New OS will make your Mac more like your iPhone, Apple CEO reveals
A new version of Apple's Macintosh operating system is on the way, and it will make your Mac more like an iPhone, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has revealed to the Wall Street Journal.
Tim Cook: unveiled new Mac OS
Named "Mountain Lion," the new version of Mac OS X "is the clearest sign yet of Apple's belief that the mobile, laptop and desktop world are destined to converge—and that Apple wants to be a catalyst," said the WSJ.
In an exclusive interview at the company HQ in California, Cook unveiled the new OS with several features from the software that powers Apple's mobile devices.
They include Apple's messaging service, notifications app, gaming center, sharing features and integration with the company's online service iCloud—all pioneered for the iPad and iPhone using the software known as iOS.
Cook pointed to his iPhone and told the writer "We see that people are in love with a lot of apps and functionality here. Anywhere where that makes sense, we are going to move that over to Mac."
An early version of the software will be available to developers today and will go on sale in late summer.
Cook said laptops and tablets will continue to coexist, but he didn't rule out that the technologies could converge further.
The "Lion" version of the operating system started the trend last summer, adopting iOS features like advanced gesture controls and the ability to view desktop apps as icons in an iPhone-like grid.
In Mountain Lion, The Mac's Address Book, for example, will become Contacts and iCal will become Calendar, said the WSJ. Users will see the same notification screen that scrolls down on the iPhone by swiping their touchpads.
Apple sold a record 5.2 million Macs in the quarter ending in December, up 26% from the same quarter in 2010. But Macs still had only 5.4% of global PC shipments in the period , although that was up from .9% on the same period in 2010.
Cook told the WSJ the Mac remains an "incredibly important" part of the company and that it is already benefiting from the success of the iPhone, particularly in China, where Mac sales doubled last year.