Ryan Cushley

With the next iPhone announcement just two days away, rumours have been circulating as to the release date and hardware for the device. Thus far I have remained silent on the accuracy of these rumours, but with two trusted tip-offs this morning, it is time to show my cards.

October 4th Event Invite

The first concerns the release date for the device. A source within the British media has confirmed that it is open knowledge that the release date will be either the 13th or 14th of October. The reason this remains unpublished, the source says, is fear of being blacklisted by the unforgiving Apple PR Department. This corresponds with an earlier report by AppleInsider suggesting vacation blackouts through October 14th and 15th:

…the iPhone maker has in some locations blacked out vacation time for employees from October 9th through 12th and October 14th through 15th, according to people familiar with the matter.

AT&T are also said to have blacked out employee leave during the first two weeks of this month, BGR reports.

Purported unloading of iPhone 5 Materials

A second, trusted source within Apple Retail UK has claimed that an all-employee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening at several (possibly all, although this cannot be confirmed by the source) Apple Stores in the UK. This is apparently out of the ordinary, as while meetings are said to happen regularly, a meeting organised at short notice is highly unusual. The source speculates this may either be to place marketing material in-store, or for training with some new aspect of a device. The ‘Let’s talk iPhone’ event is scheduled to take place at 6pm GMT, so if this meeting is to take place, senior staff in the Apple Store would likely need advance knowledge of the content of the keynote.

The source also asserts that in the UK no restrictions have been placed on employee leave as yet for this month.

Furthermore, contradictory to a photo seen on Twitter, my source confirms that nothing has been delivered to Apple Stores in the UK that would suggest an imminent release of new hardware. The source is also confident that no marketing materials have yet been delivered.

While nothing considerable has been noted through these sources, a number of important points can be derived from them:

• Apple is unlikely to be releasing the next iPhone this week
• Earlier claims of employee vacation blackouts are potentially inaccurate, although Apple Retail USA may have different plans than the UK retail presence
• Earlier claims of hardware or marketing deliveries to Apple Stores are, again, likely to be inaccurate
• On the other hand, an employee meeting would suggest a potential product release on Wednesday

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A smaller feature announced for iOS 5 is the inclusion of Over The Air (or OTA) software updates. This will allow iOS (much like many other smartphone operating systems) to update to the latest software version without tethering the device to iTunes.Furthermore, iOS 5 marks a departure from the full software downloads of past. iOS 5 allows for ‘delta’ software updating; downloading only of changed data since the last software version. This drastically cuts the download size of iOS and makes the installation process much quicker. Until iOS 5 Beta 4, released to developers on July 22nd, the feature had been disabled, but with the enabling of the feature, this article takes a detailed look at updating Over The Air from Beta 3 to Beta 4.

The process of updating the software is remarkably simple. Nestled within the General section of the Settings app is a new option – ‘Software Updates’. When this is selected the system checks for newer software. If the software is already the latest version, a message stating as such is presented. However, when a new release is available, information about it is presented on this screen with an option to download. Further to this, if a new version is available the Settings app is updated to have a familiar ’1′ badge on its icon.

After checking for updates, the user is presented with the option to download the software. With the first delta update, the software for the GSM iPhone 4 came through as 110mb. The full download version through iTunes is 823mb. This is a big improvement, particularly for users with a capped Internet bandwidth limit. Despite the download being almost 8 times smaller, for this initial beta the download time was very poor. The remaining download time estimation was wildly off, ranging from over two hours to two minutes. In the end on my 25mbps connection via Wi-Fi the download took just over half an hour. For those with quick 3G connections, the download can also be instigated over the mobile data network, but this option can be disabled in Settings.

Following the download I was presented with an error. It turns out that to instigate the installation (but not download), iOS requires the device to have at least 50% battery, be connected to a power source, or both. After connecting to a power source I was able to begin installing iOS 5 beta 4.

Actually installing the update took only one tap on the install button. Perhaps a confirmation button would be better here, but there was no issues getting the update started. A small ‘verifying’ message appeared on screen, followed by a rather disconcerting black screen for approximately 20-30 seconds. After the black screen passed, the Apple logo appeared with the familiar loading bar usually seen when updating through iTunes. This stage took approximately 5-10 minutes.

After the installation completed, iOS immediately rebooted and returned to the Home Screen. There was no notification that the update had completed successfully.

Overall the process was indeed remarkably simple, and this is certainly a feature that is great to see in iOS 5. While some may see it as just another aspect to ‘PC Free’, it is more than that. Receiving Over The Air and delta updates on iOS is an entirely pleasant experience, and much simpler than connecting to iTunes. While there are a few issues with this beta rollout, by the time iOS 5 is made public in the Autumn, the feature is sure to be robust, useful and intuitive.

