OS X Yosemite Designed for Retina Screens?

Macworld's Jason Snell provides a nice hands-on writeup about Apple's new OS X Yosemite. Snell focuses on the user-experience from a long term Mac user, focusing on the visual and usability changes of Mac windows. He notes the increased use of transparency and the varying implementation of title bars in many applications:

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Overall, Snell feels that many of the design changes were done with Retina displays in mind:

For a while now, I’ve thought that 2014 would be the year that Retina spreads across the Mac product line. After spending time with Yosemite on both Retina and non-Retina systems, I’m more confident than ever in that guess. Yosemite’s new design feels like it was built for Retina displays: Thin Helvetica Neue replaces the long-serving but chunky Lucida Grande as the system typeface.

Apple first introduced Retina displays into the Mac line in with the Retina MacBook Pro in June, 2012. Since that time, Apple has been slow to extend Retina screens to the rest of their lineup.

The MacBook Air seems likely to be the next Mac to deliver a Retina Display. Signs point to a 12" Retina model later this year, and there has already been early evidence in Yosemite of Retina iMacs in testing.

Related Roundups: iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air

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Top Rated Comments

sualpine Avatar
144 months ago
BREAKING NEWS: Apple is working on its future products!!!
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
-LikesMac- Avatar
144 months ago
Likely. Why else would they spend so much time making a detailed trashcan?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
qtx43 Avatar
144 months ago
I've never seen the attraction of transparency in the GUI. Just makes things harder to read. I think it's mostly a marketing gimmick.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gmcalpin Avatar
144 months ago
I feel like true resolution independence — vector-based graphics, resizeable UI — has been just around the corner for so long. Can we hurry that up, please?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
edgonzalez32 Avatar
144 months ago
Of course it was. Helvetica is a horrible choice for a display face. The apertures of the e and c will make both letters look too similar, on a non retina screen at least. It'll only look good on a retina screen. I hope Apple realizes this and either releases it's own sans serif, as rumors have stated, or go back to lucida grande.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Carlosgomes Avatar
144 months ago
If Yosemite is designed for Retina screens, then why are all the icons so plain looking? Why are all the menu screens, Finder, etc so blah??

You were expecting some explosions and flares to take advantage of the extra ppi?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)