With Apple having pushed out a new update to the Mac OS X Lion developer preview program, those with access to the new build have been looking for changes in an attempt to see what Apple has been working on over the past few weeks.
One minor point that caught our eye is a change in the user interface elements for selecting subpanes within System Preferences. In this latest build, the active subpane is denoted by a sunken, darker button that appears as if it has been pushed, as shown in the Expos & Spaces preference pane.
Current "button" style subpane selector with Expos active
Earlier builds of Mac OS X Lion had used a sort of slider animation where the active subpane was represented by a lighter colored button that confused many users when simply glancing at the pane without attempting to move the slider and thus having the animation to key on.
Earlier "slider" style subpane selector with Spaces active
In the face of that criticism, Apple appears to have rethought its mechanism for switching between subpanes and reverted back to a button style that appears more intuitive.
A similar change has been made in iCal, where an earlier slider-style navigator was rolled out to select among day/week/month/year views but has now been replaced by more traditional button-style selectors.
iCal selector buttons in latest Mac OS X Lion build
Wednesday November 27, 2024 5:05 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in early December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as...
Monday December 2, 2024 2:57 am PST by Tim Hardwick
WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process.
From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...
Friday November 29, 2024 5:17 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup.
If you plan to skip...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March.
The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Although Black Friday has ended, Cyber Week is here and you can find great deals on numerous Apple devices right now. This includes big savings on AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook Air, iPad, and more.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Specifically,...
Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 12:19 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the recently leaked design of the iPhone 17 "Air" and iPhone 17 Pro.
Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos
Earlier this week, a report from The Information's Wayne Ma revealed that the iPhone 17 Air will have a thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever. In comparison, iPhone ...
Bummer, I really liked the iOS-style scrollbars. My favorite thing about Lion is the inverted scrolling. It feels more natural on a touchpad once you get used to it.
Finally, Apple has made a significant change to one of the first user interface changes observed (https://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/25/mac-os-x-lion-notes-ios-scroll-bars-any-corner-resizing-dock-changes/) way back in October when Apple first demoed Mac OS X Lion: iOS-style scrollbars. Initial builds of Mac OS X Lion had featured scrollbars that overlaid the window's comments, appearing only when necessary and then disappearing after a brief period of time.
Apple has done away with that concept, returning to fixed scrollbars (http://images.macrumors.com/article/2011/04/29/163551-lion_scrollbar_non_overlay.jpg) along the right side of each window, although they do retain the dark iOS-like appearance. The refined scrollbars are present at all times and do not disappear after use.
No they haven't. Fading is now a user preference. You can have them fade automatically, stay all the time, or fade according to your input device.