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This time last week I published my review of OS X Lion. In it, I largely praised the operating system, while only picking up on a few – often aesthetic – negatives. However, despite the positivity I exhibited throughout the review, I proposed that general users should avoid updating until August at the earliest. During the review I chose not to go in depth about the reasons for my recommendation, and so will elaborate on the issues here.

For the second time in all too recent history, Apple is receiving a lacklustre response to a new software release. This article does not deal with those reasons – see the main review for some – but instead looks at buggy behaviour exhibited by the Golden Master (likely to be the public version) release of Lion. There are several considerable issues in the release; general system instability; crash-prone Resume; Full Screen problems; poor SSD performance. As I have previously mentioned, none of these issues will be considered large enough by Apple to hold off release. Instead, the software will be released in July and patched as necessary (possibly even a day zero patch). However, until Lion is updated to fix these issues, my recommendation is hold off on updating, particularly if your computer is used professionally.

Since I posted the review, a long since forgotten aspect of OS X has reared it’s ugly head; Kernel Panics. As I posted on my Twitter feed a few days back, this is something I have not had to deal with since Mac OS X Tiger all the way back in 2007. In the past week I have received three such errors. For anyone unfamiliar with them – as many newer Mac users may be – a Kernel Panic is a show-stopping error, similar to the Windows Blue Screen of Death. Receiving a Kernel Panic requires a hard-reset of the computer, holding the power button down until it powers off. Two of these Kernel Panics have been caused by Wi-Fi (formerly AirPort) alone. The first time was when trying to select a new Wi-Fi network through the menu bar, while the second was caused when trying to access the Network System Preferences pane. A third Kernel Panic was initiated yesterday when searching in Mail. Perhaps obviously, the necessity for a hard-reset of the computer without any ability to save work can result in data loss. Fortunately at the time of the first two I had only powered on the computer, and for the third one was just emailing, but much greater damage could have been done had I been working.

For any potential updater, this general system instability should be noted prior to purchasing Lion. Further to the most drastic error – Kernel Panics – Lion has also exhibited some other unusual issues necessitating a restart. I have now on more than a few occasions had to restart because Wi-Fi freezes. This usually occurs on a resume from Sleep, but can occur at any time while working online. I have not yet found a way to fix this problem without restarting, as further irritating the frozen Wi-Fi menus causes the whole system to freeze. On the issue of Sleep, many times the SSD will freeze for 30 seconds – a few minutes before allowing work to continue. I have not been able to replicate this bug on a HDD.

An issue I mentioned in passing a couple of times in my Lion review is a whole host of problems caused by Resume. Quite frankly, Resume does not yet work as well as it should. Effects of a bad start with Resume can be everything from a full system freeze, to Finder quitting and then unable to restart, to Full Screen applications unable to be quit. While I accept this issue is perhaps anecdotal, 0r perhaps as a result of third party applications, it is my belief that the feature needs more work before public release. Handily, however, Resume can be disabled on a one time only basis. There is no universal way to disable Resume, but by remembering to unselect the ‘reopen windows when logging back in’ option, these issues can all be prevented.

Issues with Full Screen are numerable. Safari, iCal and Mail all exhibit the same problems. Sometimes pressing ‘escape’ from Full Screen will cause the application to crash. Other times (seemingly) the animation from making a Full Screen application will cause the system fans to go at full speed. An issue with Resume can cause Full Screen applications unable to be quit due to a permissions problem. Most notably, gestures are still slightly wonky in this release and it can sometimes be very difficult to leave iCal; two finger swipe is used in iCal to switch months; three finger swipe is used by Lion to switch Space/Full Screen app. On many occasions OS X refuses to recognise the difference between two and three finger swipes, necessitating the use of the Dock or Mission Control.

Despite earlier rumours that Apple intended to improve SSD performance on OS X Lion, this never did come to fruition. While some SSDs (Apple-shipped) now support TRIM, others don’t. For me, this is not so much a problem. The problem is the new freezing exhibited by SSDs. In writing this, I am willing to accept that this is again possibly anecdotal, as both my SSD-driven Macs are using Crucial drives; one a 128GB C300 and the other a 128GB M4. Both drives are running the latest firmware. Freezing is a big, big problem. It seems to occur most when resuming from Sleep or when trying to navigate Finder, but the system will occasionally stay frozen for up to 4 minutes, before springing back to life. It is a strange, unnerving, annoying experience, and one which has now become daily since running the Lion Golden Master.

For many users, these issues will not present any major issues. By temporarily avoiding Resume, Full Screen and not altering Wi-Fi upon startup, they can mostly be avoided. In running the Lion Golden Master for two weeks, three Kernel Panics is not a great beginning, but again, these could be machine specific or isolated occurrences. It remains my belief that for anyone considering the update to Lion on a business-critical system, the release should be avoided for a few months at least. For other users, updating is of course at your own risk, but again, if you enjoy the stability of Snow Leopard, do not update immediately.

