OS X Lion

OS X Lion is our best OS yet. Not just because it’s packed with all these new features. But because of what those features add up to: one amazing Mac experience.

Hardware and software made for each other.
Since the software on every Mac is created by the same company that makes the Mac, you get a fully integrated system in which everything works together perfectly. OS X works with the processor in your Mac to deliver the best possible performance. The Multi-Touch trackpad on every Mac notebook gives you more than enough space to pinch, swipe, and tap your way around most of the apps on your system. OS X gives you long battery life by dimming the screen in low-light conditions and even regulating processor activity between keystrokes.

Interact with your computer in a whole new way.
Tap, scroll, pinch, and swipe using Multi-Touch gestures, directly controlling what’s on your screen in a more fluid, natural, and intuitive way. When you scroll down on your trackpad or Magic Mouse, your document scrolls down. When you scroll up, your web page scrolls up. When you swipe left, your photos move left. And there are many more gestures that make all you do on your Mac the best experience you can have on a computer. Hands down.

Easy to use and incredibly powerful.
From the desktop you see when you start up your Mac to the applications you use every day, everything is designed to be simple and intuitive. Of course, making amazing things simple requires some seriously advanced technologies, and OS X is loaded with them. Not only is it built on a rock-solid, time-tested UNIX foundation that provides unparalleled stability, it also delivers incredible performance, stunning graphics, and industry-leading support for Internet standards.

Easy access to all of your apps.
Working and playing on a Mac is all about apps, so OS X makes it simple to find and open those apps fast. The Dock is a handy place on your desktop for storing and launching your favorite apps, and it makes switching between them a breeze. The Dock also includes Stacks, folders that give you quick access to documents, files, and downloads. Launchpad is a full-screen home for all the apps on your Mac. It lets you arrange them the way you want, group them in folders, and delete them with ease. And apps purchased from the Mac App Store automatically appear in Launchpad, so you can browse thousands of apps and start using the ones you buy right away.

Find, organize, and share files fast.
The Finder gives you easy access to all the files on your system. It lets you find, organize, and access practically everything on your Mac — including applications, files, folders, discs, and shared computers on your network. You can sort files by kind, application, date modified, date added, or size. But with so many files on your computer, finding a specific one can be a challenge. Not on a Mac. Features like Spotlight and Quick Look make locating the file you’re looking for effortless — even if you don’t know the filename. Say you’re searching for a document, and the only thing you recall about it is the phrase “surrealist painters.” Open Spotlight, start typing “surrealist painters,” and your Mac generates a list of files that contain those words. And with Quick Look, you don’t need to open an application to verify that you’ve found the right file — view a full-screen preview by hitting the space bar. Want to share a file with someone nearby? Just drag and drop to send it to the person wirelessly with AirDrop.

See everything running on your Mac. In an instant.
OS X offers systemwide support for gorgeous, full-screen apps that use every inch of your Mac display. You can have multiple full-screen apps open at once — along with multiple apps in windows. And it’s easy to switch between full-screen and desktop views. Mission Control gives you a bird’s-eye view of all your windows and full-screen apps, and allows you to instantly navigate among them

It does the saving for you.
Say goodbye to the worry and the hassle of manually saving your work. Auto Save automatically saves your work, while you work, without you having to do a thing. Versions creates a new version of a document each time you open it and every hour while you’re working. It saves only the differences between successive versions, so the impact on your disk drive is minimal. Just open Versions to see the current document next to a cascade of previous versions. You can copy and paste between versions or revert to an earlier version. And when you share a document, you share only the most recent copy.

Built-in apps you’ll use every day.
OS X comes in a single version that includes a collection of Apple-designed applications. Not only do they let you surf the web, make video calls and have text chats, manage your contacts, and accomplish other day-to-day tasks, they also work together to make you more productive — and let you have more fun.

Technical Specifications
General requirements
- Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
- 2GB of memory
- OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
- 7GB of available space
- Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
- Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

Feature-specific requirements

Time Machine
requires an additional hard drive or Time Capsule (sold separately).

Photo Booth
requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder. Backdrop effects when using a DV camcorder require fixed focus, exposure, and white balance.

FaceTime
Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built in or external), a USB video class (UVC) camera, or a FireWire DV camcorder; and a 128-Kbps upstream and downstream Internet connection. Making HD video calls requires a built-in FaceTime HD camera and a 1-Mbps upstream and downstream Internet connection. Receiving HD video calls requires a supported Intel-based Mac.

Screen sharing
in iChat and the Finder requires a 128-Kbps Internet connection (300 Kbps recommended).

iChat
Audio chats require a microphone and a 56-Kbps Internet connection. Video chats require a FaceTime or iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder; and a 128-Kbps upstream and downstream Internet connection.

Backdrop effects when using a DV camcorder require fixed focus, exposure, and white balance. Some iChat features offer better performance and quality with higher system capabilities. More details

AirDrop
supports the following Mac models:
-MacBook Pro (Late 2008 or newer)
-MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
-MacBook (Late 2008 or newer)
-iMac (Early 2009 or newer)
-Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
-Mac Pro (Early 2009 with AirPort Extreme card, or Mid 2010)

Boot Camp
supports existing Boot Camp installations with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. New Boot Camp installations require Windows 7 (sold separately).

Exchange support
requires Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Update Rollup 4 or Exchange Server 2010. Auto-setup requires enabling the Autodiscovery feature of Microsoft Exchange Server.

QuickTime X movie capture
requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built in or external), USB video class (UVC) camera, or FireWire DV camcorder.

OpenCL
requires one of the following graphics cards or graphics processors:
- NVIDIA GeForce 320M, GeForce GT 330M, GeForce 9400M, GeForce 9600M GT, GeForce 8600M GT, GeForce GT 120, GeForce GT 130, GeForce GTX 285, GeForce 8800 GT, GeForce 8800 GS, Quadro FX 4800, Quadro FX5600
- ATI Radeon HD 4670, ATI Radeon HD 4850, Radeon HD 4870, ATI Radeon HD 5670, ATI Radeon HD 5750, ATI Radeon HD 5770, ATI Radeon HD 5870
- AMD Radeon HD 6750M, AMD Radeon HD 6770M, AMD Radeon HD 6970M

Gestures
requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.

VoiceOver gestures
require a Multi-Touch trackpad or Magic Trackpad.

Mac App Store
is available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries. Requires compatible hardware and software and Internet access; broadband recommended (fees may apply). Terms apply.