Apple OS X 10.10 Yosemite review

OS X YOSEMITE iCLOUD DRIVE

Apple has long integrated iCloud into OS X, but with the new version comes some key differences. First is iCloud Drive. Rather than each application storing its files in a unique and inaccessible place in iCloud, you can now access, manage and organise your cloud storage through Finder.

Each application creates its own folder, but as you can now access them, you can browse to a file and open it any application that you choose. Of course, iCloud works across all of your devices, so you can start work on your iPad in Pages, for example, save the file and pick up where you left off on your Mac. It’s a much-needed improvement and has certain advantages over other cloud storage systems. However, if you want full control over your folder structure, the ability to synchronise across Mac and PC, and cheaper storage, a rival product, such as Dropbox, still offers more. 

OS X YOSEMITE PHOTOS

Another big change coming is the way that Apple and iCloud deals with photos. At the moment, your iCloud My Photo Stream holds up to 1,000 photos, only storing them online for 30 days. With the iCloud Photo Library (in Beta on iOS 8), every single photo, including RAW images, can be saved to the cloud and accessed from any device. The only problem at the moment is that there’s currently no app for OS X Yosemite that can access this feature, with the new Photos application due next year. Our advice is to stick with My Photo Stream for now and we’ll update this review once Apple’s new service is fully available.

OS X YOSEMITE MAIL DROP

Although the Mail app hasn’t changed a lot, there’s one cool new feature: Mail Drop. This is an automatic way of sending large attachments (up to 5GB in size), by automatically uploading them to the cloud when you send the message. On the receiving end, OS X Yosemite computers automatically download the attachment; users of other operating systems and clients get a link that they use to download the file.

The first time you send a message you get a prompt asking how you want to send the attachment, but your preferences can be remembered. This system is a lot easier and much more convenient to use than, say, Dropbox, where you have to manually upload the file and remember to remove it later; Mail Drop files are available for 30 days, after which point they’re deleted automatically. 

OS X YOSEMITE iCLOUD PRICING

Given how many services are reliant on iCloud and the extra storage burden it will put on the service, Apple has dropped the prices of its storage plans. You still get 5GB storage for free, but can upgrade to 20GB for 79p per month and 200GB for £2.99 a month.

OS X YOSEMITE EXTENSIONS

Extensions are a way of making one applications’ abilities made available to another one. This can be as simple as a photo-sharing app being displayed in the Share menu, but Extensions can also do more complicated things. With Markup, you can annotate images sent to you via email, and even fill in a PDF form from within the mail app. At least, that’s the theory. In reality, the system is a little flaky and we found that we didn’t always get the Markup options.

When it does work, it’s really handy. For example, you can use Apple Maps to embed a location in an email, and then use the Markup tools to annotate the image with diagrams, arrows and text, all before sending it on to someone else. The tools to do this are brilliant. Draw a circle on your touchpad, for example, and it will convert your scrawl into a neat, resizable object; it will also recognise arrows and draw them properly, too. Markup isn’t perfect, though: the signature tool is a nightmare to use and getting an adult-looking autograph is near on impossible when using your finger on a touchpad. 

OS X YOSEMITE OTHER CHANGES

There are plenty of other minor changes throughout Yosemite, too. Safari 8 was introduced with this OS and has a new Tab View, which shows you thumbnails for all of your open browser tabs, plus a list of iCloud tabs with pages that are open on your other Apple devices.

The Calendar app has also been given a facelift, making it look more like the iOS version. The Day view has been tweaked, so that you get all of the details for an event on the right-hand side. Neither of these new features changes the world, but each little tweak just improves on what was there before and moves the OS in the right direction.

OS X YOSEMITE CONCLUSION

Yosemite is a big change for Apple, with the cleaner, new look a welcome change to the OS. It’s the features underneath the bonnet that really make the difference, with the integration between Apple devices a brilliant change for anyone with a Mac and an iPhone or Tablet. We particularly like the ability to send text messages and handle phone calls remotely. Some of the tools, such as AirDrop, are a little flaky, although we’d expect them to improve with future updates. It’s also a shame that there’s no iCloud Photos app until next year.

That said, the update is definitely a positive one, taking the OS in a new direction and giving a level of integration that Microsoft can’t offer with Windows. Yosemite, then, is a great upgrade for any Mac user and a brilliant one for anyone with more than one Apple device.