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In reading this review, it is likely that you have realised I am somewhat torn. I am torn between the fantastic new features Apple is bringing forward with this release, but simultaneously distraught with the occasional lack of polish. Some aspects of the release work brilliantly (particularly Mission Control), but others, such as Launchpad, Full Screen and some of the visual changes just seem unfinished.

When Snow Leopard was released, for anyone running Leopard, it was a no-brainer to upgrade. Snow Leopard was the Service Pack that OS X long needed. Unfortunately, Lion appears to turn back the good work done by Snow Leopard in refining OS X and leaves bugs and glitches strewn all over. Again, this is disappointing, because the features Apple has created for Lion are oftentimes outstanding.

However, as any long-time user of OS X will know, a couple of months down the line, Lion will be stable, with most of the initial bugs rubbed out. Sure, this isn’t how software should be distributed, but it’s the reality of living on the bleeding edge. It must be noted that there is nothing in Lion that is absolutely show stopping; no bugs have caused a system crash for me, nor have they caused me to lose any work (partially thanks to auto-recovery in Microsoft Office). Upgrading should be done at this stage by the experimenters, the fanboys and the early adopters. Others should consider holding off for a few weeks until issues are resolved, especially crashing problems caused by Resume.

Momentarily ignoring stability issues currently inhibiting my complete approval of the upgrade, Lion is a really solid improvement to OS X. Building upon what has already been great, while bringing the best of iOS, Apple has produced an outstanding operating system for which they should be proud. Mission Control and Mail themselves would be worthy of my $29.99, but to get everything for that price? Unbelievable.

The direction OS X is moving is at present uncertain. It would be disappointing for Apple to waste time on further useless features such as Launchpad. Instead, Apple should focus on further streamlining OS X, and perhaps with 10.8, offering up that elusive visual overhaul.

There is no doubt that OS X Lion is a beautiful, mature release. It is obvious from using most features – everything from Mission Control to the newly-styled Dictionary popup that Apple has still got a tremendous team with fantastic ideas, and the company has indeed gone, ‘Back to the Mac.’

Aside from the aforementioned stability issues currently exhibited by Lion, it is hard not to fall in love with the sleek visuals, silky animations and this feature-heavy release. Once I switched to Lion several months back, I found it impossible to return to Snow Leopard. Taking that as an indication of the distinctly different, but positive nature of OS X 10.7, I must only recommend a purchase… after Software Update has worked magic. Seriously, leave it until August if you can wait – you’ll get a much better experience. With a little bit of polish, I have no doubt with some further refinement OS X Lion 10.7 will be the best release of OS X yet.

Lion will be released on July 20th 2011 through the Mac App Store.

July 15th: Subsequent to this review, I have published an article looking further in depth at why for many users, updating to Lion should wait.

Note: This review is based on the OS X Lion Golden Master release seeded to developers on July 1st. While this is still pre-release software it is likely that this is the final shipping copy. Should it not be, this review will be updated with any changes that occur with the final release.

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In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 1: Introduction
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 2: Installation
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 3: New Visual Changes
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 4: Launchpad and Mission Control
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 5: Full Screen and Mail
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 6: Auto-Save, Versions and Resume
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 7: Multi-Touch and AirDrop
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 8: Conclusion

One of the more interesting features Apple initially mentioned regarding Lion is something called AirDrop. This Finder-integrated tool could be most easily described as a modern take on old-school Bluetooth file transfer. It is a method to send and receive files in a local area from other Lion (and possibly iOS in the future) users over Wi-Fi (although not dependent on a Wi-Fi network).

Entering AirDrop through the Finder Sidebar initiates a search, in which Finder attempts to locate other Lion users also using AirDrop within a small area of around thirty feet. Once Finder has located a user, their computer name and picture (seemingly drawn from user account), appear in the interface. From there, files can be dropped directly on top of the other computer. Within a few seconds a message will then pop up in AirDrop on the other computer with three options; save and open, decline or save. The sender of the file is notified of the response.

AirDrop really is as simple as it sounds, and works very quickly and seamlessly. While it may appear to be a minor feature, it should come in handy for many users – particularly as the solution does not use a Wi-Fi network and instead relies on an ad-hoc connection between Macs.

With Lion, Apple have completely embraced multitouch, finally giving raison d’être to the previously underutilized trackpads. The default multitouch options are now; tap to click; secondary click; look up (in Dictionary); three finger drag; zoom in or out (with iOS-like Smart Zoom); rotate; swipe between pages; swipe between full-screen apps; Mission Control; App Exposé; Launchpad; Show Desktop.

A couple of these are particularly interesting. First, the inclusion of look up in Dictionary, using three finger double tap (easier than it sounds) is fantastic. The previous method to quick-look in the Dictionary app was CTRL+CMD+D, which, while very useful, is quite a cumbersome and awkward keyboard combination. The instant popup received is great, especially as it is directly integrated in most applications. A second good use of multitouch is Launchpad and Show Desktop. These are accessed through pinching with the thumb and three fingers, and spreading with the thumb and three fingers respectively. This gesture is perhaps the most natural of any of the most complex ones, taking just a little time to get used to it.

