Are you ready for OS X 10.10, an iOS 8 update, Retina iMacs, new iPads and maybe a 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display? The tide is almost high…

Are you ready for OS X 10.10, an iOS 8 update, Retina iMacs, new iPads and maybe a 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display? Apple is almost ready and underscores that fact by issuing OS X Yosemite Gold Master 2 and iOS 8.1 beta.

Those good things and perhaps more are expected on Thursday, October 16.

OS X Yosemite Gold Master Candidate 2 is a straight up bug fix for the first Yosemite Gold Master release Apple issued last night. Further, the company also issued Yosemite Beta 5 to its volunteer AppleSeed testers.

Developers and AppleSeed have reported no notable changes since the last release.

OS X Yosemite will bring a flatter, more modern look to Apple’s desktop operating system. The user interface will feature more translucency, an updated Dock, Finder windows and more, including updated core apps — Safari, Mail, iWork, etc.

All come dressed in new icons, such as the Mail icon shown above — download ’em all!

OS X Yosemite also brings better iOS integration with the Hand Off and Continuity features that make workflows device and location independent.

iOS 8.1: New Functionality

Are you ready for OS X 10.10, an iOS 8 update, Retina iMacs, new iPads and maybe a 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina display? The tide is almost high…
On the subject of iOS 8… Apple and its developers has been beta testing iOS 8.1 Update for several weeks and the company pushed a fresh beta seed yesterday.

Like OS X Yosemite Gold Master Candidate, little if anything new is visible in this latest developer seed.

That said, iOS 8.1 is expected to activate Apple’s revolutionary mobile payments system, Apple Pay, and bring compatibility with new iPads. Additionally, iOS 8.1 is expected to bring back Camera Roll and add app-by-app permissions settings, as a toggle for Dictation in Keyboards and gentle tweaking of the Notification Center user interface.

iOS 8.1 + OS X Yosemite will also herald the arrival of Continuity and Hand Off, two features that aim to make workflows device and location independent.

Again, the above good things and perhaps more are expected on Thursday, October 16

So, is Apple ready or are you seeing an obvious flaw or three in their plans?

Image: Ars Technica