As well as announcing iOS 7 Apple announced the next version of OS X for the Mac. OS X Mavericks as its now called doesn’t get a refresh like iOS has but there are new features (Apple say over 200). Apple have brought the iOS maps app to the Mac where you can plan trips and then send them to an iPhone for voice navigation and the app integrates with the Mail, Contact and Calendar apps. There is also a new version of Finder with tabs and tagging of files and improved battery life, an improved Safari browser and improved multi-monitor support including sending the screen to an Apple TV over Wifi.
Apple also announced new Macbook Airs with fourth gen Intel Core processors which brings all day battery life to the 13 inch Air. One of the main reasons I got an Air a couple of years ago was to have the long battery life and 12 hours would be great, I get about 8 to 10 hours with my Surface RT and its very nice not to have to worry about plugging in all the time.
There are Intel Core i5 and Core i7 options and the graphics comes from a new Intel HD Graphics 5000. The updated flash drive is 45% faster than the previous generation drives. The 11 inch model starts at £849 and the 13 inch model starts at £949.
My old Air has been replaced by my Surface for most tasks but I still can’t do audio and video editing on it so the new Macbook Airs are very tempting.
Apple Releases Developer Preview of OS X Mavericks With More Than 200 New Features
SAN FRANCISCO—June 10, 2013—Apple® today released a developer preview of OS X® Mavericks, the 10th major release of the world’s most advanced operating system. With more than 200 new features, OS X Mavericks brings Maps and iBooks® to the Mac®, introduces Finder® Tags and Tabs, enhances multi-display support for power users, delivers new core technologies for breakthrough power efficiency and performance, and includes an all new version of Safari®. The preview release of OS X Mavericks is available to Mac Developer Program members starting today. Mac users will be able to download Mavericks from the Mac App Store℠ this fall.
“The Mac has consistently outpaced the PC industry and OS X continues to be the most innovative and easy to use operating system in the world,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “OS X Mavericks is our best version yet and features new Maps and iBooks apps, Finder Tags and Tabs, enhanced multi-display support, performance and energy saving features, and an all new Safari.”
Maps brings advanced mapping technologies from iOS to the Mac, including crisp vector graphics, stunning 3D view and interactive Flyover™. With Maps you can plan a trip from your Mac, then send it to your iPhone® for voice navigation on the road. Maps integration throughout Mavericks gives users helpful maps from within Mail, Contacts and Calendar, and developers can integrate the same powerful mapping features into their apps through the Map Kit API. With iBooks you have instant access to your existing iBooks library, as well as the more than 1.8 million titles in the iBooks Store, from textbooks and classics to the latest best sellers. iBooks also works seamlessly across your devices, so you can read a book on your Mac, make notes or highlights, and then pick up exactly where you left off on your iPad®.
OS X Mavericks introduces new power user features for the ultimate Mac experience. Tags are a powerful new way to organize and find your files anywhere on your Mac or in iCloud®. You can easily tag any file in the Finder, in iCloud, or when saving a new document. Tags appear in the Finder Sidebar to enable you to view files by project or category. Finder Tabs reduce the clutter on your desktop by consolidating multiple Finder windows into one window with multiple tabs. You can customize the view for each tab, move files between tabs, and even run the Finder with multiple tabs open in full-screen. Mavericks also makes using multiple displays even easier and more powerful. The menu bar and dock are available on any display, and users can now easily run windowed or full-screen apps on whichever display they choose, with no configuration required. With Mavericks you can also use your HDTV as a second display using Apple TV® and AirPlay®.
New core technologies in OS X Mavericks improve the energy efficiency and responsiveness of your Mac. Timer Coalescing intelligently groups together low-level operations so that the CPU can spend more time in a low-power state, saving energy without affecting performance or responsiveness. App Nap reduces the power consumed by apps that you’re not using. Compressed Memory technology keeps your Mac fast and responsive. 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.
The new version of Safari delivers blazing performance, innovative features and breakthrough technologies. Safari outperforms other browsers in energy efficiency, memory efficiency and JavaScript performance. Safari’s new process-per-tab architecture makes the browser more responsive, stable and secure. Safari also introduces innovations like Shared Links, which make it easy to discover, read and share interesting new content from Twitter and LinkedIn, all in one place.
