MacOS and the ‘It Just Works’ Mantra ⇥ morrick.me

An absolutely essential essay from Riccardo Mori:

In the end, I think that what the next ‘MacOS’ needs most is focus. Focus on what it has historically done best — ‘just working’. I don’t think that the current problems of OS X have much to do with its old age or its old models. It’s more a matter of identity. […]

What makes people love iOS, what makes people think iOS is much simpler than OS X is, I believe, its reliability. iOS feels positively predictable, dependable. This kind of reliability should become the main focus for the next ‘MacOS’, not just a continued aggregation of old, newer, and borrowed features swept under the carpet of a translucent, attractive UI.

I’m generally wary of essays that are about what Apple “should” or “needs to” do, but this isn’t that. It’s a rational critique of the OS X of today, and thoughts on directions it could take to preserve the qualities that make it a Macintosh.