When I first used OS X Mavericks on a MacBook, one of the coolest things about it for me was that iMessage was built into the operating system's notification sidebar.
I no longer needed to dig my iPhone out of my coat pocket to see who was pestering me and toss off a curt reply. With Mac OS X Yosemite, Apple takes this functionality a few big steps forward, not only letting you text to other iMessage users, but anyone with standard cell phone SMS. You can even make and accept voice calls.
There are an overabundance of texting and calling options these days—Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Google Voice, Viber, Voxer, and Voxox, to name a few. Each incorporates their own particular combination of communication capabilities. All have texting, some have video calling, photo sharing, voice recording, stickers, and mobile apps. And they all work with existing phone and SMS systems to different extents. In sheer number of communication features, Skype probably takes the lead, but as we've come to expect, Apple's telephony plans for Yosemite make it the slickest combination of communication services around—as long as you have a Mac and an iPhone.
For years, I've been able to make and receive calls in Skype on the desktop from regular phones and other Skype users. And I can even receive calls with a Skype Number, which acts just like a standard phone number. When someone calls that number, all my Skype-running smartphones, PCs, and tablets ring in sequence, and I can answer on any of them. And unlike the Yosemite features, with Skype, your phone doesn't have to be near, charged and turned on; you can call and text from any of the devices with Skype running. The problem: Skype doesn't recieve SMS texts, even with a Skype number. But Messages on Yosemite does just that.
Another service that lets you engage in calling and texting on your computer is Google Voice. Unlike iMessage and Skype, it doesn't offer photos or videos, just voice calling and SMS routing. It does supply that missing piece in Skype, however, by letting you receive SMS messages on your PC. (Remember, Skype lets you send but not receive SMS messages). One problem here is that you won't get iMessages from your iPhone contacts in Google Voice. Nor will you get picture sharing or video calling as in iMessage/FaceTime and Skype.
The other limitation of Google Voice is that it's not an app or OS feature running in the background ready to alert you at any time as is the case with Apple's Messages/FaceTime and Skype. Google Voice is also U.S.-only, so our friends in other countries need not apply. And finally, the search colossus seems to be winding down Google Voice in favor of its newer Hangouts service; in fact, few new phone numbers are available with it at the time of writing.
So once again, we find ourselves in a familiar circumstance: Apple has offered unique, beautifully designed, simple-to-use features that, in the end, serve to lock you into its ecosystem of products. It's an alluring siren call, one that I've fallen prey to, at least on the phone side (though some new, cool Windows Phone features are calling to me). But Yosemite make it that much more enticing for iPhone users to switch to Apple's desktop platform. Will you be one of them? Sound off in the comments below.
For PCMag's first take on the Apple announcements, check out the video below.