Why OS X Mavericks and the New MacBook Air Will Rock Your Mac World

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the newest version of Mac OS X today, Mavericks. Named for the popular surf spot in Apple’s home of Northern California, Mavericks is a much-anticipated upgrade to Mac. Earlier we live-blogged an overview of the new features you’ll find in OS X Mavericks, and here we give you a more in-depth look at the upgrade available for your Mac starting this fall. Plus, we dish on the new MacBook Air models, also coming this fall.

 

Maps

Maps makes the jump from an iOS-only app to an advanced set of mapping technologies available on your Mac. Maps offers a 3D view and an interactive Flyover feature, which will enable you to interact with world landmarks like the Eiffel Tower from afar. Now with Maps when you plan a trip from your Mac you can send it to your iPhone for easy navigation on the go without having to search for your destination a second time on your phone. Maps will integrate with other Mac apps like Mail, Contacts, and Calendar to provide directions and traffic reports seamlessly across your computer.

 

Notifications

With Mavericks you’ll be able to interact with notifications, such as responding to messages and FaceTime calls as well as deleting emails, without leaving the app you’re using. Push notifications can now appear on your Mac whether Safari is open or not, allowing websites to update you with the latest news and sports scores. While You Were Away Notifications let you see what happened while your Mac was asleep. Plus, suffer through notifications for application updates no more – apps in Mavericks will be updated automatically in the background.

 

Calendar

Calendar is now easier to use. With Maps integration, Calendar will estimate your travel time to appointments and automatically add the travel time to your schedule. Also new, Calendar will offer you location-based weather forecasts as well as notifications when it’s time to leave for an appointment. Calendar will also offer you location suggestions when you create new events. The Calendar app will also feature continuous scrolling so you can zip through weeks or months.

 

New Finder Features

Finder will have increased functionality with tags and tabs. You can now choose color-coded tags for your files and easily find those files again on your Mac or in iCloud. Finder Tabs reduce clutter on your desktop by allowing you to consolidate multiple Finder windows into one with multiple tabs – much like how you already consolidate browser windows into one tabbed experience. You can customize the view for each tab, move files between tabs, and even run the Finder with multiple tabs open in full-screen.

 

A Better Multi-Screen Experience

When using multiple screens in Mavericks, the Mac menu bar and dock will be available on any display. Users can now easily run windowed or full-screen apps on whichever display they choose, with no configuration required. Mavericks also allows you to use your HDTV as a second display using Apple TV and AirPlay.

 

iCloud Keychain

Now store your website login information, credit card numbers, and Wi-Fi passwords in the cloud in an easy and secure way. With iCloud Keychain you’ll have access to your information on all of your devices so you don’t need to remember them or worry about carrying your credit card to make an online purchase on the go.

 

Better Performance

OS X Mavericks will improve the energy efficiency and responsiveness of your Mac. Timer Coalescing intelligently groups together low-level operations so that your CPU can spend more time in a low-power state. App Nap reduces the power consumed by apps that you’re not using. And when your system’s memory begins to fill up, Compressed Memory automatically compresses inactive data. When these items are needed again, Mavericks instantly uncompresses them. This helps reduce 72% of CPU activity for better battery performance and provides 1.4x better performance under stress compared to Mountain Lion.

 

Safari

Safari will be faster and more energy efficient than ever before. The new version of Safari will feature enhanced power saving performance and improvements to JavaScript. On the surface, Safari will also look more feature-full with Shared Links, a place to discover links shared by your Twitter and LinkedIn contacts. The new Safari will also sport a new Bookmarks sidebar for easier web browsing. Reader also receives a new look with smooth scrolling between articles.

 

iBooks

iBooks will enable you to read and annotate items in your iBooks library. iBooks will sync your page markers, notes, and highlights across your devices. Now, when you start reading a book on your Mac you can pick up exactly where you left off on your iPad.

 

MacBook Air

After announcing the Mavericks upgrade for OS X today at WWDC, Tim Cook introduced the upcoming MacBook Air models. The new models have been designed to provide impossibly better performance in the same small package. Here are features of the new MacBook Air:

• All day battery life: Up to 12 hours for the 13-inch MacBook Air and up to 9 for the 11″ model
• Fourth-generation core processors
• Faster graphics: New Intel HD Graphics 5000 gives MacBook Air up to 40% faster performance for gaming and graphics intensive apps
• Faster Flash storage: Now flash storage on the MacBook Air provides speeds up to 45% faster than the previous generation and nine times faster than traditional harddrives
• More cost-efficient: Those who buy new 11″ MacBook Airs will receive double the storage space of the previous 11″ Air, but for the same price as the current 11″ Air. The 13″ MacBook Airs now start at a lower price of $1,099

 

More than just a sporting a new name, OS X Mavericks signals a change in design thinking for Apple. Using Mavericks, Macs will now run more smoothly and efficiently than ever before.

Will you upgrade to Mavericks when it’s released this fall, or will you wait to experience the new OS X when you purchase your next Mac?