As expected, Apple today released the awaited next major release of OS X Lion and it is now available through App Store for Download. This update is not free and if you want to use it now, you need to spend $29.99 to get this OS X Lion. To upgrade your Mac to OS X Lion, just buy it from Mac App store from your Mac by paying $29.99 and start the download. Mac will do the rest without any need of burning the update on bunch of discs.

Some of the features out of that 250+ list of features of OS X Lion,  fluid Multi-Touch gestures like Tap, swipe, and scroll  are more natural and direct. It also adds support for Full-screen apps taking advantage of every pixel of the display  letting you read email, surf the web, or browse photos very easy and comfortable. You will find Launchpad which gives instant access to all the apps on Mac in a new layout.

OS X Lion has some minimum requirements for the installation. Hence you should make sure that you are not buying it from the App Store unless you are sure that you can upgrade. Here are some basic minimum requirements for OS X Lion upgrade.

  • Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
  • 2GB of memory
  • OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended) i.e. latest version of Snow Leopard.
  • 7GB of available space
  • Some features require an Apple ID
  • Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

Features

Multi-Touch gestures
• Fluid and realistic animations make gestures feel natural and direct.
• Tap or pinch to zoom in on text and images.
• Swipe left or right to move from one page to another in an app or switch from one full-screen app to another.
• Swipe up to enter Mission Control.
• Pinch to access Launchpad.

Full-screen apps
• A new full-screen button takes an app window full screen.
• Run multiple full-screen apps at the same time.
• Switch between full-screen apps and your desktop with a gesture.
• Apps stay full screen when you switch to another app.
• OS X Lion includes full-screen Mail, Safari, Preview, iCal, FaceTime, Dashboard, Screen Sharing, and Photo Booth.

Mission Control
• Brings together Exposé, full-screen apps, Dashboard, and desktop spaces.
• Gives you a bird’s-eye view of everything running on your Mac, allowing you to navigate anywhere with a click.
• Exposé view shows all open windows on your desktop grouped by application.
• Create and organize desktop spaces in Mission Control.

Launchpad
• A new home for all the apps on your Mac.
• Apps downloaded from the Mac App Store automatically appear in Launchpad.
• Launchpad automatically adds pages to accommodate all your apps.
• Apps can be organized on multiple pages and grouped in folders.

Mail
• The widescreen layout displays the message list and selected email side by side in full-height columns.
• The favorites bar gives you one-click access to your favorite mail folders.
• Search suggestions dynamically present the best matches for your search.
• Search tokens help refine search results based on people, subjects, mailboxes, dates, and attachments.
• Conversations automatically groups related messages, displaying them in chronological order and hiding repetitive quoted text.

Other great Lion features
• Auto Save automatically saves your changes as you go, so you never have to worry about losing your work.
• Versions keeps a history of your document as you work and presents it in a timeline you can browse.
• Resume reopens an app exactly as you left it.
• AirDrop is the simplest way to send files to anyone around you, wirelessly — no setup or special settings required.
• Reading List in Safari lets you easily save web pages to read or browse later.

Download OS X Lion from App Store (Size: 3.49 GB)