When the book is finally closed on the product line known as OS X, last year’s release ofOS X 10.9 Mavericks may end up getting short shrift. Sure, it broughttangibleenergy saving benefits to Mac laptop owners, but such gains are quickly taken for granted;internalchanges andnew frameworks are not as memorable to customers as they may be to developers and technophiles. And while Mavericks includedmanynewuser-visible features, and evennewbundled applications, the cumulative effect was that of a pleasant upgrade, not a blockbuster.

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But for all itstimidity and awkwardness, Mavericks marked a turning point for OS X—and in more than justnaming scheme. It was the first OS X release from the newly unified,post-Forstall Apple. IfiOS 7 was the explosive release ofJony Ive’s pent-up software design ethos, then Mavericks was the embodiment ofCraig Federighi’s patient engineering discipline. Or maybe Mavericks was just a victim of time constraints and priorities. Either way, in last year’s OS X release, Appletore down the old. This year, finally, Apple is ready with the new.

To signal the Mac’s newfound confidence, Apple has traded 10.9’sobscure surfing location for one of the best known and most beautiful national parks:Yosemite. The new OS’s headline feature is one that’s sure to make for a noteworthy chapter in the annals of OS X: an all-new user interface appearance. Of course, this change comes a year after iOS got itsextreme makeover.

Ah, the old tension: which platform does Apple love more? iOS continues to dominate Apple’s business in terms of unit sales, revenue, and profits. Last year, some Apple watchers had openly wondered whether Apple would even bother updating the look of OS X. And yet for the past several years, Apple has loudly and publicly insisted that itremains committed to the Mac as a strong, independent platform. Yosemite aims to fulfill that commitment—but in an interesting way.

All together now

But at this year’sWorldwide Developers Conference, Apple made several announcements that point in a new direction: iOS and OS X advancing in lockstep, with new technologies that not only appear on both platforms simultaneously but also aim to weave them together.

These new, shared triumphs run the gamut from traditionalframeworks andAPIs tocloud services to the very foundation of Apple’s software ecosystem, theprogramming language itself. Apple’sdramatic leadership restructuring in 2012 putFederighi in charge of both iOS and OS X—a unification of thought that has now, two years later, resulted in a clear unification of action. Even the most ardent Mac fan will admit thatiOS 7 was a bigger update thanMavericks. This time around, it’s finally a fair fight.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Installation
• Branding
• Yosemite’s new look
• Vibrancy
• Animation
• Icons
• Time Machine
• The Dock
• Philosophy
• Escape hatch
• Variations on a theme
• Interface changes
• Spotlight
• Notification Center
• Full screen
• Open/save dialog boxes
• Apple menu
• The case of the missing title bar
• Applications
• Safari
• Mail
• Finder
• Contacts
• Game Center
• iCloud
• iCloud Drive
• Family Sharing
• Extensions
• Extensions in Yosemite
• Age of Extensions
• Continuity
• Handoff
• SMS in Messages
• AirDrop
• Personal Hotspot
• iPhone calls
• CloudKit
• Limits and pricing
• CloudKit outlook
• Swift
• Such great heights
• Think fast
• Whither SIL?
• Frameworks integration
• The shape of the future
• Grab bag
• Activity Monitor
• Terminal
• Messages
• JavaScript automation
• System Preferences
• General
• Desktop & Screen Saver
• Mission Control
• Security & Privacy
• Notifications
• App Store
• Recommendations
• Conclusion

Listing image by Aurich Lawson / Thinkstock

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