However, despite the new gestures making the trackpad feel more substantial, customisation is still very poor. Some gestures can be customised to a pre-set alternative, while others have no customisation at all. Furthermore, some gestures do not seem to remember which selection was chosen (I’m looking at you Mission Control).

Apple really has got the multitouch experience sorted. No other company is able to deliver such a rich and fluid experience, and using multitouch in Lion is nothing short of a pleasure. Everything happens instantly, with no accidental touches or errors in understanding. Multitouch on Mac is now just as good as on the iPad, and that really is saying something.

Scrolling behaviour in Lion has also been altered to fit with iOS. Scrolling is now the opposite direction – or as Apple describe it, the ‘natural’ direction.  This makes sense in unifying the approach, but it takes a couple of hours to get used to. Adding to this, Apple has also ‘elasticated’ the scrolling in a similar way to iOS. Building on the inertial scrolling already present on recent hardware, Apple has added stretchiness to the end of documents, rubberising the ends. The result is a smoother and more natural feeling to scrolling, and one that is difficult to give up when using other operating systems.

Overall then, while gestures have been improved, there is still work to be done by Apple before they can compete with several third party gesture options. Lion certainly is a big improvement in gesture support over Snow Leopard, but one is still left wanting more. The experience, however, is absolutely top notch, and Apple yet again improve on an already industry-leading multitouch experience.

In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 1: Introduction
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 2: Installation
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 3: New Visual Changes
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 4: Launchpad and Mission Control
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 5: Full Screen and Mail
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 6: Auto-Save, Versions and Resume
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 7: Multi-Touch and AirDrop
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 8: Conclusion

With OS X Lion, Apple are attempting through the inclusion of Auto Save, Versions and Resume to reduce the necessity for user interaction in using a Mac. Each of these features has its own specific function, but together they give a streamlined, iOS-like experience in which saving becomes a thing of the past, documents can be reverted to a previous version without external backup, and a shut down computer can be resumed with the same applications open the way they were before the computer was switched off.

Discussion of Auto Save and Versions is stifled at present, due to neither being available in any application. However, each has been described by Apple in detail. Auto Save is to make redundant the necessity to save prior to closing an application. Writing a document? Just hit CMD+Q. No prompts, nothing. The changes are saved automatically by the operating system, always. While this may sound fairly daunting, particularly for compulsive CMD+Sers out there, it will likely be very intuitive. Anyone who has used an iOS device knows that closing an App without saving becomes second nature.

Versions could be described as a Time Machine for each document. With a very similar interface, Versions can be accessed from the menu bar of applications. Clicking on a ‘History’ option in the menu bar presents four new options; Lock, Duplicate, Revert to Last Opened and Browse All Versions. As such, each saved version of the document takes on a status as a new ‘version’, with each previous version still remaining accessible. ‘Lock’ is there however, meaning that the current version cannot be superseded without this option being overridden. Again, this feature sounds very intuitive, although care will need to be taken that much like Time Machine, the feature is not overloaded with so much bling it does not function as well as it should.

tA feature that is intact, and complete, with the Lion release is Resume. This feature allows for the computer to be switched off – literally shut down – and when switched on again, all applications will open in the same place, in the same state, with the same content displayed. And it’s good. Very good. Instead of sending my notebook to sleep during the day, I now shut it down, saving battery life. Previously I was willing to trade off battery life for productivity, but now I don’t have to make any compromises.

Resume, despite being great, and usually working well, is disappointingly quite buggy. At present, sometimes ‘resumed’ applications will immediately crash, and then enter a crashing cycle that cannot be rectified without another restart. This seems particularly evident in Microsoft Office 2011, iWork 09 and iTunes. Helpfully though, on the shut down menu, Apple have given the option to disable Resume – but this disabling is for one time only, rather than any ability to set the preference as permanently off.

More will be written on these features in time, as all three are currently either absent altogether, or flaky in functionality. For an operating system very close to release, it is worrying that – in the case of Resume – bugs have not yet been squashed, even in first-party applications. Despite the problems though, these three features together will, after a couple of point releases of 10.7, provide a compelling reason to upgrade. Working in the streamlined way of iOS is a big improvement over typical desktop behaviour, and is a very good thing indeed. Watch this space for a deeper review of these features as they become available in the coming weeks.

In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 1: Introduction
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 2: Installation
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 3: New Visual Changes
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 4: Launchpad and Mission Control
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 5: Full Screen and Mail
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 6: Auto-Save, Versions and Resume
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 7: Multi-Touch and AirDrop
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 8: Conclusion

Since OS X was released a decade ago, a periodic feature request would appear; full screen support. Finally Apple has implemented this feature in Lion, with all the functionality one would expect. But, is this just another Launchpad? Is it an attempt to blur the distinction between iOS and OS X, or is it a desktop appropriate implementation?

