Hasta La Gadget!

Starting tomorrow, iOS users will be prompted to update their devices to the newest iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system. As difficult as it is to believe, we’re already onto the sixth version of the OS, which continues to be updated with new features on a yearly basis. After pushing out so many upgrades critical to plugging a few major feature holes, the vast majority of its 200 advertised enhancements are strictly granular, as Apple continues to polish its popular OS.

That doesn’t mean, though, that this build is coming to the masses without any jarring UI changes: Apple has declared independence from Google by adopting its own Maps, added a few nice features to Mail and iCloud, thrown Facebook integration into the mix and introduced the Passbook for paperless tickets. The question is, how does it stack up against previous refreshes? Read on to find out.

Continue reading iOS 6 review

Filed under: Software, Mobile

iOS 6 review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A lot has changed since early 2001. We’ve got a new president approaching the end of his first term, the US has embarked on two major wars and the words “Lady Gaga” have become much more than just gibberish. Some things, however, don’t change. In nearly each of these intervening years, Apple has issued a major update to its desktop operating system, OS X. This time last year, the company issued OS 10.7 Lion, a king-of-the-jungle moniker many thought would mark the end of Apple’s big cat naming scheme and, by extension, the OS X lineage. In February, however, the old operating system showed she still had some life left in her, when the next edition was revealed, arriving over the summer and called Mountain Lion.

Based on the name alone, you’d think 10.8 would be a modest improvement over its predecessor — not unlike the baby step between Leopard (10.5) and Snow Leopard (10.6). But Apple insists that this latest build is more than just a seasonal refresh — in all, it boasts more than 200 new features. Some are major, including things like a new Notification Center, AirPlay Mirroring and a desktop version of Messages. Others, such as full-screen mode for Notes… not so much. What seems to unite the vast majority of the 200 features, however, is a nod to iOS. So, how easily can Mac users justify that $20 download? Follow along after the break, as we put those 200 features to the test.

Continue reading Apple OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 review

Filed under: Software

Apple OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 08:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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