Apple recently announced OS X Mavericks at the WWDC 2013 as the latest version of their Mac desktop platform with several new features and improvements. Those looking forward to this upcoming release may have several questions about the platform and while we did cover the features of OS X 10.9 Mavericks in detail in an earlier post.However there are three things you should know about OS X Mavericks - Availability, Cost and the new Name, which we want to answer below:
1. When will OS X Mavericks be available?
Apple has officially stated that OS X Mavericks will be released "this fall". Based on the past release history, we can expect the update to arrive in mid-September. However the first beta of OS X Mavericks has already been released to developers for testing and evaluation.
2. How much will OS X Mavericks cost?
Over the past few years Apple has been releasing an OS X update every year. While the official price has not been released yet, we can make a guess based on the past trends
- OS X (10.6) Snow Leopard was released in 2009 and cost $29.99 to upgrade from Leopard.
- OS X (10.7) Lion was released in 2010 and cost $29.99 to upgrade from Snow Leopard.
- OS X (10.8) Mountain Lion was released in 20011 and cost $19.99 to upgrade from Lion.
What has been clear over the years is that Apple has found it harder to convince people to pay a yearly fee for their OS X upgrades. While it is likely that Apple will try to sell Mavericks for $19.99 (at the same cost of Mountain Lion), there is also the possibility that the upgrade will be offered for free. Especially since Microsoft is offering their Windows 8.1 upgrade for free to Windows 8 users.
3. Why did Apple choose Mavericks for OS X 10.8 instead of another big cat name?
We honestly thought that OS X 10.9 would be the last X version of the platform before Apple releases OS XI or OS 11. So we hoped that we would see one more cat name before Apple makes a change.
The last nine versions of Mac OS have had big cat names (Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion) and Apple even joked about naming their next version OS X Sea Lion. However the company chose to select "Mavericks" instead, making it the first to break the trend and its likely that we will see OS X 10.10 and so on continue in the new naming trend.
Mavericks comes from Maverick's Beach in California which is known for its waves and for being a hotspot for surfers. So Apple has chosen to drop its big cat names in favor of popular places in and around California and we would love to hear some names you would expect to see in upcoming versions of OS X.
Remember that you can learn more about OS X 10.9 Mavericks by heading over here. Also be sure to stay connected to our website for more news on Mavericks in the months ahead until its release.