Yosemite

Apple TV rumored to receive Continuity integration with iOS 8 and Yosemite Macs this Fall

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 18, 2014

iOS 8 and Yosemite come with Handoff, a particularly useful feature for completing tasks across multiple devices and seamlessly moving from one device to another. Part of the broader Continuity capability, Handoff relies on proximity sensing via power-sipping Bluetooth 4.0 to detect nearby devices which then broadcast user tasks.

Handoff lets you easily create an intelligent Instant Hotspot on your mobile device, start writing an email on your iPad and continue right where you left off on a Mac, receive and make phone calls and handle text messages on Macs and lots more.

According to one blogger, Apple will be bringing Continuity to its Apple TV media-streaming box when iOS 8 launches this Fall, resulting in a much tighter Apple TV integration with Mac and iOS...

How to enable Yosemite’s somewhat functional dark mode

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 17, 2014

There were lots of oohs and aahs in response to Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi showing off a new dark UI mode in OS X Yosemite at WWDC two weeks ago. It basically alters the appearance of the menus, sliders, buttons, windows and other UI elements.

The gorgeously subdued look is inspired by the dark appearance of Apple's pro software such as Aperture and Final Cut Pro. In fact, I like it so much that I enthusiastically tweeted right after the keynote that I was very much looking forward to using it on a permanent basis come this Fall.

However, dark mode was notably absent from the first beta of OS X 10.10 and is nowhere to be found in the just-released Beta 2. For a good reason, too, as it's unfinished and very much work in progress so not really ready for prime time yet.

If you're a type of person who can't wait to see it in action, you can enable Yosemite's dark UI using just a simple Terminal command...

Out now: iOS 8 Beta 2, Yosemite Developer Preview 2, new Xcode and Apple TV software

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 11, 2025

Two weeks after releasing the first beta of iOS 8, Apple today seeded it developers with the second beta of both iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.

The Yosemite Developer Preview 2 (Build 14A261i) for Macs and a pre-release version of iOS 8 Beta 2 (build 12A4297e) for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices are available for download through Apple's Dev Center.

The betas are available standalone or as over-the-air downloads via the Software Update mechanism...

Yosemite’s Handoff feature may not be compatible with all Macs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Handoff, arguably the coolest feature of the upcoming OS X 10.10 Yosemite, may not be available to all Mac users. In case you're not familiar with Handoff, it's part of Continuity, a new feature designed for seamless transitioning between iOS devices and Macs.

"Now your Mac knows the last thing you were doing on your iOS device and vice versa," Apple's Yosemite webpage explains. "So you can start something on one device and instantly pick it up on another."

As noted by a German blog, Handoff relying on short-range Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity is a strong indication that you'll need a relatively new Mac model in order to take advantage of the feature...

How to install OS X 10.10 Yosemite beta on a separate partition

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated June 26, 2019

When Yosemite was first announced with all of its awesome features, I exclaimed on iDB's group chat session that I would be installing the OS as soon as it was available for download. Sebastien quickly rebuffed my excitement and told me how unreasonable it was to install a beta OS on my main machine, and especially so while I'm out of the country. After being a bit disappointed (that wasn't what I wanted to hear at all...I mean, SMS texting on OS X!) I eventually came to the realization that he was right.

But then, I remembered that I didn't need to settle. I could easily create a partition on my Mac and keep Yosemite completely separate from my main (and stable) Mavericks install. It had been a while since I had last messed around with disk partitioning in OS X, but it didn't take long before I was installing the Yosemite beta on the same Mac where my primary Mavericks install lays its head down at night.

The benefits are multi-faceted. Number one, you get to try out Apple's new OS right now. Number two, you don't have to worry about buggy beta software cramping your style; after all, you're still running your main OS on the a separate partition. Number three, it can be done quickly, and with little to no downsides (as long as you have the disk space to spare). Check inside for our full tutorial that shows you how to install OS X 10.10 Yosemite on a separate partition on your primary Mac.

Yosemite includes the ability to initiate screen sharing via the Messages app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

There's a plethora of new features to be found in Yosemite, and one of the latest has been found in the Messages app. Along with the ability to initiate FaceTime audio and video calls directly from a Messages app conversation, comes the ability to initiate screen sharing.

Users will be able to either request a screen sharing session from another user, or initiate their own screen sharing session directly from the Messages app. Check inside for more details.