Apple on Wednesday unveiled the new version of its Mac OS X, dubbed "Lion," a release that includes a Mac App Store.
Apple plans to release the OS in summer 2011.
The eighth version of Apple's operating system is created from a version of iOS. Apple was inspired by the innovations in the iPad and the iPhone and wanted to apply them to the Mac, the company said during a press event at its Cupertino headquarters. In a sense, Mac OS X Lion is the iPad meets the Mac.
The OS will include multi-touch gestures, the App Store, App Home screens, full-screen apps, auto-save, and apps that resume when launched, said chief executive Steve Jobs.
Multi-touch gestures on a laptop don't work; touch surfaces don't want to be vertical, Jobs said. After a while, your hand gets fatigued. That's why there is multi-touch on trackpads and multi-touch mice; that's how Apple will bring it to the Mac.
Lion will also add a Mac App Store. It will include paid and free apps, with a 70-30 split for developers. Jobs dubbed it the "best place to discover apps," with automatic installation, automatic app updates, and apps licensed for use on all personal Macs.
A unified dashboard for apps will be known as Mission Control. With something called Launchpad, meanwhile, all apps will be displayed in a grid (below) with a click. It will feature iPad-style pages and users can flick between apps.
While Lion will not be released until next year, the Mac App Store will be available within 90 days on Snow Leopard. "We don't want to wait for Lion," Jobs said.
Developers can learn about it on the Web site today, and Apple will be accepting app submissions next month, Jobs said.
Also on Wednesday, Apple unveiled FaceTime for the Mac, iLife 11, an 11.6-inch MacBook Air and a new 13.3-inch version.