Additional features in OS X Mavericks include:
iCloud Keychain®, which safely stores your website login information, credit card numbers and Wi-Fi passwords, and pushes them to all of your devices so you don’t need to remember them. Information is always protected with AES-256 encryption when it’s stored on your Mac and when it’s pushed to your devices;
an updated Calendar, which adds integration with Maps, continuous scrolling so you can zip through weeks or months, and a new Inspector to simplify event creation and editing;
interactive Notifications, allowing you to reply to a message, respond to a FaceTime® call or even delete an email without leaving the app you’re using. Websites can now use notifications to keep you up to date on the latest news, scores and other information. While You Were Away Notifications make sure you see what happened while your Mac was asleep; and
Xcode® 5, with powerful, intuitive new tools for developers that measure every aspect of app performance and energy use, as well as app testing.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
Apple Brings All Day Battery Life to MacBook Air
SAN FRANCISCO—June 10, 2013—Apple® today updated MacBook Air® with all day battery life, fourth generation Intel Core processors with faster graphics, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and flash storage that is up to 45 percent faster than the previous generation. The ultimate everyday notebook is now an even better value, with 11-inch models featuring double the storage and 13-inch models starting at a new lower price of $1,099. Apple today also introduced completely redesigned AirPort Extreme® and AirPort Time Capsule® base stations featuring 802.11ac Wi-Fi for up to three times faster performance.
“MacBook Air is the industry leader for thin and light notebooks, and now with longer battery life, we’ve set the bar even higher,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With faster flash, more powerful graphics and up to 12 hours of battery life, the new MacBook Air packs even more performance into the portable and durable design our customers love.”
The new MacBook Air features power-efficient fourth generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors that give the 13-inch MacBook Air up to 12 hours of battery life and up to 10 hours of iTunes® movie playback. The 11-inch MacBook Air delivers up to 9 hours of battery life and up to 8 hours of iTunes movie playback.* MacBook Air now supports next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi for wireless performance that is up to three times faster when connected to an 802.11ac base station. New Intel HD Graphics 5000 gives MacBook Air up to 40 percent faster performance for gaming and graphics intensive apps, and new flash storage provides speeds up to 45 percent faster than the previous generation and nine times faster than traditional hard drives.**
The incredibly thin and light design features dual microphones, a FaceTime® HD camera, a high-speed Thunderbolt port and two USB 3.0 ports. MacBook Air also supports dual displays and video mirroring while simultaneously supporting full native resolution on the built-in display.
Continuing Apple’s commitment to energy efficiency and the environment, the new MacBook Air meets stringent Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves an EPEAT Gold rating.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Apple notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed of highly recyclable materials.
MacBook Air ships with OS X® Mountain Lion, bringing Messages, Notification Center, system-wide Sharing, AirPlay® Mirroring, Dictation, Game Center and the enhanced security of Gatekeeper to your Mac. With iCloud® built into the foundation of OS X, Mountain Lion makes it easier than ever to keep your content up to date across your Mac®, iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®.
Apple also introduced redesigned AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations that feature three-stream 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology with a maximum data rate of 1.3Gbps, almost three times faster than 802.11n. The new AirPort base stations include high-powered radios and a six-element beam-forming antenna array to maximize range and performance. With setup built right into OS X and iOS, users can create a high-speed Wi-Fi network in just a few clicks, and the intuitive AirPort Utility makes it easy to view and manage a network graphically. Featuring 2TB or 3TB hard drives, AirPort Time Capsule works in conjunction with Time Machine® in OS X and is the simplest way to wirelessly backup multiple Macs. Measuring just 3.85-inches by 3.85-inches and 6.6-inches tall, these new base stations can be placed almost anywhere in the home.
Pricing & Availability
MacBook Air is available today through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The 11-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.3 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $999 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,199 (US). The 13-inch MacBook Air comes with a 1.3 GHz processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6 GHz, 4GB of memory and is available with 128GB of flash storage starting at $1,099 (US), and 256GB of flash storage starting at $1,299 (US). Configure-to-order options include a 1.7 GHz Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, up to 8GB of memory and up to 512GB flash storage. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbook-air.The new AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule base stations are available today through the store.apple.com (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. AirPort Extreme is available for a suggested retail price of $199 (US). AirPort Time Capsule comes in two models: 2TB of storage for $299 (US) and 3TB of storage for $399 (US). Additional technical specifications are available online at www.apple.com/airport-extremeand www.apple.com/airport-time-capsule.
*The Wireless Web protocol testing was conducted by Apple in June 2013 using preproduction MacBook Air configurations. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-air.
**Testing conducted by Apple in June 2013 using preproduction MacBook Air configurations. For more information visit www.apple.com/macbook-air.
***Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA ENERGY STAR 5.2 energy database as of June 2013. EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
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