Apple to release first public beta of OS X Yosemite on Thursday
The first public beta of Apple's forthcoming OS X 10.10 software update, known as Yosemite, will become available to download on Thursday, July 24 for testing ahead of its scheduled release this fall.
Users can sign up for the OS X Beta Program at its official website, and will be able to install, test and provide feedback once it launches on Thursday. The Yosemite public beta launch was first announced on Wednesday by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop.
Users can sign up with their Apple ID, and will use a redemption code to download and install the OS X Yosemite Beta from the Mac App Store. When users encounter an issue that may need to be addressed, they can report it directly to Apple with the built-in Feedback Assistant application.
The upgrade requires a Mac running OS X Mavericks, which is available for free on the Mac App Store. Apple also recommends installing the OS X Yosemite Beta on a secondary Mac, since the software is still in pre-release testing and may contain issues.
Apple also warns that some new features may not be available, including phone calls, SMS, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and iCloud drive. Spotlight suggestions are currently U.S.-only, and some applications and services may not yet be compatible with Yosemite.
Apple first announced its public Beta Seed Program in April, opening its OS X beta testing process to all Mac users willing to participate. This year, users were able to test pre-release maintenance and security updates to OS X 10.9 Mavericks, but tomorrow will mark the first time that OS X 10.10 Yosemite will be available to test officially to non-developers.
To date, four pre-release betas of OS X Yosemite have been supplied to developers, with the most recent version arriving this Monday. OS X Yosemite Preview 4 includes a redesigned Calculator, and an update to the upcoming Dark Mode.
Apple has focused on what it calls "continuity" between OS X and iOS with its next major updates, as users will be able to seamlessly hand off content from their iPhone or their iPad to their Mac when within range. In addition, users will be able to answer and place calls or respond to text messages through Bluetooth connectivity to an iPhone.
For more on OS X Yosemite, see AppleInsider's series of first look videos on the upcoming Mac operating system update.
Users can sign up for the OS X Beta Program at its official website, and will be able to install, test and provide feedback once it launches on Thursday. The Yosemite public beta launch was first announced on Wednesday by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop.
Users can sign up with their Apple ID, and will use a redemption code to download and install the OS X Yosemite Beta from the Mac App Store. When users encounter an issue that may need to be addressed, they can report it directly to Apple with the built-in Feedback Assistant application.
The upgrade requires a Mac running OS X Mavericks, which is available for free on the Mac App Store. Apple also recommends installing the OS X Yosemite Beta on a secondary Mac, since the software is still in pre-release testing and may contain issues.
Apple also warns that some new features may not be available, including phone calls, SMS, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and iCloud drive. Spotlight suggestions are currently U.S.-only, and some applications and services may not yet be compatible with Yosemite.
Apple first announced its public Beta Seed Program in April, opening its OS X beta testing process to all Mac users willing to participate. This year, users were able to test pre-release maintenance and security updates to OS X 10.9 Mavericks, but tomorrow will mark the first time that OS X 10.10 Yosemite will be available to test officially to non-developers.
To date, four pre-release betas of OS X Yosemite have been supplied to developers, with the most recent version arriving this Monday. OS X Yosemite Preview 4 includes a redesigned Calculator, and an update to the upcoming Dark Mode.
Apple has focused on what it calls "continuity" between OS X and iOS with its next major updates, as users will be able to seamlessly hand off content from their iPhone or their iPad to their Mac when within range. In addition, users will be able to answer and place calls or respond to text messages through Bluetooth connectivity to an iPhone.
For more on OS X Yosemite, see AppleInsider's series of first look videos on the upcoming Mac operating system update.
Comments
Since iOS8 isn't going the public beta route the continuity and handoff features in Yosemite won't be available to the public, so I'm less excited about the prospect of the beta. I have to do enough testing in my day job. I look forward to hearing other people's impressions though
I installed the first Developer Preview and those since on a separate partition. I can play with it and look at the new features, test apps under dev and other 3rd party apps but I don't have to worry about what is missing or not working. I would suggest the same for others unless you do have an idle or spar Mac. It is Beta i.e. not ready for prime time.
