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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Brett Howse - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
You can actually tether to a Windows Phone from the laptop without touching the phone - just like the Apple method it connects to the phone over Bluetooth and then turns on the hotspot. So yes to that one.But no to everything else they need to do more work on integrating the experiences of phone and desktop.
andrewaggb - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
well microsoft tablets run windows, so they basically have the same capabilities. They do have smartglass for the xbox which allows browser transitions between tablet and xbox (works with an ipad as well). I don't have a windows phone.I know the playto feature to play movies and stuff to the xbox one and 360 (and other dlna players) works great.
SkyDrive sync's your windows profile/files etc across tablet and pc.
It's not perfect by any stretch, but there's definitely integration. I use the same billing account for my microsoft azure cloud services as I do for my xbox, it's all tied to my microsoft account. As was a purchase from the microsoft online store.
The sms and call transferring stuff is cool though, hopefully they grab that as well. Windows media center integration with the xbox 360 was great, but unfortunately that product is gone.
Bob Todd - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
Ah cool! One feature down. I really hope they put an emphasis on tying all of their big offerings together (desktop/phone/tablet/Xbox/etc.) in meaningful ways like that.DarkXale - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
1) Yes.2) Theres a standard bluetooth profile for that; started doing it in the feature phone era. This is old even on Apple's side.
3) Yes again. See point number two. Feature phones sometimes required their 'Suite' software for this to work fully.
Impulses - Friday, October 31, 2014 - link
Does the Bluetooth profile actually pair the phone via Wi-Fi tho? Tethering over Bluetooth itself would be kind of a bottleneck if you have a particularly good LTE connection... I remember tethering over just BT back on the day with my netbook and Sony Ericsson phone, didn't have to turn anything on in the phone either, but this was back before 3G!HisDivineOrder - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
I think Apple's incentivizing of staying in their ecosystem is interesting for the user who will do that or has the money to do it. That said, I think Google started the ball rolling and Microsoft has joined now too with a lot more emphasis than even Google at making broad compatibility across lots of platforms, which I think is probably the better way forward.Apple is a devices company. It's obvious. Google is a marketing company and so they emphasize their services as a way to get more info to use for marketing. Microsoft wants to be both Apple and Google, but Nadella seems keen to focus Microsoft on the Services part of that equation, which is wise because their devices just won't sell very well save for some high end Surface tablets to some ultra niche customers.
I think Microsoft's approach of making their services envelop other platforms so if you have an Android phone and a Windows PC and an iPad, you can use all your platforms to see OneDrive or Office 365 is the most convenient one for the typical consumer with the typical budget.
I think Apple's way is the most convenient one for Apple and the few people who have the budget to afford all Apple devices and the Apple Tax that goes with them.
odedia - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
Guys, when is the iMac retina 5k due to appear? It's the one thing keeping me from ordering it.Ryan Smith - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
Next week.Anandrian - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
I think the article is spot on."You can only use the whole apple ecosystem if you have apple hardware/software"
Take full advantage of the ecosystem, yes! but that's the apple way. They control every aspect of the ecosystem to guarantee a better than average experience and I think they've succeed.
"OS X Yosemite not innovative"
That may be so, but it is damn good even if it's not innovative. At this point in time the improvements or new features might not be ground breaking but when you used them regularly you can really understand the advantage of them. This also is true for windows 8.1, some people hate it and some people love it and in my own experience, I like what win 8.1 brings to the table the way I use it.
"Apple is expensive"
Yes it is, is it worth it? I guess that's personal. I do have a 2009 13" macbook pro and it's still working fine with OS X Yosemite (I did upgrade my HDD to an SDD an the memory from 4GB to 8GB almost since I bought it). And I also have an awesome watercooled pc with win 8.1 which I built myself, I use it for programming and gaming and it is awesome!. I really like both machines however I do have an iphone and an ipad and I like what the apple ecosystem brings to the table, would I like it to have more features? yes, of course but that will come with future iOS and OS X releases just as it will happen with Microsoft and Google and all the other players out there.
Don't hate guys! just enjoy :D
mfenn - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
"I had never used it until Yosemite rolled out with the new capabilities that Apple had built in."What??? How did you launch applications before?