WWDC 2014 – OS X Yosemite comes with new interface and better integration with iOS

The WWDC 2014 just finished and did not disappoint the expectations of those who sought new software: operating systems from Apple are going to get a substantial injection of functionality. For OS X, it is a more radical change, in terms of graphics, approaching the style of iOS 7 is not lost. The desktop experience so far known. Design flatter, more translucency and less use of title bars. This is briefly the user interface of Yosemite.

Two parts of Yosemite that combine graphics and functionality are renewed Notification Center, and Spotlight. The first collects both a visual not too dissimilar to that which we have become accustomed iOS 7 with all notifications or only the ones in the course of the day, and adds the widget, replacing the braids Dashboard. Calendar, Reminders, News, Stocks and more, will be available as standard, while others will be downloadable through the Mac App Store.

Spotlight now has a new panel when called, at the center of the desktop in a manner similar to Alfred, alternative software research on Mac’s addition to searching content locally, you are now able to find geographic locations and look at various sources on the net, as news about a certain topic or Wikipedia article and content from the iTunes Store.

On the right is given a preview of the selected result, in order to understand if the eye is what you was looking for, or need to continue the search. In the event, a click will open the application more suitable for the management of the content. There are also simpler features such as converting between different units of measurement.

Moving on to apps, several have been subjected to heavy retouching. The first is Safari, with a more minimalist design and a window almost entirely dedicated to open web page. New visuals for the management of bookmarks and open tabs, more options for finding content from the address bar, support for the latest improvements such as WebGL and Google’s SPDY protocol.

For control of their privacy at the same time you can now have a window dedicated to private browsing, without saving the data on your Mac, and regular; was also added between DuckDuckGo search engines available, which unlike Google or Bing claims not to track the user’s activities. Of course, their performance improvements, optimizations with the Nitro JavaScript engine that allow you to dub Firefox in terms of speed, while having reductions in energy consumption. Apple says you can even get two more hours with the vision of video content, such as Netflix.

Mail is probably the app that has not changed in appearance. As you can see from the picture below, has remained perfectly recognizable when compared to that of the Mavericks. Among the features added markup stands out, which lets you attach images and edit them directly in Mail, adding forms, signatures and comments, just as you would by opening separately Preview. Another utility is Mail Drop, which operates in conjunction with iCloud: You can attach files up to 5 GB per message. I do not even need the recipient to use OS X, as on other platforms, including webmail, a link is provided to download the content.

Go to Messaging, numerous additions have been made. Some more about that later, being in a much broader context. Among the main, features are now able to give titles to conversations, create group chat and send voice messages to be directly within the application.

The Finder is between parties who have had a smoother transition to the new style. There are two major improvements: the first is to support AirDrop with iOS devices, so far precluded opportunities with the two features that remained virtually communicating in spite of the common name. The second is iCloud Drive, a storage space where you can put any kind of files, organize them by tags, by reference application or more. The data will be automatically synchronized between devices connected to your Apple ID and can also be used offline.

In this way, Apple has not only the opportunity to provide an alternative integrated Dropbox, but it fills a hole that was present since the transition from MobileMe to iCloud, iDisk when the service had been deleted. iCloud Drive will use as a basis the 5 GB of free storage offered by the service and will also be available on iOS and Windows.

One of the most interesting parts of Yosemite comes now. With Lion and Mountain Lion, we witnessed a rather strange aesthetic and functional convergence between iOS and OS X, result in an unpleasant way to a good chunk of users. Mavericks gave a finishing touch to this direction, focusing on the integration which resulted actually useful.

Yosemite continues on this path. Mac and iDevices will talk constantly, with the ability to initiate action on one and finish it on the other. You can also perform operations on Mac without any physical contact with the iOS device, such as answering phone calls or exchanging text messages.

Instant Hotspot is also very nice, allowing you to use the mobile data network enabling tethering directly from your Mac Also in this case there is no required interaction with the iPhone or the iPad, it is important to have Bluetooth enabled on both sides in order to establish the initial connection.

Handoff will be a valuable ally, especially those who use Apple products in the workplace. Every action can be accomplished through the device currently in use regardless of where it started. The best explanation is through an example: you start an email on the iPad outside the home; returns on time and turning on the Mac we continue composing the message directly there without losing any data. Conversely, we are preparing a document on the Mac, and we have to get out; Handoff will automatically change the content to the respective application on the iPad reference this information to allow us to continue the work on the move.

Among the applications that make full use of this new convergence will be images, which for the first time on OS X will arrive in a form specifically optimized for use with iCloud, which will sync your library between devices with no time limits Contrary to Photo Stream. Will there be a good edit mode, comprising various tools for straightening the photos, the use of filters and adjusting individual parameters such as brightness or exposure. But it will take time to use it, because it will not come before 2015, at least in a stable form.

For Yosemite do not have to wait so long. It will be released this fall for free, for any Mac that supports Mavericks. You can directly from Snow Leopard 10.6.8 as a system upgrade, at least according to the Developer Preview. It is available to developers enrolled in the Mac Developer Program right now. The real news is the use of the Beta Program recently opened, which allow you to put your hands-on development builds with no annual subscription as it has been necessary so far. For candidate’s meters, the event is scheduled during the summer.

It closes the first article here at WWDC 2014 dedicated to OS X 10.10. But if we have already had so much to talk about here, wait until you see the short section devoted to iOS 8, which is bringing about profound changes in the foundations for the mobile operating system from Cupertino.