June 8, 2009: Apple introduces OS X Snow Leopard, a model of its Mac working system that ranks among the many firm’s best desktop updates.
Showcased at Apple’s Worldwide Builders Convention in San Francisco, Snow Leopard doesn’t appear as flashy as another Mac working system upgrades. Actually, Apple famously features a slide in its WWDC presentation touting “0 new features.” Nevertheless, OS X Snow Leopard greater than delivers on Apple’s core values, paving a path to a shiny future for the Mac.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard optimizes options
On paper, the improve wasn’t a large shift from its predecessor, Mac OS X Leopard. A bit like 2018’s macOS Mojave, it didn’t add a plethora of latest options and horny gimmicks. As a substitute, it caught to the fundamentals, optimizing what was already there by way of options and efficiency. Oh, and it did this whereas taking over 6GB much less space for storing than its speedy predecessor.
“We’ve built on the success of Leopard and created an even better experience for our users from installation to shutdown,” mentioned Bertrand Serlet, Apple’s senior vp of software program engineering, in a press launch. “Apple engineers have made hundreds of improvements so with Snow Leopard your system is going to feel faster, more responsive and even more reliable than before.”
On condition that Leopard overreached in some senses, Snow Leopard restored Apple’s popularity for high quality merchandise that “just work.” It’s no shock that it hung round for a very long time. (That’s probably additionally as a consequence of it being the final model of OS X that ran on early Intel Macs.)
Mac updates get cheaper
The 2009 improve modified the sport in one other approach, too. Earlier variations of OS X value $129, however Snow Leopard solely set patrons again the comparatively paltry sum of $29. The worth lower prefigured Apple’s determination to put off many software program prices altogether just a few years later. 2013’s OS X Mavericks could have been the primary free desktop working system from Apple, however Snow Leopard marked the best way.
In the end, Mac OS X Snow Leopard turned an important replace for Mac customers. It targeted on getting issues proper, correcting earlier errors, and taking note of under-the-hood enhancements reasonably than user-facing ones.
You’ll be able to watch Craig Federighi, VP of Mac OS engineering on the time, run via the software program’s refinements within the video under from WWDC 2009:
Did you run Mac OS X Snow Leopard?
Do you may have fond recollections of utilizing this working system in your Mac? What’s your favourite macOS replace over time? Depart your feedback under.