Photos for OS X will be available this spring, notice says

Feb 12, 2015 08:21 GMT  ·  By

When Apple unveiled the new Photos app at WWDC last year, the company also made it clear that its other photography programs will be left to wither. Particularly Aperture, for which there would be “no new development” after the release of Photos.

iPhoto is also being discontinued as part of the process. In fact, one could say that Photos is but an improved version of this software, sprinkled with a few editing features borrowed from Aperture.

The transition will be beneficial for fans of iPhoto, but avid Aperture users will undoubtedly be disappointed by the switch to an inferior image-editing solution.

No longer available for purchase

The Aperture site itself has been left without maintenance for years. The promos there still use Apple’s heavy bold font from the days of iOS 6, in what has been a clear indication that the software was not getting much attention in recent years.

Starting this spring, not only will Aperture not receive any new features or marketing, but it will be also fully discontinued. The only way to get it will be to grab a pirated copy off the Internet. Those who have previously purchased a copy will be able to re-download the app from their Purchases section in the Mac App Store.

“When Photos for OS X is available this spring, Aperture will no longer be available for purchase from the Mac App Store,” Apple states on the Aperture site.

Last updated on October 16, 2014, the photo editing program received compatibility enhancements for OS X Yosemite, as well as a number of stability improvements.

What does “this spring” mean, anyway?

If history is any indication, Apple will debut Photos as one of many new releases in a single day, coinciding with the launch of OS X 10.10.3, and perhaps iOS 8.2 and the Apple Watch.

In fact, we have every reason to believe that Apple has an event scheduled for April, during which it will ceremoniously announce availability of its new wearable computer. Any assorted software updates will likely get some stage time as well.