Apple Releases Developer Preview Of Mac OS X Lion

Apple has released a developer preview of Mac OS X Lion. It features Mission Control, a new view of everything running on the Mac; Launchpad, a new home for all Mac apps; full screen apps that use the entire Mac display; and new Multi-Touch gestures. Lion also includes Mac App Store, to discover, install and automatically update Mac apps. The Lion preview is available to Mac Developer Program members through the Mac App Store, and the final version of Lion will ship to customers this summer.

“The iPad has inspired a new generation of innovative features in Lion,” said Philip Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing, Apple. “Developers are going to love Mission Control and Launchpad, and can now start adding great new Lion features like full screen, gestures, Versions and Auto Save to their own apps.”

Mission Control unifies Exposé, Dashboard, Spaces, and full screen apps to give a bird’s eye view of every app and window running on the Mac. Launchpad makes it easy to find and launch any app. It displays all Mac apps in a full screen layout. Multi-Touch gestures and fluid animations give a natural and intuitive way to interact with the Mac.

Lion also includes the Mac App Store, where one can find great new apps, buy them with an iTunes account, and download and install them. Apps purchased from the Mac App Store are installed directly into Launchpad.