Given that Apple overhauled the design language of its mobile platform with iOS 7, it is reckoned that OS X, its desktop counterpart, will be treated to a similar makeover later this year. According to a new report, OS X 10.10 will be the central software announcement made at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2014) in June, with Apple supposedly keen to peddle the significant alterations being made to the Mac software.
Apple, above any major company in the technology industry, gravitates towards an ethos of uniformity. The iPad mini, for example, released in 2012 to much acclaim for its thin design and rounded features, and just a year later, the full-size iPad Air – bearing an almost identical form factor – was born. Given how iOS is by far Apple’s most popular platform, it’s not surprising that Jony Ive and the software design team redecorated its UI elements first, but in order to keep things neat and tidy across the board, the time for OS X’s clean-up job is now almost upon us.
According to the folks at 9to5Mac, not only will OS X 10.10 offer iOS 7-like changes to icons, windows, and most of the general user interface, but at WWDC, it will take precedent over the announcement of iOS 8, which has yielded far more coverage so far in the run-up to the annual developer gathering.
The report also suggests that some of the big iOS 8 changes and enhancements we’ve been hearing about mightn’t be implemented until a later, iOS 8.1 update. As well as the small matter of Healthbook, it has also been reported that the iTunes Radio service will be getting its own standalone app, and core features like Maps and Siri will also be in line for marked improvements. But with sources of 9to5Mac suggesting that Apple has already started working on iOS 8.1, it may well be the case that some of the features do not arrive until early next year.
As for OS X 10.10, it is thought that most of the changes will be skin-deep, and although a few of the alterations may allude to features already present on the iPhone and iPad, the forthcoming update is unlikely to steal as much from iOS as, say, Mountain Lion did back in 2012.
The report also offers insight into Apple TV, which was initially touted for an early 2014 hardware upgrade that, as yet, hasn’t materialized. Apparently, the product has been “pushed back,” but an upgraded model of the set-top and some significant accompanying software updates are said to currently be in the works.
The amount of content that has been added to Apple TV over the past few months suggests that there is much life in what Tim Cook once described as a “hobby” back in his days as COO, and with Siri controls and gaming support both rumored as future implementations, we keenly await further news on where Cook and his company plans to go with the little black box.
WWDC kicks off on early June, and with just a few weeks left until its commencement, we’re likely to be hearing quite a bit more with regards to what’ll be announced. As soon as we do, we’ll be sure to let you guys know first, so stay tuned to our coverage here at Redmond Pie!
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