Nov 11, 2016 08:29 PM
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(Updated Nov 11, 2016 08:25 PM)
Apple’s operating system has enjoyed some excellent updates over the last few years, and it benefited from Microsoft’s experimentation. While Redmond’s engineers tried to meld the desktop with touch, those in Cupertino happily refined the traditional keyboard and mouse experience. That approach turned out to be more appropriate. It meant Windows refined or changed features, while OS X gained new ones.
This year is different. Windows 10 has not only refined ideas that didn’t work but also added entirely new functionality. It is, relative to the yearly updates performed by Apple, a much larger leap forward, which makes it tougher for OS X 10.11 to stand out. El Capitan’s focus on refinement rather than big, headline features, only makes the situation worse.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean OS X has fallen behind. Apple’s lead has grown wide over the last few years. Some might argue too wide, as many users complained that Yosemite was buggier than previous releases. El Capitan chooses to stay the course — but is that the right decision?
Old Macs can apply.
The lack of feature additions in OS X 10.11 indicates that performance and stability is the goal. Of course, that’s difficult to evaluate, particularly when Apple’s performance claims are vague. Do PDFs really open “up to” four times more quickly than before? Maybe. Maybe not. I can’t say I noticed a significant improvement, but perhaps it’s more noticeable with files larger than those I typically use.
El Capitan installed and ran without a hitch on our three-year-old, barebones MacBook Air 13.
Still, Apple’s focus on performance and stability is a noticeable. Safari was a particular problem both in Yosemite and El Capitan’s beta, as it often crashed when asked to visit complex sites like Trello, an organization tool we use at Digital Trends to manage workflow. Such issues have stopped. In fact, it’s been weeks since I’ve seen the operating system, or any first-party software, crash or freeze(knock on wood).
And 10.11 does feel as snappy as promised. My review was completed on a 2012 MacBook Air with a Core i5 processor and four gigabytes of RAM — far from cutting edge hardware. Despite that, El Capitan ran like a champ. Documents and applications open within a few seconds, and animations look smooth, though OS X still suffers from occasional graphical hitches during its most elaborate transitions. That’s a problem even the quickest Mac can’t dodge.
