Perhaps one of the coolest features that Apple showed off during the WWDC 2014 keynote was the “Continuity” functionality. Firstly with AirDrop, the mobile to mobile file transfer protocol is now able to be used with desktop Macs. That is just the tip of the iceberg. With the latest iteration of Mac OS X, Apple have made even more progress with integrating the iOS experience with the OS X desktop.
Initially with something like Launchpad I was sceptical about this approach but with the latest “Continuity” features, my mind has been changed. With the “Hand Off” feature, if you are working on something on your iOS device and sit down to work on your Mac, you can push across to a similar app to continue working. This also works vice versa.
The coolest thing about “Continuity” is the way it lets your phone talk to your OS X laptop or desktop. If there is no WiFi around, your computer will “sense” your device around and automatically add it as an option to tether, no password required, for super easy tethering.
While there are apps and plugins that allow for limited functionality like this, Mac OS X Yosemite allows you to make and receive calls from your phone using your Mac as speakers. Also, if you find a phone number on your Mac, you can dial using your iPhone and use your computer as speakers and mic. This is truly a great execution for unified computing and will certainly encourage a deeper dive into the ecosystem if you only have your feet wet.
Apple is looking to release Yosemite in the fall with developers getting it today, but members of the public will get an opportunity to test it out with the public beta. Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite will be a free update on release.
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