On the first day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) – Craig Federighi, head of software engineering at Apple, showcased a new version of OS X – Mavericks.

Unlike iOS 7, which was completely redesigned, new OS X looks and feels like the previous two version of the operating system. Mavericks will be released in the fall of 2013, probably along with new line of Macs. With more than 200 new features in the new OS X we have a lot to look forward to. Of course, not all of these features are new applications, but also smaller updates and tweaks to current apps. Let’s take a look at the most important new features and updates in Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks.

Users weren’t satisfied with Apple Maps following their release along with iOS 6. Even Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, had to release a public apology. However, Apple claims they are much better now, and will only continue to improve over time. Although most people use Google Maps nowadays, we are sure Apple Maps will find its users as well. They are integrated with Mail, Contacts and Calendar, which gives you the option to use some really cool features. For example, if an address popups up somewhere, you can easily find it on a map, without the need to open up your browser and load up Google Maps.

Another great feature is the ability to sync with other devices. You can now find directions to your destination on your Mac, and turn-by-turn directions will be waiting for you on your iOS device.

Much like Maps, iBooks is another application that was brought from iOS to OS X, and it works pretty much like the iOS version. You can easily swipe through pages and zoom by pinching your trackpad, highlight a sentence or a paragraph and take a note, and of course – everything will sync with your iOS devices. With the gorgeous Retina displays and over 1.8 million titles too choose from, this application might prove to be a hit on Macs.

Nobody likes remembering multiple passwords and usernames for different websites and services. With the new OS X, you won’t have to, thanks to the new app called iCloud Keychain. It will securely store your passwords, and automatically fill them in whenever it’s needed. iCloud Keychain can also help you store your credit card information for easy payments in the future. Of course, it will work and sync only across the devices that you’ve previously approved.

Apple received numerous requests, especially from power users, to redesign the way multiple screens work. And with new OS X they did exactly that. Although full-screen apps were supported since OS X Lion, many people who use multiple displays didn’t like the way it worked, since making an app full screen on one display will make the other screens completely useless. Thankfully, Apple realized its mistake, and Mavericks will take full advantage of every screen that you connect to your Mac. The Dock and menu bar are now available on every screen, which is a pretty nice touch as well.

Although not many things in OS X Mavericks were changed design wise, Apple decided to completely redesign the Calendar app, and also include some new features. The new app features flatter, iOS 7-esque design that looks much more pleasant and cleaner. If you allow it, the app will pull the events from your Facebook account and include them in Calendar. Since Maps is also integrated with Calendar, you can find useful information e.g. driving time to a certain event.

New Mac OS X brings two big features to Finder that will help you be more productive and organise your files better.

Finder tabs is a new feature that works the same way as tabs in Safari. Pressing command + T on your keyboard will open a new tab, and with the ability to expand the Finder to full screen, you can have many tabs open and easily search through large amounts of data.

Tags will help you organise your files much more efficiently, and will make finding your files even easier. You can tag your files with a certain keyword, for example “University”, “Work” etc. If you click on “Work” in the Finder sidebar, you will get access to all files that are tagged as “Work”. Of course, you can assign multiple tags to the same file.

Notifications work pretty much the same way, except for a few minor changes. For example, if you receive an email or a message, you can now immediately replay within the notification window. If you allow them, websites can send you breaking news and updates, even when Safari is closed.

Most updates to Safari are performance related. Safari now uses much less energy, takes up less memory, and is better optimised for Retina MacBooks, with much snappier and smoother scrolling. There are few tiny new features, such as Shared Links, which showcases links posted by the people you follow on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Although the new Mac OS X is still a few months away from the release, and the pricing is still unknown, so far it seems like Mavericks will be a must-have update for all Mac users.

Official OSX Mavericks webpage 

David is a technology enthusiast and a bit of a geek. When he isn’t doing his day job at Our IT Department, David loves to write about the latest technology news and product reviews.