Full Screen mode as a concept is one that Apple sees as important in the mobile computer. Particularly with the availability of small 11” and 13” notebooks, Apple are enabling users to see bigger what previously was stuck in a restricted area of the screen. This feature is reviewed from on-the-go experience – I quite frankly found Full Screen to be redundant on my 27” Cinema Display, but on the 13” MacBook Pro it felt more at home. I can envisage a number of applications that would look well in Full Screen on a big display, but that list is largely restricted to media creation and editing software. There has never been a time I have felt the need to view BBC News in 2560×1440 resolution.

Full Screen support is currently available in several applications shipping with Lion; Safari, Mail, iCal, iTunes, Preview and Terminal. Support will be expanded to third-party applications after the release of Lion, and likely other Apple applications will follow, such as the next version of iWork making use of native Full Screen support.

Invoking Full Screen is a simple matter of clicking a small (ugly) icon in the top right corner of an application window. A keyboard shortcut of Shift+CMD+F is also available, although it only appears to work sometimes at present. Following a click of the button quite a strange, but pleasant visual effect blurs and slides the background out of view, leaving just the Full Screen application. With Full Screen enabled, the application takes on the status of a Space, but can still be navigated to using the Dock or CMD+Tab. As written about in another part of this review, Mission Control also provides a fantastic and simple method to switch between Full Screen applications. The whole experience feels very streamlined by Apple, and is well implemented, although having everything open in Full Screen mode could be cumbersome.

Rather than offering a different UI in Full Screen mode, Apple has chosen to simply maximise the current application. This works well in some applications such as Mail, giving more space for reading and editing, but in others such as iCal feels like a wasted opportunity. Just making UI elements bigger does not help any with usability or workflow. However, Safari is the exception. In Full Screen mode it looks very much like Mozilla Firefox in Full Screen mode on Mac, which has been available since version 3.0. It is focused, and useful, particularly on a small screen. The vertical space gained is insignificant for users with the Dock hidden, but for those who like the Dock on-screen, Full Screen in Safari significantly increases the vertical screen real estate.

To exit Full Screen mode the escape key can be used (although this does not work in Terminal, as escape is already assigned a function), the Shift+CMD+F shortcut or hovering over the top of the screen presents the OS X menu bar, including a new button to exit Full Screen. The opposite visual effect is produced from invoking Full Screen when exiting. Applications can be quit while using Full Screen, but at present this occasionally causes visual problems for a few seconds with the grey stitched background image appearing before flashing back to the main desktop. Swiping between Spaces/Full Screen applications is done through a three finger swipe, producing a pleasant visual effect similar to swiping between photos in Photos.app in iOS.

As a core feature of the operating system, Full Screen feels like a good addition to OS X. From its inclusion, however, it appears likely that Apple have no immediate plans to bring high resolution displays to notebook computers. Furthermore, users of desktop Macs or notebooks with an external display will likely find this feature redundant, unless either third-party creative applications implement it, or, users can adjust workflow to switching between Spaces for each individual application. I found this hard to do, but have sometimes found myself using Mail in Full Screen on-the-go.

Mail in Lion feels like a full refresh of the application. It felt as though Mail had for so long been left to stagnate, but with Lion it breathes new life. Aside from a visual overhaul, Mail has been given a couple of significant new features, which for both casual and power users certainly improve the experience.

Most importantly and significantly, Mail has adopted the excellent interface present on the iPad version of the application. Mail now has two columns, the left showing the name, email address, subject and short content summary of messages, with the right displaying the content. As such, Mail is now much better at displaying what the user wants to see. Gone is the ambiguous subject-line only representation of content, and now what is inside a message can be seen at a glance.

Further to this visual overhaul is a new message-viewing interface, combining beauty with functionality. Despite the grey stitched background working its way into Mail, the message viewing experience is very pleasant. Messages are, by default, now seen in a conversation view, with each message appearing like a piece of paper on a desk, immediately going to the next one through scrolling down. It is not just a handy feature, but a good one for productivity, allowing for a quick glance look at earlier correspondence.

Mail also adopts smart search for the first time. Just start typing anything; a date, a name, an email address, or even part of the content of the message, and Mail instantly brings up the message. Clever, handy and extremely useful. For users with a large amount of email, the search feature can be used very specifically to narrow down using multiple fields.

Lion also brings the adoption of the iOS accounts editing features. Adding a new account to Mail is now extremely easy, with the setup largely automatic for iCloud, mobileme, Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo and AOL accounts. This is a big step forward, particularly for new or inexperienced users, as adding email accounts can be a daunting experience.

