The newest operating system from Apple, OS X Mavericks, was officially announced during the company's Oct. 22 press event, and Apple highlighted many of its different features. The most important fact? The new operating system will be available for free starting Oct. 22, so long as users already have Mountain Lion or Snow Leopard, an operating system that goes back to 2007.
Users can follow one easy single-step update to gain access to all the advantages of OS X Mavericks. A full preview of the operating system can be found on Apple's official site for OS X Mavericks.
The operating system will offer Macs many features iPhone and iPad users have grown accustom to, including iBooks, with users now able to sync up their library instantly through the iCloud. In a demo of the program, users can click and drag content from iBooks and tag documents for better organization. Another new feature found on OS X Mavericks is a new integrated notification system that allows users to respond to notifications without having to exit out of current programs.
Maps is also coming to OS X Mavericks to help users find destinations and send the directions directly to their mobile Apple devices. The Calendar system will be revamped so that users can scroll through the pages easier and without breaks between days, weeks, or months. Notifications, Calendar, and Maps all work together to help you recieve, schedule, and get to appointments without rifiling through different apps.
The iCloud Keychain will be a part of the jump to OS X Mavericks. This feature will allow users to save various passwords for all their Apple products in the iCloud and gain access to this information if they forget their information. In addition, the program will also recommend strong passwords for users if they are having trouble finding a safe password for use online.
OS X Mavericks is also designed to increase power efficiency. Apple stated that by just using Mavericks, a Macbook Air will have an extra hour of battery life due to the new technology found in the operating system. Graphics will also be improved with the upgrade to OS X Mavericks, and Apple has sought to improve performance with integrated graphics to help games and other software look better than ever.
Overall, OS X Mavericks looks to bring some of the best and most popular features from the mobile iOS 7 to Macs, while at the same time giving users several new features to play around with as well as various performance boosting upgrades - all for free.