Apple releases OS X 10.10.3 update with new Photos app, iCloud Photo Library
Apple on Wednesday released OS X Yosemite version 10.10.3, bringing with it the company's long-promised Photos app, as well as a collection of bug fixes and security improvements.
Photos replaces iPhoto and Aperture, organizing images and video while providing some basic image editing functions. Users can browse media in Moments, Collections, and Years views, as well as Photos, Shared, Albums, and Projects tabs. That content can also be uploaded to iCloud Photo Library in full resolution.
Photobooks can be composed using simplified tools as well as newly-added themes. New square book formats are included as well, and users can buy prints through the app in extra square and panoramic formats.
iCloud Photo Library has also exited beta, making it possible to browse a personal photo collection from any device running OS X Yosemite or iOS 8, as well as iCloud.com. The service is also designed to make it easier to share photos and videos, and even allows any person with access to a shared album to make comments.
For software developers the update contains application programming interfaces needed to support the Force Touch functions of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro and the upcoming 12-inch MacBook.
Other improvements include 300 new emoji, among them ones with different skin tones, and the addition of Spotlight suggestions for the Look Up panel. Bugfixes deal with problems like Wi-Fi performance and captive network compatibility, Bluetooth devices disconnecting, and the reliability of screen sharing. Safari should have better stability and security, and no longer save website favicon URLs used in Private Browsing mode.
OS X 10.10.3 can be downloaded via the Updates tab in the Mac App Store app.
Photos replaces iPhoto and Aperture, organizing images and video while providing some basic image editing functions. Users can browse media in Moments, Collections, and Years views, as well as Photos, Shared, Albums, and Projects tabs. That content can also be uploaded to iCloud Photo Library in full resolution.
Photobooks can be composed using simplified tools as well as newly-added themes. New square book formats are included as well, and users can buy prints through the app in extra square and panoramic formats.
iCloud Photo Library has also exited beta, making it possible to browse a personal photo collection from any device running OS X Yosemite or iOS 8, as well as iCloud.com. The service is also designed to make it easier to share photos and videos, and even allows any person with access to a shared album to make comments.
For software developers the update contains application programming interfaces needed to support the Force Touch functions of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro and the upcoming 12-inch MacBook.
Other improvements include 300 new emoji, among them ones with different skin tones, and the addition of Spotlight suggestions for the Look Up panel. Bugfixes deal with problems like Wi-Fi performance and captive network compatibility, Bluetooth devices disconnecting, and the reliability of screen sharing. Safari should have better stability and security, and no longer save website favicon URLs used in Private Browsing mode.
OS X 10.10.3 can be downloaded via the Updates tab in the Mac App Store app.
Comments
Still, from playing around photos seems nice.
So I would guess we can expect iOS 8.3 this week or next week?
So what happens to my existing events and albums organization?
"Events" are deprecated.
iPhoto albums will move over to Photos Albums
iPhoto events will retain their organzation as albums under an "iPhoto events" album.
All in all, pretty much everything is retained, and the migration is elegant. I've been running the 10.10.3 beta for a while, and I absolutely love the new Photos App. Takes some getting used to, but although it looks very simple, its pretty powerful.
Silly question - Can I delete the old iPhoto library as it seems to have created a Photos Library?
Downloading 8.3 right now. Glad I restored both my iPhone and iPad the night before. Photo Library is working much better now.
Just finished installing 10.10.3 via App Store Updates, and so far so good! Can't comment on wireless, as I never had that issue, but my Magic Mouse has stopped suffering from random stuttering and disconnections!
Right now converting my Aperture library into the new Photos app and will take it for a test drive!
BTW, iOS 8.3 is now out, bug fix list is MASSIVE!!! Downloading for update via iTunes to my iPhone and iPad now...
What do you mean? You wiped and restored both?
The Reduce Transparency option keeps getting enabled after unlocking a password protected screensaver, or logging out and back in.
Apple engineers either want everyone to use Reduce Transparency all the time, or they never put passwords on screensavers and never log out of their own computers. Perhaps it is some kind of revenge stunt for all the initial complaints about the blurry UI elements when Yosemite was first announced. So someone at Apple decided "You don't want our blurry translucency? Fine, we'll force the even uglier Reduce Transparency option on everyone all the time!"
do you have to import an entire iPhoto library into Photos? no way to select just what you want to import? concerned on how much I can fit into my iCloud space.
I might consider trying this IF you can totally disable any interaction with the Cloud.
I took close on 80GB (64Mb/shot) worth of Pictures last weekend. Do I want to blow my ISP quota uploading this lot?
No I don't and I don't think I am the only one who will have these sorts of concerns.
Right now converting my Aperture library into the new Photos app and will take it for a test drive!
thats commitment (unless you made a backup). Just got told by another on this forum that you can't view the converted Photo database in Aperture. I'm not touching this thing...will be going to Lightroom.
thats commitment (unless you made a backup).
Wrong. Photos leaves the original Aperture library and creates a new one with a different format.
Or maybe... just maybe... something is broken with your particular system.
(separate post due to edit mistake)
Just finished installing on 2 Macbook Airs. One was a 2011 model with no encryption and the update completed just fine. The other was a 2013 13" model with an encrypted hard drive and a firmware password. The update left that one with a flashing folder with a question mark after restarting. I'm restoring now with the recovery partition. I'm hoping that will leave me with 10.10.3 so I don't have to do it over again.
Wrong. Photos leaves the original Aperture library and creates a new one with a different format.
Well thats good to hear! But still not useful to me given the size of my photo databases...
Still total crap for Apple to drop Aperture without a feature matched replacement.