However, despite all the good with Mail, the new version of the application is by no means perfect. Two considerable shortcomings really let down Mail. First, in Full Screen mode, when replying or composing a new message, there is no way to browse other messages. The reply box literally takes over the screen, meaning viewing other messages for fact checking, or reading other emails while replying to a message is out. As a further result of this, in Full Screen only one message can be replied to at a time – very off-putting for high volume email users. While the new interface in Mail is fantastic, and very useful, the emphasis has been solidly placed on a unified inbox. For those of us who do not want a unified inbox for whatever reason, the new experience is frustrating, as navigation while retaining the two-column view is unintuitive, and showing folders in the sidebar causes a three-column layout to be presented. Neither of these are acceptable solutions, which will make Mail a nonstarter for heavy email users.

In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 1: Introduction
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 2: Installation
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 3: New Visual Changes
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 4: Launchpad and Mission Control
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 5: Full Screen and Mail
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 6: Auto-Save, Versions and Resume
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 7: Multi-Touch and AirDrop
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 8: Conclusion

When Apple first demoed Lion last October, the sceptic inside me questioned the nature of both Launchpad and Mission Control. Why, given that the iOS home screen is an alternative to providing full file system access, should this be applied to the Mac? That is the height of Launchpad. Mission Control? Exposé 2.0. In the time since Lion was demoed, I have found myself come round to the usefulness of Mission Control, but Launchpad sits there lonely, unused and redundant.

Launchpad gives you, ‘instant access to all your apps.’ So, just like Finder, Spotlight and Dock Folders then?  Yes, Apple has added another way to view applications. It’s pretty, it’s flashy and it’s useless. Taking the functionality directly from iOS, Launchpad is indeed much like the home screen iOS users will be familiar with. On the OS X side, it is very easy to use, swiping between each screen of applications with two fingers, the keyboard arrow keys, or clicking a small circle at the bottom of the screen.

Applications can be organised into folders through the iOS wiggly technique of click and hold. There is no way to delete an application through Launchpad, nor is there any way to hide applications either. The inability to hide applications from this screen is irritating, as sub-applications present in software such as Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite invite themselves uncomfortably into Launchpad. Given that Apple are touting Launchpad as a simpler way to find Apps than Finder, why is the system not smart enough to realise that adding Microsoft Language Register is unnecessary?

The visuals of Launchpad are, however, very pretty. Transitioning between screens of applications is silky smooth, as is the fade in and out of Launchpad itself – an effect that should be familiar to any Dashboard user on Snow Leopard. Launching an application gives a nice fade out effect, coupled with an enlargement effect of the opened application. It really is quite beautiful. In saying that though, for a feature touted as a quicker alternative to Finder, it really is difficult to see how, amid the bling and lack of search.

Yes, there is no search in Launchpad. At the very least, an instant search bar should be available at the bottom of the screen, allowing for a Spotlight-esque quick search of applications only. Instead, Launchpad is crippled by another basic omitted feature.

I am certainly willing to accept that as someone who has long since mastered quick navigation of OS X, I am perhaps not the target demographic of the Launchpad feature. But even for the technophobe, placing a layer of bling on top of the operating system will do little to enhance navigation, unless a ‘type to search’ feature is implemented, along with the automatic hiding of superfluous sub-applications.

For most users, Mission Control will be a much more important feature. Accessed by a three-finger vertical swipe, this overlay contains a monstrous amount of content, with great usability. When first demoed, I really did find it difficult to see how this was more than an expanded version of Exposé, but as time goes on, it must be realised it is so much more. With Lion really pushing both Spaces and Full Screen, Mission Control ties together these different areas easily and seamlessly. When initiated, Mission control fades in with a great view of several different things; the top of the screen displays Spaces and Full Screen applications (which effectively are a Space themselves); the bottom part of the screen is then the main desktop area, with each application able to be individually selected. So, the top part of the screen replaces Spaces, while the bottom half replaces Exposé. Very nice.

Scrolling to the top right corner of Mission Control allows creating another desktop Space, with just one click.  Dragging an application from the Exposé area to the top area adds it to a new space. Very handy, but the button does not appear until the mouse hovers over, nor is there any hint of dragging applications, so many users may miss this feature altogether. In the Exposé lower section, applications are grouped, so all active windows are together. Each application, whether in Full Screen or Exposé mode has both the name and icon for the application right underneath it, allowing for quick glance access.

At this point it must also be noted that Exposé alone – without the rest of Mission Control – can still be invoked. It is now disabled by default, via both keyboard (the shortcut key on F3 is now Mission Control) and trackpad/mouse, but can be enabled again through System Preferences. Furthermore, CMD+Tab – possibly the quickest way to navigate open applications – allows for navigation to Full Screen apps and applications present in other Spaces.

