Apple releases OS X Lion via Mac App Store

20 Jul 2011

Apple’s OS X Lion has roared. The new operating system is available today as a download from the Mac App Store for €23.99 and will come with 250 new features, including new multi-touch gestures and Mission Control.

The new operating system will include LaunchPad for managing Mac apps and a redesigned Mail app.

“Lion is the best version of OS X yet, and we’re thrilled that users around the world can download it starting today,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice-president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Lion makes upgrading a Mac easier than ever before; just launch the Mac App Store, buy Lion with your iTunes account, and the download and install process will begin automatically.”

Pricing and availability of OS X Lion

Mac OS X Lion is available as an upgrade to Mac OS X version 10.6.6 Snow Leopard.

Lion is said to be the easiest OS X upgrade and at around 4GB, it is about the size of an HD movie from the iTunes Store.

Users who do not have broadband access at home, work or school can download Lion at Apple retail stores and later this August, Lion will be made available on a USB thumb drive through the Apple Store for €59.

Mac OS X Lion Server requires Lion and is available from the Mac App Store for €39.99.

The OS X Lion up-to-date upgrade will be available through the Mac App Store at no additional charge to all customers who purchased a qualifying new Mac system from Apple or an Apple Authorised Reseller on or after 6 June 2011.

Users must request their up-to-sate upgrade within 30 days of purchase of their Mac computers. Customers who purchased a qualifying Mac between 6 June 2011 and 20 July 2011 will have until 19 August 2011 to make a request.

Lion requires an Intel-based Mac with a Core 2 Duo, i3, i5, i7 or Xeon processor and 2GB of RAM.

Additional new features in Lion include:

• Resume, which conveniently brings your apps back to exactly how you left them when you restart your Mac or quit and relaunched an app;
• Auto Save, which automatically and continuously saves your documents as you work;
• Versions, which automatically records the history of your document as you create it, and gives you an easy way to browse, revert and even copy and paste from previous versions;
• AirDrop, which finds nearby Macs and automatically sets up a peer-to-peer wireless connection to make transferring files quick and easy.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com