Apple announces Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

By on Oct 20, 2010 at 2:02 PM
Breaking October 20, 2010

We have all been waiting to see what Apple has in store for the next major milestone in Mac OS X, and just now, at Apple’s “Back to the Mac” event, Steve Jobs has given us a preview of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. The big thing here, as Steve puts it, is the joining of OS X with the best features found in iOS. Here are some of the biggest features previewed in Lion:

  • Multitouch gesture support
  • App Store: Mac apps available in a centralized location with a payment system, 1-click purchasing, customer reviews, screenshots, etc
  • Launchpad – app home screens for OS X
  • Full-screen apps
  • Auto-save and auto-resume within apps
  • Mission Control: unification of full-screen apps, Expose, Spaces and Dashboard

Lion will launch this coming summer, though no specific release date was provided. The Mac App Store will be available within 90 days, however, as an addition to Snow Leopard.

Hit the jump for a handful of images…

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78 Comments

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  • John Davis

    I wonder if the negative bleaters who seem to infest this site know how much damage their stinging comments have?

    How much agony and sleepless nights they bring to people like S. Jobs?

    Or what effect they are having on the sales of iPods, iPads, iPhones and Mac computers?

    Absolutely ZERO!

  • wanderer

    @John Davis, I think they believe that they could convince every apple device owner to jump ship.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

  • phil dough

    Do I understand correctly? Apple is now going to dumb down their desktops like they have dumbed down their iOs system? Are they going to remove customization like iOs? Are they going to have the same archaic approval system/process for “apps”? Will they phase out the ability to go to a store a purchase a hard copy of “apps”?

    They may call it simplified, but come on, it is dumbed down for the masses who can’t handle tech. Call a spade a spade.

    • Phormic

      And the GUI is dumbed down for the masses who can’t handle a command line interface. And the mouse is dumbed down for the masses who can’t handle just using a keyboard. The same moaning, self congratulatory technical elite repeat themselves ad nauseam throughout computing history. How dare technology be accessible and easy to use. That’s only for stupid people.

      • T

        I think he kinda has a point, delivered wrong. One of the great things I appreciate is the Family Pack on programs… I’d hate to see this go, if the “dumbing down” delivery of “apps” means internet purchasing through an iTunes style interface.

      • phil dough

        At what point do we stop “dumbing down”? Is their a point where there is a REASONABLE expectation for intelligence when using technology? My children could adjust settings on the computer when they were four. Do we need to “dumb down” computers even further than that? That is the direction El-Jobsbo is going in.

        At some point people need to take responsibility and educate themselves. And for those who can’t, there already exists all sorts of assisted living arrangements available.

      • T

        Young kids, under roughly 5 years of age, learn at an incredible pace…. that’s why they tell you to introduce them to a 2nd language at that age… because they just might learn it without ever having anyone to speak it with. So your 4 year old adjusting computer settings… that’s not a marvel, it’s expected. If your 4 year old could write a program, that’d be impressive…

      • phil dough

        I was responding to Phormic’s tyraid about technological advancement. He claims dumbing down a computer system is the same as implementing a visual system for beings that are essentially visual in nature.

        GUI and Mouse are natural tech evolution. Simplifying (dumbing down) a computer system to the lowest common demoninator is not. At some point people need to muster enough brain power to work a computer and we are already there (i.e. my son).

        What is happening will be detrimental in the same way iOs is detrimental.

        When the same system is applied to Mac Apps as used in iOs we will see our freedoms going down the toilet.

        Freedom of Religion, religious apps – banhammered
        freedom of Press, some news commentator’s apps – banhammered
        freedom of speech – many an app has recieved the banhammer for publishing things like political satire.

        And in his own way Jobs banhammered freedom of assembly. Only Apple sanctioned news events are cop acetic. He won’t play on anyone else’s grounds. And only fanboys are invited to his little shindigs; disagree publicly with him and you get your very own banhammer.

  • Marco

    It seems as though Apple has lost the ball and has no new innovations! The Mac is dead!

    Windows 8 will be MORE advanced than Mac OS 10.7!

    Apps on a Mac? Great.

    Bad job Steve Jobs!

  • Ex2bot

    Oh my g@wd! Apple’s dumbing down OS X! OS X is 2 simple! Game over, man GAME OVER!

    It’s not like you can run Autocad on it or something! Preschool operating system!

    ———————-

    ~$ echo Game over man!

    Game over man!
    ~$

    Bot
    (Reminding the whippersnappers that OS X has more power it its little finger . . .)

  • DAM

    The move towards touch and gestures has been a long time coming. Why does the move away from mice and towards touch friendly interfaces equate to dumming down the OS. An interface can appear simple and be deep and powerful at the same time. I feel sorry for people who can’t accept this because Microsoft and Linux are also headed in the same direction. Don’t fear change embrace it!

  • rusty

    Nice Pants Steve! Douchebag!!

  • Nickk

    There are up to Lion.. the king of the jungle.
    Where can they go next… liger?

  • Anonymous

    I have the strangest feeling that Apple hired Adobe’s UI team. Not for the UI changes in Lion, but in all the recent icon changes. iTunes 10 icon, the sidebar, the iOS 4.2 Voice Memos app, the Mac App Store.

    As a graphic designer, this is making me furious as it even goes against their own human interface guidelines. To me Apple is starting on a down hill slide. Steve Jobs is starting to approve things that are WORSE than they’re predecessors.

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