14 DAY TRIAL // With the Yosemite Developer Preview in the hands of thousands of developers worldwide, everyone has caught a pretty good glimpse of the entire visual overhaul that Apple has been working on for the past year or so.
The Apple.com web site is packed to the rafters with marketing materials and screenshots from various parts of the operating system, including some images that offer a rare glimpse at the new iconography. However, Apple emphasizes only the key parts in the OS, leaving some to be discovered by testers.
In our own testing we stumbled across a massive number of new icons scattered across the operating system, including some new additions to the Utilities folder, where tools like Time Machine and Activity Monitor have received not just a new interface, but also brand new icons.
Some icons are noticeably unchanged, and for one reason or another some people seem to be getting the all-new red iTunes icon, while others are stuck with the old glossy blue version. In the screenshot below we highlight the new iTunes 11 icon in Yosemite (from Apple’s own promotional materials) next to the Mac App Store, iBooks, and System Prefs.
The Mac maker also took the time to replace the former metal trash can with a plastic one that sports a more minimalistic design. SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi actually made a joke around the redesigned trash can during the WWDC14 keynote, saying, “Check out that trash can! That is a gorgeous trash can. You wouldn't believe how much time we spent crafting a trash can.”
Other notably changed icons include Calculator (which is actually a new app in Yosemite), Preview, Notes, Reminders, Messages, FaceTime, Game Center, Launchpad, Mission Control, and System Preferences.
For one reason or another, some of these iOS 7-inspired icons look a lot better in a desktop environment than they do on iPhones and iPads. Examples include the Safari web browser, Game Center, and iTunes.
OS X 10.10 Yosemite is currently available to developers and will soon be released as a beta for public testers. Apple has promised to make available one million copies to non-developers, and we have put together a brief guide to show you how to participate in the beta. Other Yosemite stories await in the related links below.