Craig Federighi, senior vice president of Software Engineering at Apple, unveiled the new version of Mac OS X v10.10 at WWDC 2014. The new operating system has been named "Yosemite" and is available for developers and will be available generally for free this autumn.
The Yosemite operating system upgrade will enable users to deliver files on AirDrop from Apple mobile devices to Mac desktop and laptops and vice versa.
- Check out our OS X Yosemite review
A new feature called Handoff will allow users to send files between devices via a swipe. For example, as users working on an Apple device approach a second Apple device, they will be asked if they would like to transition files to the second device.
Yosemite's display will feature "translucency" that enables live windows to take on the personality of the user's desktop, including adaption to the user's desktop color scheme. The translucent display will also appear on the application dock, including an updated translucent trashcan.
Today view
The Notification Center will now feature a Today View that provides an at-a-glance look at apps like iCalendar, Weather, and apps downloaded from the App Store along the right rail of a user's desktop.
Yosemite will also feature a new Dark Mode, which is designed to provide a more organic visual transition between apps and windows. Dark Mode allows users to turn Apple's bright gray menu bars to a darker gray. The feature extends through to apps like iCalendar and Apple Maps.
Yosemite's desktop will now feature Spotlight functionality that enables users to active a large search bar display in the middle of the computer's screen. The functionality is similar to swipe-down search on iOS. Spotlight will include an internet search feed that can retrieve search results from the Web.
MailDrop and MarkUp
Apple's Mail tool has been updated with a feature called MailDrop that enables users to independently host up to five gigabytes of data that can be remotely accessed by all mail users.
Yosemite's MarkUp update gives users the ability to draw notes and make edits to all attachments included in emails.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said 40 million Mavericks operating systems have been installed on roughly 80 million Macs. He also said Windows 8 adoption is only at 14% on PCs.
- The other big WWDC announcement? iOS 8, of course.
