Say goodbye to iPhoto and Aperture, Mac users. Because Cupertino's replacement—simply called Photos—has arrived.
Apple on Wednesday released a free software update for users running OS X Yosemite (v10.10.3), which includes the new Photos app first released to developers back in February, and a number of other goodies. That includes more than 300 new, racially diverse Emoji characters that we first got a peek at earlier this year, along with the usual bug fixes.
The new Photos app will let you browse your pictures by time and location in three different views: Moments, Collections, and Years. You can also navigate your library using new tabs dubbed Photos, Shared, Albums, and Projects.
Apple has also given the Photos app some new editing tools, letting you tweak your pictures with a single click or slider. One your images are perfect, you can create photo books even easier; Apple says it has simplified its bookmaking tools and added new themes as well as square book formats. You can also now purchase prints in new square and panoramic sizes.
The Photos app also brings new integration with iCloud, letting you store all your photos and videos in your cloud-based photo library in their original format and in full resolution. From there, you can access any photos and videos stored in iCloud from your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or from iCloud.com with your Web browser.
Besides the new Photos app, the update includes security and stability improvements for Safari, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and screen sharing. For instance, it fixes an issue that caused Bluetooth devices to disconnect, and improves Wi-Fi performance and connectivity in "various usage scenarios," Apple said in its release notes.
There's also some improvements for enterprise users, including a fix for a problem that caused Macs bound to an Active Directory server to sometimes become unresponsive at startup.
As always, you should back up your Mac before installing the update, just in case something goes wrong. From there, just head over to the Updates section of the Mac App Store to grab the new software.