14 DAY TRIAL // Not only does OS X Yosemite not add any new applications to the mix, but it actually removes some, including Photo Booth, the corny app used by many to snap selfies and other types of photos with tints and filters like sepia, as well as stretch and fish eye manipulation.
That’s right. At least as far as Yosemite DP1 is concerned, there’s no Photo Booth in sight. Apple has likely axed the app from its Mac operating system or has simply forgotten to put it back in there when it told its engineers to get a beta ready for developers.
A tipster surnamed Paul alerted us about the missing app, and we can confirm that Photo Booth is indeed missing from Apple’s first developer preview of Yosemite.
We went ahead and imported Photo Booth from a Mavericks computer and, sure enough, the software runs fine on Yosemite with a few occasional hiccups (likely because of some bad video drivers).
For all its colorful UI, Yosemite puts more emphasis on usability and workflow rather than silly fun with the Mac’s built-in camera. It may well be that the Mac’s days as a toy are over, starting with the eleventh major iteration of OS X.
The Cupertino giant calls it “An Apple app that comes with OS X and iPad. Photo booth lets you take photos with the built-in iSight camera.”
Photo Booth has also been used by Apple to showcase the second-generation iPad’s photography capabilities. The first Apple tablet to be equipped with a camera, the iPad 2 actually had a front-facing camera as well for Face Time calls. The same camera can be used to take funny photos of yourself with Photo Booth.
There’s a good chance Photo Booth will ultimately make a return in OS X Yosemite, probably in the second or third Development Preview, or even the Golden Master build ahead of its public debut.
Another less likely scenario would be for Photo Booth to become a free download from the Mac App Store for whoever wants it. The reality is not many people use Photo Booth, and those who do probably don’t employ its services very often either.
Apple could be attempting to slim down its OS X 10.10 installer with the removal of Photo Booth and other things that people have shown little interest in using. Have you noticed anything else major missing from Yosemite? Let us know in the comments below.