Archive notice: This article was originally published on June 9, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies, built-in Microsoft Exchange support and new accessibility functions. It will ship in September 2009 as an upgrade for Mac OS X Leopard users.
“We have built on Leopard’s success and created an even better experience from installation to shutdown,” says Bertrand Serlet, Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering. “Apple engineers developed hundreds of optimisations that make Snow Leopard feel faster, more responsive and more reliable than before.”
Apple engineers focused on perfecting the operating system, advancing 90 percent of Mac OS X’s more than 1,000 projects. Users will find a more responsive Finder; Mail loads messages 85 percent faster and searches up to 90 percent faster (*); initial Time Machine backups take up to 50 percent less time; the Dock integrates Exposé; and 64-bit Safari 4 increases Nitro JavaScript performance by up to 50 percent (**) while resisting plug-in crashes.
An entirely new QuickTime X includes a redesigned player making it easy to view, record, trim and share video through YouTube, MobileMe or iTunes. Snow Leopard uses only half as much storage as its predecessor and frees up to six gigabytes after installation.
For the first time, system applications including Finder, Mail, iCal, iChat and Safari are 64-bit. Support for 64-bit processors enables large amounts of RAM, improves performance and security, and retains compatibility with 32-bit applications. Grand Central Dispatch gives software a new way to exploit multicore processors and is integrated throughout Snow Leopard, from system-wide APIs to high-level frameworks and language extensions, improving responsiveness. OpenCL, an open standard based on C, enables developers to use graphics-processor performance for work extending far beyond graphics.
Snow Leopard integrates Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 support directly into Mail, Address Book and iCal. Users can send and receive email, create and respond to meeting invitations, and manage and search contacts in global address lists. Exchange information works seamlessly with Snow Leopard, including OS X-only functions such as fast Spotlight search and Quick Look previews. Snow Leopard is the only desktop operating system with built-in Exchange 2007 support, making Mac integration easier for organisations of every size.
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Every Mac includes innovative functions for users with special needs. Snow Leopard adds new features making the Mac experience more accessible to people with visual impairments. Apple’s Multi-Touch trackpad is integrated into the VoiceOver screen reader, allowing users to hear different parts of a window or desktop and navigate them by moving one finger across the trackpad as though it were the screen. Snow Leopard also introduces native support for wireless Bluetooth Braille displays and simultaneous connection of multiple Braille displays to one Mac.
Prices & Availability
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard will be available from September 2009 as an upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard through the Apple Store (www.applestore.de), Apple Retail Stores and authorised resellers. It will be offered as a single-user licence, a Family Pack for one household, a five-user licence, and for Tiger users with an Intel-based Mac as part of the Mac Box Set with iLife ’09 and iWork ’09. Pricing will be announced at launch.
The Snow Leopard Up-To-Date Upgrade Package is available to customers purchasing a qualifying new Mac from Apple or an authorised reseller between June 8 and December 26, 2009. Applications must be submitted within 90 days of purchase or by December 26, whichever comes first. Further information is at http://www.apple.com/de/macosx/uptodate. Snow Leopard requires at least 1 GB RAM and runs on any Intel-based Mac. Full requirements are at http://www.apple.com/macosx/techspecs.
(*) Apple testing in May 2009 compared a prerelease of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard with Mac OS X 10.5.7 Leopard using a 2.0 GHz MacBook with 2 GB RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics and a 2.66 GHz iMac with the same RAM and graphics.
(**) Apple testing in May 2009 compared 64-bit and 32-bit Safari 4 using a prerelease of Snow Leopard. Performance varies by system configuration, network connection and other factors. Tests used a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with Snow Leopard and 2 GB RAM. The JavaScript benchmark was SunSpider.