Good luck and enjoy (and don't complain when it crashes or your mail won't work - BTW Disk Utility app "Repair Permissions" is your friend).
The upgrade requires a Mac running OS X Mavericks, which is available for free on the Mac App Store.
That's fantastic news, though I couldn't find it. Anyone know what model of Mac they are offering for free?
Curious- so what do you get then- new font, opaque borders, and spotlight? The moderate risk for minuscule benefit is not worth it for me, personally. Can't wait for the full release though!
That's fantastic news, though I couldn't find it. Anyone know what model of Mac they are offering for free?
It's the App store, no tangible products sold or given away there. Thus, even if the sentences grammatically (I'm not sure ) indicates that the whole computer rather that simply the software is free it should be quite clear from the context.
True, In my case I use a dedicated late 2013 Mac mini, I did also boot to an an external on my nMac Pro and it was nice but as you say, we have real work to do on our main machines. That said the Mac mini seems pretty solid since v4, as I said up the thread, Server v 4 seems good too,
LMAO
hello Developers out there,
Is Yosemite compatible with Ruby and Ruby on Rails? I don't want to mess up my development environment.
That's fantastic news, though I couldn't find it. Anyone know what model of Mac they are offering for free?
you need a 3-d printer
Will they actually listen to general feedback from these users, or just process bug reports?
I personally think the GUI isn't that great. Not quite Windows 8.1 bad, but heading in that direction. The Mac is supposed to be, above all, the computer that's easy to use. Their thinking seems to be "minimialist->simpler->easier to use." But really it should be "more intuitive->easier to use," and the most intuitive GUI is not always the most minimalist one.
I see very little value in testing out this beta, what's the benefit? Sure Mavericks looks a bit dated, but its stable, frankly the only features that are compelling like iCloud and phone features are turned off. I think I'll wait until official release, its a computer, not a pair of jeans, does not need to be in style.
I installed the first Developer Preview and those since on a separate partition. I can play with it and look at the new features, test apps under dev and other 3rd party apps but I don't have to worry about what is missing or not working. I would suggest the same for others unless you do have an idle or spar Mac. It is Beta i.e. not ready for prime time.
Good luck and enjoy (and don't complain when it crashes or your mail won't work - BTW Disk Utility app "Repair Permissions" is your friend).
I suggest the same at least until later into the DPs.
Personally, I have too many tools and things set up to migrate my entire dev environment to a new OS X install to work on betas, so I always wait until a few have passed until I can run it relatively worry free on my primary install. That and the greatest changes in API are often in the earliest DPs.
That being said, DP4 is the first that I've felt comfortable on my primary machine with and no problems as of yet.
Interesting. Hope the devs and Smart People that are working on this for Apple can fix all the strange behavior in Apple Mail on Mavericks. I'll wait for the finished product like the good little consumer I am. But remember: "this fall" by definition means NLT 12/21/14; about 5 months from now.
Will they actually listen to general feedback from these users, or just process bug reports?
I personally think the GUI isn't that great. Not quite Windows 8.1 bad, but heading in that direction. The Mac is supposed to be, above all, the computer that's easy to use. Their thinking seems to be "minimialist->simpler->easier to use." But really it should be "more intuitive->easier to use," and the most intuitive GUI is not always the most minimalist one.
AMEN TO THAT! Intuitive to the end user far and away trumps "cute to look at." IOS-7 and Mavericks have both gone down the wrong rabbit trail.
Will they actually listen to general feedback from these users, or just process bug reports?
I personally think the GUI isn't that great. Not quite Windows 8.1 bad, but heading in that direction. The Mac is supposed to be, above all, the computer that's easy to use. Their thinking seems to be "minimialist->simpler->easier to use." But really it should be "more intuitive->easier to use," and the most intuitive GUI is not always the most minimalist one.
I couldn't agree more, especially when it comes to the calendar app, which, for me at least, is almost useless now, with it's pastel colours, grid lines which are mostly 90% transparent, etc. etc. .... if you put a lot of info on your monthly page view....it all runs together so as to make it all difficult to view with a glance. Nothing stands out. They should offer a "classic" view as an option, at least.