What the graphic designers at Apple were thinking when creating the GUI elements for Mission Control will likely never be known, but they were having a bad week, that is for sure. To suggest Mission Control is ugly is an understatement; it is possibly the ugliest shipping product Apple has ever created. Absolutely nothing looks quite right. First, the whole interface sits upon the grey stitching background that has infiltrated OS X this time around. This is fine, for areas such as Launchpad Folder backgrounds, because they are small and relatively rarely seen; or fine in Safari, as scrolling off the page is a momentary experience, but in Mission Control it’s always there. And it looks terrible. On top of that, the Dock sits out of place and uncomfortably at the bottom of the screen. The inclusion of the Dock is a great idea, but it is left looking unfortunate, as this unnaturally causes two different generations of OS X user interface to be drawn close together. Further to this, the inclusion of the desktop background behind the Exposé windows just doesn’t look quite right, particularly as the applications themselves can expand well beyond the borders or the desktop presented.

Animations in Mission Control are, however, top notch. The fade-in is much like Exposé, with applications organically spreading out across the screen. Selecting on an Exposé application gives the same animation in reverse, while selecting a Full Screen application gives the same maximisation effect as seen when opening an iOS application on iOS 4+. Despite this positivity, selecting an application from the Dock in Mission Control is buggy, with selecting an already open application often selecting the correct Space, but incorrect application.

As it sits, Launchpad is a half-baked solution to a non-existent problem. It is not difficult to understand why Apple want to apply iOS to OS X – translating that customer base to Mac customers would be great for Apple. But, to do it like this is not right. The only redeeming feature of Launchpad is the eye candy, and even that wouldn’t keep an iPhone-touting pre-teen entertained for long. Mission Control on the other hand, is, simply put, the reverse. Terribly ugly but brilliantly functional. Tying together the Dock, Exposé and Spaces, while accommodating the new Full Screen feature, Mission Control does navigation very well. A little refinement could be done here and there, but for the most part it is an excellent feature in Lion and well-suited to both home users and power users alike.

In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 1: Introduction
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 2: Installation
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 3: New Visual Changes
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 4: Launchpad and Mission Control
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 5: Full Screen and Mail
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 6: Auto-Save, Versions and Resume
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 7: Multi-Touch and AirDrop
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 8: Conclusion

Many have long wished for Apple to draw a line under the familiar Aqua visuals in OS X. But, yet again, those hopes have been thwarted by the evolutionary, rather than revolutionary approach Apple has taken to interface design. Indeed, it may appear to those already familiar with Lion somewhat imprudent to devote a whole section of the Lion review to interface changes, but the changes are there, and by Apple standards, they are considerable.

Most noticeably on first launching an application, the traffic light close, minimise and fit buttons are significantly smaller than in Snow Leopard. While having no impact on usability, as they appear to have the same active area, despite being smaller, it is an aesthetically pleasing move. Staying with the menu bar area, Apple has yet again changed the background, with the gradient almost invisible to the eye.  Furthermore, buttons have also taken on a slightly new feel, looking just slightly less ‘realistic’. This is most notable in iTunes 10.5, but can be seen throughout Lion.

Another change is the inclusion of a full screen button in the corner of many of the first-party applications to invoke the new full screen feature. The introduction looks arbitrary, ugly and an afterthought. At a quick glance it looks like a rendering problem, as such a pronounced and jagged button sits uncomfortably around the curved edge of a window. Although functionally sound, it would be nice to see Apple switch this out for an implementation with a more natural feel.

Radio buttons, selection boxes and sliders all inherit the aforementioned rubber-like and unrealistic look of application buttons. The change is a subtle but welcome one, with the new buttons looking more modern, with squared edges. These rubberised edges are also present throughout Finder, with sidebar buttons similar to the grayscale icons debuted in iTunes 10 last year.

Mouse and Trackpad options both retain, but expand on the tacky demonstration videos and incongruent interface already present in Snow Leopard. Clicking into one of these settings panes is like switching over to some grim skinned driver manager such as ATI Control Centre on Windows XP. The whole experience is incongruent with the rest of the operating system, and, to be frank, downright ugly.

No review of the visual changes in Lion would be complete without mentioning the infantile skinning of iCal and Address Book. Two standard productivity applications given Web 2.0 treatment. As a user who uses both of these applications professionally, it is difficult to overstate my displeasure. While I am hesitant to suggest that they are ugly, they are certainly verging on the more unpleasant side of mediocre. The trend of applying a UI as if the software product were a physical object on a desk must be stopped. Not only is it unpleasant looking, it is distracting – particularly a new page turning effect when switching between months and years in iCal which is nothing short of irritating.

Several new desktop backgrounds are available in Lion, and no new screensavers. The desktop backgrounds – particularly the default one of a blue coloured galaxy and another of a wild elephant – are excellent. Additionally, Mission Control inherits its background from iOS – the grey stitching look, as does Safari when the user scrolls off the edge of the page. Dashboard, being reinvented as a Space, has a strange look, almost metallic bubble wrap. Nothing is wrong with this implementation, but Dashboard performed better as a simple overlay, rather than a Space unto itself.

