Written by Gavin Lenaghan
Reading the publicity material about OS X El Capitan, the latest version of the software underpinning the venerable Mac, you would be understood for thinking that the platform really is just a minor update – a ‘tinkering around the edges’ in readiness for more drastic changes in future releases.
Certainly, the language of Apple’s own press release speaks of a “refined experience and improved performance” – not exactly the stuff of which radicals’ dreams are made. However, it also arguably undersells an update that does much to boost the functionality and pleasure of use associated with this ever-popular platform.
What you need to know
Let’s begin with the basics. The name of the latest OS X version refers back to the previous variant, Yosemite – El Capitan being the rock formation at Yosemite National Park.
Sure enough, Apple has said that the new release builds on the previous landmark update, enhancing window management, built-in apps and Spotlight search, in addition to boosting the speed and responsiveness of day-to-day activities like accessing email and launching apps.
There are visual changes, such as the introduction of a suitably contemporary-looking and easy-to-read typeface, San Francisco, while the design of Mission Control – the means by which you can quickly view all open windows – has also been cleaned up.
The features not to be missed
As aforementioned, Mission Control certainly has a cleaner appearance than it once did – all that it takes is just one swipe to display all of your open windows, with some of them able to be moved to a new, clean desktop space.
Another fine new feature is the pinning of sites in Safari. These ‘pins’ are clean and uncluttered alternatives to conventional browser bookmarks, taking the form of little logo-ed chiclets on the far left side of your browser’s tab bar – meaning no need to keep manually hammering in URLs for your most frequently-visited websites.
What about all of those times when you’ve wanted to use two apps at once on your Mac, but have had to do the awkward work of manually resizing them to fit them onto your screen? Well, you don’t have to do that anymore either, thanks to the new Split View mode that cleanly fits app windows together on your screen, side by side.
From Notes to…
There’s more where those little beauties came from. You can now get so much more out of the Notes app, for instance, creating notes that incorporate images, drawings, maps and even video. Other nice aspects of this app include interactive checklists and the ability to have your notes synced across your Apple devices.
Looking back to Safari, we also suspect that there will be many fans of the ability to mute noisy tabs – particularly among those who are familiar with the feature from Chrome. The feature lets you know which of the tabs is causing a sound, while giving you the option to mute it without having to jump from your current tab.
Then, there’s the increasingly significant role played by Apple’s sophisticated graphics technology, Metal. It may have once been just an iOS thing, but thanks to OS X El Capitan, it has now making its presence felt on the Mac. We can’t wait to experience the first games that really tap into the maximum graphics rendering power of the Mac’s GPU.
So, there you have it… plenty of evidence that OS X El Capitan is far from just another Mac update. It’s a development that could allow you to get significantly more out of your trusty personal computer.