real technical benefits to soldered RAM and non-replaceable batteries. The new iMac is the best desktop for most users at that price point, i.e., fastest and best display.
"I'm sad, because OS X has been my main driver for some many years. But I'm not buying the Apple ecosystem, and apparently that's all that Apple wants to sell now." I guess Apple should be focused on selling other systems, say Microsoft, Google or Samsung. I can't say if you are paid to post this drivel, but if you are, you're overpaid.
Speedfriend - Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - link
"Unfortunately I'm on a situation where OSX for me is more a handicap than something I'd like to pay for, and that's something which is reinforced on every single release." Handicap? Compared to Linux or Windows? Please expand this thought. Also, you are not directly paying for OS, you pay for the HW.I am with him on this, since I upgraded my iMac to Mavericks I have found it a pain to use, especially around saving and access commonly/recently used files. Now I am sure that I could spend some time finding out how to do it better, but I use a windows machine at work so have now bought a win 8 laptop with touch screen which is a revelation in useabilty. somethings are just so much easier and more natural with atouchscreen given we spend all days using them on phones and tablets. I haven't touched my iMac in months now.
And off course you are paying for OS, otherwise Apples margins would be 5% and not 30%
techconc - Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - link
LOL! Really, you're having trouble accessing recently used files? Seriously? You must not really have a Mac, because even the most novice users don't struggle with such things. Seriuosly, where do you think the "Recent Items" feature from Windows came from?http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-ways-to-locate-rece...
serons - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
I very much agree with this sentiment, and for the same reasons. They have green ambitions when building power generation for them selves and when building their product but expect us consumers to buy a completely new product if a component fails or if we wish to upgrade. That's very environmentally wasteful, inefficient and expensive. No way.ViewRoyal - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
"expect us consumers to buy a completely new product if a component fails or if we wish to upgrade."If a component fails, and you are still on warranty, you get your entire Mac replaced. The one that you exchange gets refurbished and sold as a refurb. That's NOT "environmentally wasteful, inefficient and expensive" at all!!!
If a component fails, and (as in most cases) it is due to a defective component (and not due to misuse) Apple has covered these instances with extended warranties. I had an iMac G5 that had a capacitor burn out in its 4 year of use. This was a known defective component, and Apple replaced it with a current iMac with Intel processor at no cost to me.
Some Macs have user upgradable RAM, and some Macs don't. Those that don't are usually lower end, so it is important to buy one with the RAM you need. Nobody complains because they can't upgrade the RAM in their smartphone or tablet, so you should be used to this, especially in a Mac that costs less than the full price of a smartphone or tablet!
All Macs have upgradeable internal storage, either by the user, or by an Apple Store or certified Apple provider. In addition, all Macs come with USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt connectors for fast external storage. So internal AND external storage is definitely upgradeable!
Your complaints really have no merit.
blackcrayon - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
It's actually hard to overestimate how great it is to have Thunderbolt on non Macs that never had pci slots (mini, iMac, Air). 2 Thunderbolt ports offers more expansion opportunities than ever.HKZ - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
"Your complaints really have no merit."Bullshit they don't. I'm on my second GPU on my 2011 MBP and probably going to have to have a third soon since I have absolutely zero confidence that it'll last very long. A $3000 machine that lasted about 4 months past its warranty and then became 100% useless. Apple's solution despite the rash of failures and repeated petitions to have them recognize a widespread failure? Pay them $700 for an in-house replacement or $300 from a third party. I paid $3000 for a machine that *barely* lasted past its warranty before it became completely useless and Apple REFUSES to recognize they have another serious problem on their hands and REFUSES to extend the warranties of the machines affected.
Your inability to recognize reality makes me question your objectivity. Apple has a huge problem on its hands that they have 1000x the cash to instantly solve by replacing the machines wholesale and they completely refuse to acknowledge the problem exists.
mrd0 - Thursday, October 30, 2014 - link
I agree. I went through two MBP's and the third just crapped out. I'm done.