Yosemite has been released with a major design change in comparison to earlier releases of OS X. All these design changes however, are well complemented with some major under-the-hood improvements as well, so much so, that there are some slick features hidden away in the OS that some of you may have never come across.
We take a look at some of the best ones.
3D Flyover Tours In Maps
OS X Yosemite just adopted a feature that was found in iOS 8. In the Maps app users can now make use of a 3D Flyover mode for famous cities, and zoom into monuments or features of that place. All you need to do is look for the 3D Flyover Tour button that will appear for a supported city, and click it. It’s that simple.
Markup In Mail App
Yosemite’s Mail app just got a major upgrade with the new Markup feature, which allows users to annotate images and PDF files in your emails right from the Mail app. You can add shapes, images, and text on the files by drawing, and Markup will intelligently smooth out your jittery drawings.
You can also fill out PDF forms and add your signature to the files as well, using your trackpad, or a scanned image through the camera, again, without leaving the Mail app.
Mute A Message Thread
Users can now mute a particular conversation thread for a specified time in the Messages app. To do this, simply select the thread you want to mute, click the Details button on the top right of the conversation, and enable the Do Not Disturb function.
Batch File Renaming
OS X Mavericks did allow users to rename files in a batch but Yosemite makes it a whole lot easier now. Simply select multiple files by dragging the selection box over the relevant files in Finder, right-click and choose Rename from the menu. Here you can go with the find and replace approach, add in a text string, or even create a new naming template if you want to.
New Dark Mode
Who doesn’t like a bit of black in their OS. Yosemite brings in a new Dark Mode, allowing users to switch the color of the Menu bar, and Dock background to a darker shade with a black tint to it.
For a full tutorial on how to use said feature, check out our guide:
Screen Sharing In Messages App
The Messages app in Yosemite sports a screen sharing feature, just like other popular message apps out there. And enabling screen sharing is not a complicated task in any conversation thread; simply click on Details and hit the screen sharing button, to either invite someone to share their screen, or to share yours.
QuickType Suggestions While Typing
QuickType is the predictive keyboard suggestion feature found in iOS 8’s keyboard. The same intelligent suggestions can now be had in Yosemite as well. All you need to do is hit the escape button when writing, to invoke a drop down menu listing all relevant suggestions.
Make/Receive Cellular Calls
Part of Apple’s Continuity feature, OS X Yosemite users can now make or receive phone calls from the Mac via their iPhone as long as the two devices are signed into the same iCloud account.
For our full tutorial, check out:
Record iPhone, iPad, iPod touch Screen Using QuickTime
Recording your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad’s screen from a Mac was a task best served through third-party apps and AirPlay. However, Yosemite now supports this feature natively via QuickTime, provided your mobile device is running iOS 8 or above.
Check out our tutorial below for more details:
Send/Receive SMS Messages
Again, part of the Continuity feature, OS X Yosemite users can now send and receive text or multimedia messages right from the convenience of their Mac.
Check out our step-by-step guide for enabling this feature on your Mac and iPhone:
Create Signatures Using Mac’s Trackpad
Adding signatures to your email or PDF files is a breeze now. Users can now use the Mac’s trackpad in Mail and Preview app by clicking the signature button and then selecting Trackpad to draw the signature.
Convert Currencies Using Spotlight Search
While spotlight has been around for a while now, the app has received quite a few upgrades in OS X Yosemite. One of them would be the addition of a native currency converter. Users can even type in queries such as "1 USD to GBP" to get the desired results.
Instant Hotspot
If you’re in a spot where there’s no Wi-Fi coverage then you can take advantage of your iPhone’s cellular network to browse the Internet with near zero effort. It’s Personal Hotspot, but without you moving a muscle to enable it.
Check out our detailed tutorial on how to enable it:
Handoff
If you have an all-Apple setup, and are in the ownership of an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and a Mac, then Handoff is one feature which you should take full advantage of. Start a task on one device, and finish it on the other. It’s like magic, but without the hat involved.
Follow our guide on how to set it up:
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