OS X Mavericks vs OS X Yosemite
With the release of OS X Yosemite many would like to know the difference between OS X Mavericks and OS X Yosemite. OS X is the graphical user interface based operating system series designed by Apple for Mac computers. While Yosemite, which is 11th release of the series, is the latest version, Mavericks is the immediate predecessor. While the core functionality is same in both, Yosemite has improvements and new features over Mavericks. While the user interface has been redesigned with new icons, themes and fonts, support for connectivity to cloud services, mobile devices and other Macs has been made lot easy.
OS X Mavericks Review – Features of OS X Mavericks
OS X Mavericks or OS X 10.9 which is the 10th release of the OS X operating system series by Apple was released on October 22, 2013. In order to run Mavericks minimum system requirements are a Mac with at least 2GB of RAM and 8GB of disk space that is running Snow Leopard or higher. Mavericks resembles a lot of features inherited from previous OS X operating systems while a considerable number of new features also have been introduced. Mac OS X, which is a graphical user interface with a very simple design, has attractive graphics enabled by Aqua GUI, that is a water like theme. With effects such as ColorSync, spatial antialiasing and drop shadows, graphical elements are superb. OS X also contains a feature called Expose that makes the navigation between windows and desktop very easy. An optional feature called FileVault can provide AES encryption to protect user files. A feature called Spaces provides virtual desktop functionality while Time machine acts as the automatic backup manager. The file browser which is called the Finder that is also powered by Quick Look feature is a really easy one to use. Spotlight provides a fast real-time universal search. With many other features and applications including Dock, Dashboard, Automator and Front Row Mac OS X provides everything that a graphical user interface should contain. In Mavericks, Apple has introduced enhancements to applications such as Finder, Safari, Calendar and Notification Center. The support for multiple displays has been improved while new applications such as iBooks, iCloudKeychanin have been introduced. The feature called Timer coalescing increases the energy efficiency by reducing the CPU usage while App Nap will sleep the applications that are not in use. When memory is approaching the limits an automated mechanism to compress, the memory will be activated. Further, a lot of improvements have been done to graphics in the user interface.
OS X Yosemite Review – Features of OS X Yosemite
Apple Yosemite, that was released on 16th October 2014 as the successor to Mavericks is the current latest release of the OS X series. It is also known under the version OS X 10.10 and the minimum system requirements are same as what is needed for Mavericks. While most features from previous versions are inherited, it contains a lot of improvements and new features as well. The user interface has been redesigned with a lot of new graphical features. New icons, color schemes have been introduced while the system font is also changed to a newer one. There has been a lot of improvements under the continuity themes where integration with Apple’s could service – iCloud and other Apple devices such as iPhones, tablets have been further enhanced. With the new Hands off functionality, it provides the facility to connect OS X Yosemite with iOS easily with wireless media such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Improvements have been done to the notification center while spotlights now include sources such as bing, maps and Wikipedia. The new feature called AirDrop now enables easy transfer of the file between Macs from within the finder itself. Apart from the operating system core functionality and graphics other applications such as Calendar, maps, notes, mail and safari also have been vastly improved.
What is the difference between OS X Mavericks and OS X Yosemite?
• The user interface in Yosemite and Mavericks is bit different. Yosemite has newer icons and introduces more translucency to see what are behind the current window. New font used in Yosemite is clearer.
• Yosemite contains a feature called AirDrop that enables easy file sharing between Mac devices.
• The new feature called Hands off in Yosemite will enhance the connectivity between Apple devices even more.
• In Yosemite, it is possible to send and revive SMS and even make phone calls from a Mac.
• Spotlight in Yosemite can search from online sources such as Bing, maps and Wikipedia. Spotlight was limited to local sources in Mavericks.
• Spotlight in Yosemite also has a calculator.
• A new feature called JavaScript for Automation (JXA) is available in Yosemite. It enables automation by providing support for creating applets and access to the cocoa framework. The script Editor in Yosemite has JXA support as well.
• In Yosemite, iCloud can be accessed from the finder in favorites section.
• The mail application in Yosemite has new features such as Maildrop and Markup. Maildrop provides support for sending larger attachments even as large as 5GB and Markup provides annotation for images.
• Maps application in Yosemite has vector based maps in China.
• Notification center in Yosemite has a new feature called “today view” gives a summary of today’s events, reminders and upcoming birthdays.
• Yosemite has new dictionaries for Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Thai, and Spanish-English.
• Calendar in Yosemite has a new feature called “all day view.”
• A new panel in Yosemite in System Preferences lets the user controls extensions.
• In Yosemite, users can log into the system using the iCloud password.
• Messages application in Yosemite has the capability to mute a troublesome message thread if wanted.
Summary:
OS X Mavericks vs OS X Yosemite
While Yosemite has almost all features of Mavericks, it has a lot of improvements over existing features and completely new features as well. The new user interface contains new icons and fonts with a more flat theme. Services such as AirDrop and Hands off together with iCloud integration provides more continuity. Most applications also have been improved with the addition of new features to spotlight to allow more productive searches.
Images Courtesy:
- OS X Mavericks view by Apple Inc.(CC BY-SA 3.0)
