Apple rolls out OS X 10.10 Yosemite public beta – are you in?

WWDC 2014 keynote (Yosemite dark mode 001)

As promised, Apple today opened up OS X 10.10 Yosemite betas to the first million applicants who’ve signed up for the OS X Beta Program using their Apple ID. If you haven’t yet signed up for the program, better hurry up! Otherwise, be patient as Apple will email you soon (using your Apple ID contact details) to let you know when your OS X Yosemite Beta redemption code is ready.

There’s a lot to love about Yosemite – both in terms of the simplified, flattened user interface and  new features that take integration between iOS and the Mac to the next level.

It also marks the first time Apple has permitted both its registered Mac developers and the general public to access betas of a work-in-progress Mac operating system update.

Today’s poll asks a very simple question: are you, or are you not, going to install the public Yosemite beta on your Mac?

To create a dual-boot configuration, follow Jeff’s excellent tutorial on installing OS X Yosemite Beta on a partition of its own.

Your Mac must meet the following requirements for Yosemite betas:

  • OS X Mavericks 10.9 or later installed
  • At least 2GB of memory
  • At least 8GB of availble disk space

You’ll be installing the current build 14A299l, virtually the same version Apple releases to developers earlier in the week. I’m saying “virtually” because Yosemite public beta is one build newer than the fourth beta released to developers.

Cast your vote below and join us in comments.

Known issues include:

  • Safari
    • Safari may hang when playing certain Netflix content.
  • iPhoto and Aperture
    • iPhoto 9.5.1 and Aperture 3.5.1 are required on OS X Yosemite. Update to these versions from the Mac App Store.
    • When entering edit mode in iPhoto, a black screen may be displayed instead of the selected photo.
    • Photo Stream and iCloud Photo Sharing may not function properly when both iPhoto and Aperture are installed.
  • iCloud
    • The shared purchase history page on the Mac App Store is disabled for Family Sharing accounts.
    • iCloud Drive may appear empty in the Finder after first time setup. Restart to resolve this problem.
  • AirDrop
    • AirDrop may not show nearby Macs.
    • Sending files to another Mac using AirDrop may not work.

One more thing: unless you also happen to run iOS 8, some of the coolest Yosemite features won’t work such as Handoff, the ability to make and take phone calls via FaceTime on your Mac, SMS in the Messages app, AirDrop between Yosemite and iOS 8, Instant Hotspot and iCloud Drive.

OS X Yosemite (Handoff, Mac-iPad 001)

To get in on the action:

  1. Sign up at the OS X Beta Program webpage using your Apple ID
  2. If you receive an email from Apple, you’re in – visit the OS X Beta Program webpage again and log in with the same Apple ID you’ve used to sign up for the program.
  3. Scroll down and tick the ‘I have read the above and understand the limitations of using this beta software’ box. Now hit the big blue Download OS X Yosemite Beta button
  4. The Mac App Store will open with your redemption code already entered. In the Mac App Store, click the Redeem button to start your download (the installer clocks in at about five gigabytes) and follow the on-screen instructions.

OS X Yosemite redemption code

On first-run, Yosemite will offer to migrate your iCloud Documents & Data to the upcoming iCloud Drive. Keep in mind that migrating to iCloud Drive will make your documents stored in iCloud Drive sync only between Macs running the OS X Yosemite beta and iPhones, iPads and iPods running iOS 8.

Folks who’ve opted to stay on iCloud will continue to enjoy seamless data sync across all devices and operating system. Those still on the fence of deploying Yosemite on their work/home machine should check out the ten things you should know before jumping in on the action with the public Yosemite beta.