Apple just released its long-awaited Photos app to the public (a beta was available recently that people could sign up for). You can get the application by simply updating your copy of your OS to OS 10.10.3 (use the Apple menu and choose App Store). You can also find the update here.
What’s Available
Apple Photos is a streamlined tool that allows users to work with their images. Here’s the official core feature list from Apple.
- Browse your photos by time and location in Moments, Collections, and Years views
- Navigate your library using convenient Photos, Shared, Albums, and Projects tabs
- Store all of your photos and videos in iCloud Photo Library in their original format and in full resolution
- Access your photos and videos stored in iCloud Photo Library from your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iCloud.com with any web browser
- Perfect your photos with powerful and easy-to-use editing tools that optimize with a single click or slider, or allow precise adjustments with detailed controls
- Create professional-quality photo books with simplified bookmaking tools, new Apple-designed themes, and new square book formats
- Purchase prints in new square and panoramic sizes
Its easy to upgrade your iPhoto library to Photos – just launch the app to get started. To learn more about Photos, please visit: http://www.apple.com/osx/photos/
Aperture is Dead (Really)
As forewarned, Apple did remove Apple Aperture from release simultaneously. You can no longer get Apple Aperture from the Mac App Store. If you try and visit http://www.apple.com/Aperture you are redirected to the Apple Photos Page. The Apple Store page also redirects. So yes, Aperture is no longer a thing.
I’m wondering if upgrading will, in any way, affect they way Aperture works. I’d hate to cripple it by updating and then begin having issues with Aperture.
You can always backup your library or machine first
What bugs me most about their transition to Photos isn’t that Aperture is dead, its that the media kept claiming “Photos will REPLACE iPhoto and Aperture”. Do a search for all the Photos headlines around June 2014 and they all have the same quote and headlines. They declared Aperture dead but also hinted that Apple will replace iPhoto and Aperture. But when you use Photos then this is barely an iPhoto replacement since its built off of the iOS UI which is kinda awful on a computer. And nowhere is this even to be considered a replacement for any aperture… Read more »