Which OS X Yosemite features will be supported on which Macs?

[maclunian]

Which OS X Yosemite features will be supported on which macs?

(e.g. Will 2010 macs get phone and SMS capabilities or will these require newer (802.11ac wifi-capable or bluetooth 4.0-capable) macs)

I've tried to find specs on the apple site but can't see any...

 

[Yakibomb]

My guess would be 802.11ac wifi and/or Bluetooth LE. From what I've seen in other threads it looks like SMS may work over Wifi so that feature should work on all macs not to sure about continuity and calling though

 

[Ozid]

Which OS X Yosemite features will be supported on which macs?

(e.g. Will 2010 macs get phone and SMS capabilities or will these require newer (802.11ac wifi-capable or bluetooth 4.0-capable) macs)

I've tried to find specs on the apple site but can't see any...

I can confirm SMS worked on my 2010 Macbook Pro (10.10) while I had iOS 8 on my iPhone.

 

[Julien]

Mac's that don't have built in WiFi will probably miss out on all iOS sharing features.

 

[rritterson]

Has Apple ever limited customer-facing features in OS X to certain Macs? I know certain backend technologies like quartz2D were limited to particular hardware, but not software features AFAIK.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Has Apple ever limited customer-facing features in OS X to certain Macs? I know certain backend technologies like quartz2D were limited to particular hardware, but not software features AFAIK.

Recently I thought you just had to be running the version of iOS that included the feature like 10.6+ for App Store or 10.7+ for iCloud. Not sure about these newer features though since it involves more than just operating system and system specs.

 

[Julien]

Has Apple ever limited customer-facing features in OS X to certain Macs? I know certain backend technologies like quartz2D were limited to particular hardware, but not software features AFAIK.

AirPlay.

 

[hamiltonDSi]

AirPlay.

...and AirDrop
oh, oh ! and PowerNap

 

[NT1440]

AirPlay.

...and AirDrop
oh, oh ! and PowerNap

Exactly.

What this means is that Apple (usually) includes everything they can unless the hardware literally cannot support it. Airplay? That requires the core I series (i3, i5, i7) wireless display function (known as WiDi on PCs). Powernap? That's a special lower power state the I series can do, but the Core2Duo series doesn't support.

My guesses:

Continuity utilizes iBeacon technology for proximity sensing, which relies on bluetooth 4.0, so my 2009 MBP is unlikely to get it.

I can say confidently though that I believe any model from the mac mini to the mac pro, with all laptops in between, that have an i3, i5, or i7 will get full functionality.

 

[stiligFox]

Powernap? That's a special lower power state the I series can do, but the Core2Duo series doesn't support.

Actually that's not entirely true -- I have a 2010 MacBook Air that supports PowerNap. It was enabled via an official firmware update a few months after the OS was released.

 

[Altemose]

Actually that's not entirely true -- I have a 2010 MacBook Air that supports PowerNap. It was enabled via an official firmware update a few months after the OS was released.

It was also only enabled in 10.8.2+ in addition to the firmware update.

 

[haravikk]

...and AirDrop
oh, oh ! and PowerNap

Didn't AirDrop work for all Macs with built in WiFi? You can actually enable it to work over a every network interface (ethernet etc.) too, though it requires a defaults command via Terminal.

PowerNap does require hardware so it's not too surprising.


So far some of the iOS 8 integration features seem to require Bluetooth 4.0, which is a bit odd as you'd think they should work over WiFi as well; I mean, a lot of people just disable Bluetooth entirely to save battery (even if it's not quite the hog it used to be), but will more likely have WiFi enabled when at home.

 

[Julien]

...So far some of the iOS 8 integration features seem to require Bluetooth 4.0.....

Handoff probably requires BT ("When your Mac and iOS devices are near each other") but why would it have to be BT-LE? This wold element many if not most Macs. Did Apple specify BT-LE in the Keynote?

It looks like (and Apple even says) that the other services will be WiFi.

 

[NT1440]

Actually that's not entirely true -- I have a 2010 MacBook Air that supports PowerNap. It was enabled via an official firmware update a few months after the OS was released.

Ah, I guess the 2009 variant was the last that supported it.

Thanks for the correction!

 

[tarasis]

I have a Mid 2009 13" MBP with 10.10 and I have it on the same wifi as my 5S (iOS 8b1) but I am not seeing continuity/handoff working.

 

[jmazzamj]

Mac's that don't have built in WiFi will probably miss out on all iOS sharing features.

Well, there aren't many Macs with no built in WiFi that can run Yosemite in the first place. Did you mean WiFi ac? That or BT 4LE are likely the key IMHO.

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Handoff probably requires BT ("When your Mac and iOS devices are near each other") but why would it have to be BT-LE? This wold element many if not most Macs. Did Apple specify BT-LE in the Keynote?

It looks like (and Apple even says) that the other services will be WiFi.

That would make sense in order to reduce power drain and give both your devices longer battery life while using that feature...

 

[Julien]

Well, there aren't many Macs with no built in WiFi that can run Yosemite in the first place. Did you mean WiFi ac? That or BT 4LE are likely the key IMHO...

No, many if not most Mac Pros (3,1-5,1) including mine don't have built in WiFi.

 

[JoEw]

Exactly.

What this means is that Apple (usually) includes everything they can unless the hardware literally cannot support it. Airplay? That requires the core I series (i3, i5, i7) wireless display function (known as WiDi on PCs). Powernap? That's a special lower power state the I series can do, but the Core2Duo series doesn't support.

My guesses:

Continuity utilizes iBeacon technology for proximity sensing, which relies on bluetooth 4.0, so my 2009 MBP is unlikely to get it.

I can say confidently though that I believe any model from the mac mini to the mac pro, with all laptops in between, that have an i3, i5, or i7 will get full functionality.

Not all i-series chips have bluetooth 4.0.

 

[maclunian]

Well, there aren't many Macs with no built in WiFi that can run Yosemite in the first place. Did you mean WiFi ac? That or BT 4LE are likely the key IMHO.

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That would make sense in order to reduce power drain and give both your devices longer battery life while using that feature...

Does that mean 802.11n macs in 2012 and Early 2013 would be cut off?

 

[dba415]

I was not aware of the possibility that certain continuity features may not work on my 2010 MBP. That is a bummer.

 

[NT1440]

Not all i-series chips have bluetooth 4.0.

The bluetooth controller is an entirely different chip, it has nothing to do with the CPU.