Scrollbars are also gone, replaced with an identical implementation from iOS. A black, translucent bar that appears only when scrolling is invoked. It must be noted that this has both a positive feature and a negative. It allows a marginally (pun noted) larger amount of screen space, however, scrolling must be invoked to see where on a list, document or website the screen is currently viewing. I found this to be of little consequence, but those who work often with long documents may find this of slight irritation. The removal of the scrollbar is also causing minor UI problems with third-party applications at present, most clearly Microsoft Office 2011. It does not cause any usability problems, however, and will likely be fixed via a small update.

This is by no means a comprehensive view of the visual changes in Lion. Most of the changes are so small as to be inconsequential, or on occasion, go completely unnoticed. Aside from the application of the iPad skins of iCal and Address Book to Lion, most of the changes are very welcome, and further refine an already very mature visual experience. It would be a shame to see any further greyscaling of the interface, but what has been done so far is good without sacrificing usability. Apple are obviously very keen to translate some of the success of iOS into Mac owners, and unifying the UI is a good move for that. While many self-identifying ‘power-users’ have been quick to criticise Lion for its iOS influences, in months of experience with 10.7 I have yet to encounter any that negatively affect workflow.

In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 1: Introduction
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 2: Installation
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 3: New Visual Changes
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 4: Launchpad and Mission Control
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 5: Full Screen and Mail
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 6: Auto-Save, Versions and Resume
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 7: Multi-Touch and AirDrop
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 8: Conclusion

Of the more controversial moves taken by Apple with Lion is a decision to switch to digital-only delivery via the Mac App Store. Criticism has ranged from the lack of a hard copy, to the lack of universally available high speed Internet connectivity. Apple has chosen not to reverse this decision, and on release, Lion will indeed be delivered digitally only.

As any user of the Mac or iOS App Store will know, Apple have very capable servers, able to match the speed of almost any residential Internet connection. For most users then, the download of Lion should be relatively painless. When the final version of Lion became available, I was staying at my girlfriends parents home, a far distance away from the high-speed Internet connections I am used to in the city. Even then, downloading at a measly 60kbps the download only took around 13 hours. Left overnight, the whole operating system was ready to be installed in the morning. On a more standard suburban download speed of 500kbps, the download should take a maximum of a couple of hours. It is difficult to suggest that this in itself is a problem, but issues could arise for customers with low monthly bandwidth caps, or no access to broadband.

Once downloaded, the process of installing Lion is a simple one of just a few clicks. The installer, like any other download from the Mac App Store, situates itself automatically in the dock. Upon opening the installer application, three pages must be navigated through to begin installing; a confirmation that Lion is to be installed, then the software licensing agreement, and finally the user must select where to install the operating system to. After selecting ‘install’ from this final window, the process is automatic, right through until the OS X Lion desktop appears.

To give an idea of install time, I have Lion on both my girlfriends 2010 MacBook 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, with HDD and 2GB RAM, and on my own 2011 13” MacBook Pro 2.7GHz Core i7, with SSD and 8GB RAM. On the MacBook, install time was approximately 45 minutes, from unpacking the files, right through until the Lion desktop appeared. On my own MacBook Pro, installation took just short of 12 minutes, largely down to the SSD performance. Both times are very comparable to Snow Leopard installation times. However, despite the dramatic growth of the SSD – even in Apple’s own products – the installer seems unable to sense the presence of an SSD, and still counts down the install time from 30 minutes, skipping forward now and again.

Following a final reboot, the Lion desktop appears. Notably absent during the initial boot is a welcome video, which have appeared in various iterations since OS X launched. Instead, the desktop is available immediately, with a new Setup Assistant widow launched explaining how Lion scrolling works (Apple term the new scrolling ‘natural’; it is the same as iOS scrolling behaviour). This new Setup Assistant is context aware, sensing either a trackpad or Magic Mouse, and adjusting itself appropriately. This is a necessary move, as so drastically altering the scrolling behaviour – literally reversing movement – will be an unknown ‘feature’ for many. More on this later, but don’t be tempted to switch back straight away; the learning curve for the new behaviour is just a few hours.

Through the method of delivery, Apple block out a likely very small minority of upgraders, however, while the switch to digital distribution may appear an unfathomable one for some in 2011, it is a process that would inevitably come. The transition to digital delivery has been handled well by Apple, with the Mac App Store being a good platform for rapid distribution. Having an alternative delivery method available for those who, for whatever reason, cannot download Lion should have been implemented, but no doubt Apple will somehow be able to accommodate those who cannot get it through the Mac App Store. Personally, I would rather walk into a shop and purchase a DVD, but the download experience feels so robust, that what could have been an unnerving experience felt natural.

In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 1: Introduction
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 2: Installation
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 3: New Visual Changes
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 4: Launchpad and Mission Control
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 5: Full Screen and Mail
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 6: Auto-Save, Versions and Resume
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 7: Multi-Touch and AirDrop
In-Depth OS X Lion Review Part 8: Conclusion