All indications are that Apple will preview the next version of Mac OS X on Wednesday. In keeping with the tradition of Apple-centric blogs, I’ve got some predictions about what the company has up its sleeve.
The iPadification of Apps
If the new MobileMe web apps are any indication, Mail, iCal and other OS X applications are going to get a serious visual overhaul to bring them more inline with the iPad’s apps, which isn’t a bad thing. iCal is stale, and Address Book in 10.6 looks like Address Book in 10.2.
However, I really hate when UI developers add things like leather and woodgrain to make apps look “real.” Apple has dabbled with this on the iPad, and I really don’t want it on the Mac. Please Apple, keep the madness at bay.
UI Refinements
Historically, Apple has used iTunes to quietly introduce new UI elements. iTunes 10 shipped with a muted appearance — gentle colors, sunken graphics and the horrifying vertical window controls. I hope there’s more of the first two on the way.
FaceTime
This really is a no-brainer. While the Mac has done video chat for years, adding the ability to video chat with someone on an iPhone or iPod touch will add some sparkle to a feature most people probably rarely use.
Finder
All I want out of Finder is tabs. And better network drive support. And tabs. And WebDAV that doesn’t blow up anytime I try to use it. And tabs.
Performance
It’s 2010, and ridiculous that OS X doesn’t include SSD TRIM support.
I’m sure 10.7 will boot faster than 10.6, wring more power out of modern GPUs and run smoother. For the most part, new Mac OS X versions run faster than the previous version, which is an impressive feat.
While Snow Leopard tightened up a lot of things under the hood, there is still work to be done. Hopefully Lion will be the next step to a leaner, more compliant OS.
I’d imagine the minimum requirements for 10.7 will be an Intel-based Mac and 1.5GB of RAM — up from Snow Leopard’s required 1GB RAM.
iOS Tie-ins
I don’t think Apple is going to start merging Mac OS X and iOS at this point. While I’m sure the two shall meet, I don’t think this is the time.
How Loud Will Lion Roar?
Snow Leopard, while a solid OS, is just a refined Leopard. It’s almost certain Lion will be a bigger revision. My guess is that it will be as big of a jump as 10.5 was from 10.4. While Tiger was a great OS, Leopard make it look dated immediately. I think we’re in for the same experience this time around.
Editor’s Note: Be sure to see my thoughts on the rumored 11.6" MacBook Air, which may also be introduced this week.