Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite | release date, price, spec and features

Apple's next Mac operating system will be called Yosemite. Apple has previewed the new OS X 10.10 at WWDC 2014, it's worldwide developers conference. During the presentation Apple avoided referring to the new OS as anything other than Yosemite, but the press release issued by the company did refer to OS X 10.10.

[Read our WWDC 2014 live feed for comments on the news as it happened.]

In this Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite release date article we will assess the new features Apple has announced, as well as looking at the rumours and leaked images of OS X Yosemite to keep up to date with what to expect from Apple's next operating system for Mac. Plus, we bring you the latest images of OS X Yosemite so you can see what it will look like.

We answer even more questions about the features of OS X Yosemite in this article: Everything you need to know about Apple's OS X Yosemite.

OS X 10.10 Yosemite launch date

Apple has confirmed that the next version of OS X will be available for registered developers now.

Yosemite will also be available this summer as a beta to the first million Mac users who register for Apple's Beta program atwww.apple.com/osx/preview.

The final verison of Yosemite will launch to the public in the autumn, according to Apple. We can't be sure which date Yosemite will launch this autumn. In 2010, Apple announced OS X 10.7 Lion in October before releasing it to the public in July 2011. In February 2012, OS X 10.8 Mountain was announced before being rolled out in July 2012. Most recently, Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks in June 2013 before making it available to the public in October 2013.

With OS X Mavericks not launching until October 2013, it is seems likely that Apple will release its new Yosemite operating system in a similar time frame.

Apple Yosemite - how to get the beta this summer

Apple is making OS X Yosemite available as a beta so it can "help make OS X even better". The company is introducing the OS X Beta Program this summer and through it customers will gain access to Yosemite so they can try it out. Apple asks that these customers submit their feedback. It is likely that beta testers will have to sign an NDA to take part in the Beta trial as Apple is usually very secretive.

Customers interested in signing up can visit www.apple.com/osx/previewfor more details.

What will Apple's next Mac OS be called?

Apple settled on Yosemite as the name for the next version of OS X. This confirmed the rumours from just before the WWDC keynote that suggested that the next version of Mac OS X would be known asYosemite (based on a picture of the rock face of El Capitan that appeared on a poster at the event).

As for the number of the new operating system. Apple wasn't clear about this during the presentation and prior to the announcement there was some confusion as to whether OS 10.10 or OS 11 would be the number convention. According to Apple's press release it is OS X v10.10.

The next version of OS X had been spotted in web analytics refered to OS X 10.10, so that is what we were using as a name, however our readers were quick to point out that mathematically speaking, OS X 10.10, is technically the same as OS X 10.1. This is further complicated by the fact that the X in OS X represents 10, with the X being the Roman numeral for 10. Ever since Apple launched OS X in 2001, the company has issued new versions of OS X labeled 10.x. So it began with OS X 10.0 Cheetah, followed by OS X 10.1 Puma and so on, until reaching OS X 10.9 Mavericks in 2013.

Apple clearly wasn't ready to move to OS XI, OS 11, or even OS X 11 just yet...

The new wallpaper backdrop shows El Capitan at Yosemite National Park.

How much will Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite cost?

Apple surprised us last year by making OS X 10.9 Mavericks available for free. It is not so surprising to learn that Apple has confirmed that OS X Yosemite will also be free.

Previously, OS X Mountain Lion was just £13.99.

Apple OS X Yosemite: new look

Apple's senior vide president of design Jonathan Ive and senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi have been working together on the redesign of Mac OS X in the run up to the launch of OS Yosemite. With Jony Ive's expanded design leadership reaching the software side of Apple, we certainly expected to see his influence prominently in the next Mac OS X and it looks like this is the case. The new operating system certainly has a new look.

Apple has refined toolbars and window material. The Window tilebar at the top of the application gets a new look. And there is use of translucency around the operating system to "give you a sense of place" according to Apple.
Messages also gained a translucent sidebar. Also FaceTime, Contacts, and Reminders. There is also a new system font.

Apple OS X Yosemite - more like iOS?

One of the biggest rumours was that OS X 10.10 will take a lot of cues from iOS for a more similar interface, but a comment from Apple's Phil Schiller early this year cast doubt over that theory. "We don't waste time thinking, 'But should it be one [interface]? How do you make these [operating systems] merge together?' What a waste of energy that would be," Schiller told Macworld, our sister title from the US in an interview in January.

Apple's head of software, Craig Federighi, added: "The reason OS X has a different interface than iOS isn't because one came after the other or because this one's old and this one's new. Instead, it's because using a mouse and keyboard just isn't the same as tapping with your finger."

During the WWDC keynote Apple made various references to Continuity, with new features for integration with the iPhone. In many ways the Mac can become an extension of your iPhone - you will even be able to take calls on it.

And yes, AirDrop will finally work between Mac and iPhone!

iOS does appear to have adopted some of the more minimalist design that arrived on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch in September. However, it still appears that Apple is still treating the two operating systems as completely separate entities but endevouring to make the two work better together.

What new features will Mac OS X Yosemite have?

Apple has revelated some of the new features in the next OS X. New features and improvements include AirDrop between Mac and OS X. Read more abotu these new feartues in our FAQ about Yosemite, and ourYosemite Preview.

There are also various improvements coming for Notification Centre, including a Today view, which gives you a quick look at everything you need to know. Notification Centre also gains Widgets, which it seems are no longer relegated to Dashboard.

iCloud Drive lives in the new look Finder and means that the documents you create on your Mac and iOS devices will be available on all your devices and in all your apps. It's Apple's answer to DropBox.

Safari has a new streamlined design and a cleaner interface. The Tab View gives you an birds eye of your open tabs so it's easy to find what you are looking for. It's possible to set up a window for Private browsing, and when you search the results are no longer just limited to Google.

Mail has improvements for editing PDFs and images, and sending large attachments.

Yosemite also offers what Apple is referring to as Continuity features to make your Mac and iOS device perfect companions.

AirDrop has been on the Mac since Mountain Lion, and means users can drop files between nearby Macs. With iOS 7, iOS devices got the AirDrop feature too. But unfortunately, Mac and iOS devices cannot currently AirDrop between each other. Luckily this will change with iOS 8 and Yosemite.

The new Handoff technology means that all your devices are linked up so that you can switch from one device to another and carry on where you left off whether you were in the middle of composing an email, or browsing a webpage.

You can get SMS and MMS messages on your Mac - text messages as well as iMessages!

And you can make or receive phone calls using your Mac as a speakerphone. It's almost as if the large screen iPhone is going to be your Mac!

New features missing from OS X Yosemite

There are still some that have not yet been confirmed. Here are some features missing from Mavericks that we hope to see in the next version of OS X:

OS X 10.10: Siri for the Mac

Many expected Apple to make Siri available on the Mac in OS X 10.9. Apple's voice technology was introduced more than two years ago on theiPhone 4S, and then on the iPad, but has yet to make its way onto the Mac. Perhaps OS X 10.10 will be the first operating system to support the voice-activated assistant.

Reports in early April suggested that Apple is planning to add Siri to the next version of OS X. The operating system already has dictation integration, which is one aspect of Siri's voice recognition abilities.

Apple hasn't revealed whether Siri will make it to the Mac, however. We're not actually convinced that there is a place for Siri on the Mac, other than for Accessibility. We can't envisage an office full of people talking to their Macs (mind you, with the integration of phone calls, who knows).

OS X 10.10: Control Centre

We are hoping Apple will decide to bring iOS 7's Control Centre to OS X 10.10. It could revolutionise System Preferences and make them more accessible for the less experienced user.