Whatever happened to Apple's Photos app for Mac?
That Photos app for Mac you’ve probably been waiting for? Well, it’s not coming anytime soon.
Photos for Mac was announced in June last year (see preview video below) as a replacement for both iPhoto and Aperture on OS X that’s integrated with iCloud Photo Library. While its iOS counterpart has been available since the launch of iOS 8 in September, the photo management and editing app is yet to come to OS X Yosemite, which was released in October.
Apple had been promising an “early 2015” release window for Photos for Mac, the same as for the Apple Watch.
The company has announced that the highly anticipated wearable device will be launched in April. As for the long-awaited photo app? Apple has all but ceased touting its release.
As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple has quietly removed references to Photos for Mac from its promotional webpages, particularly those dedicated to the Photos app on iOS, iCloud, and Continuity.
If you can’t see the video embedded above, please click here.
Fortunately, though, this doesn’t mean that Photos for Mac has been scrubbed out of the picture entirely, as Apple’s iCloud Photo Library beta FAQ still states that the app “will be available at a later date.”
Be that as it may, it seems odd that Apple has gone so far as to, in a manner of speaking, edit out Photos for Mac from its website, instead of just saying that it’s coming later than expected.
In the meantime, you can use the Photos Web app on iCloud.com, which has just been updated with new image zooming and email sharing features, as a nonnative alternative to the delayed Photos app for Mac.
This news comes just as Apple has announced a record holiday quarter and released new versions of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.
See also: Cupertino needs to do more than simply add new channels to the Apple TV, Apple Pay joins the PGA tour in 2015, and Embracing China isn’t all good news for Apple.