How stable is OS X Yosemite for day-to-day use?

[nilk]

If you have enough space on your main drive, make a second partition and install Yosemite on that, and leave your main partition intact. Or you can use an external drive and do the same. You'd be basically dual-booting the two versions of OS X.

I'm actually planning to do this (using an external drive), as I'm usually a late adopter (just upgraded to Mavericks a few weeks ago and actually regretting it), but I really want to see what Yosemite is like.

 

[Fishrrman]

This is a developer/beta pre-release.

You install and run software like this at your own risk.

I wouldn't trust it for anything critical.

If you have important material on your Mac -- "mission critical" stuff -- and you install this and your stuff breaks.... well.... you asked for it, right ???

 

[ZombiePete]

Whats that
Sorry newbie question!

This response alone is enough to make it clear that you don't need to be messing with betas. The fact that it's your only computer and that you're in the middle of finals combined with the admission that you really are out of your element when it comes to this stuff dictates that you leave the beta alone. Especially when I can only assume that you didn't pay the $99 developer fee and are getting the image from a less than reputable source.

 

[vigilant]

i'm i Yosemite on my Mac Mini right now remotely. We'll see if that works. iOS 8 isn't ideal but it's far better then iOS 7 was.

 

[antmarobel]

It's my system. Clean install and sent Mavericks to the outer space. Has some bugs, of course, but nothing that makes my life a hell on earth.

 

[Yakibomb]

I had some spare disk space, so I did a clean install onto a partition of my SSD. Works like a charm and most of my apps run perfectly its actually surprisingly stable for a 1st DP

 

[cjmillsnun]

I see.. Im in the middle of my medical school final exams.. so i use my laptop 24/7... I'm tempted to stay away now? What do you think

Stay away. Don't run beta software on it. When you've finished your exams, then maybe.

 

[chrisgeleven]

Never run a beta OS on your production machine. It's bound to have a problem, either now or during one of the beta updates. Data loss can even happen in some cases.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I just got done installing Yosemite on my 13" MBP Late 2011. I created a separate 33 GB partition. After installation and updating to iTunes 11.2.2., i have 19 GB left. The install used up 13 GB. I mention that for those thinking you can get by with a 16 or 20 GB drive. I wouldn't recommend going any smaller than 30 GB, especially if you have notions of installing some purchased apps.

I haven't had any crashes, yet. I expect to sooner or later. I tested Spotlight twice and it worked as it should. Safari seems to be running smooth at the moment. I haven't seen any beach balls, yet.

I haven't installed any of my personal apps. For the moment, I am content to listening to iTunes Radio as I surf around and test things here and there.

Edited to add: One thing I have noticed, is Safari loading websites completely like it should, instead of starting and getting stuck like it does in Mavericks.

 

[eeyoredragon]

I wouldn't run either of the betas unless you're ok with dealing with crashes. I get a crash a day. Sometimes more.

This is just browsing typical sites and the file system in OS X.

I get plenty of slowness, crashed apps, and freezes where I have to reboot the phone on iOS 8.

So, it depends on what you're willing to put up with.

The big feature to play with (imo) in 10.10 is the handoff/continuity feature, and that does not work for me much at all other than I can sometimes receive SMS messages in iMessages now. Sometimes.

 

[mmomega]

Ive almost finished downloading Yosemite and wanted to know if it is 'safe' enough to use as on my main [and only] macbook 13 retina?

Is it really buggy? I really want to try it out!

Also is the Text message feature activated? and does it work with iOS 7 on my iPhone 5S? Or will I need iOS 8 for that as well

Thanks guys!

In my opinion, it is not, stable enough for day to day use.

If you are only using the OS for surfing the internet then maybe, if you do ANY type of work on it, it is possible you will lose any information you create. A DP1 build is that only, a preview, not a stable build.

I understand it's new and exciting but it isn't worth the hassle to lose any important data or the headache of trying to make something work that isn't engineered to do so yet, just to get an early peek.

3 months isn't long to wait for GM. There's even less time to wait for a more stable build, wait until the public beta goes out at least.

 

[57004]

I have already noticed Facebook acts funny with the new Safari. When typing in a message that's a pop-up down in the bottom the web page will scroll down by itself.

It did that for me too this morning, also on Facebook. But I'm on Mavericks, so it might not be Yosemite specific.

 

[ryfo72]

I've been using it on my MacBook Pro in day-to-day use to really push it to the limit. It's been very stable thus far, except logging in with a password lags a bit. The OS X / iOS8 features are hit-and-miss about now. Continuity and Handoff are either partly working or not working at all for people, and there seems to be no sure-fire way to determine the system requirements. I'm running a late-2011 MacBook Pro w/ Bluetooth 2.1 and SMS has been working as of yesterday.

If you know how to handle a Mac and troubleshoot and are comfortable with beta software, go for it. If you want a flawless computer, wait for the Fall.