Say Farewell to iPhoto, Hello to Apple Photos

Apple's iPhoto replacement—simply called Photos—is on display this week to Mac developers.

The software is expected later this spring as a free download for users running OS X Yosemite.

In June, Cupertino announced that iPhoto, as well as its Aperture editing suite, would be no more.

"With the introduction of the new Photos app and iCloud Photo Library, enabling you to safely store all of your photos in iCloud and access them from anywhere, there will be no new development of Aperture," the company said at the time.

The new software will reflect the latest OS X style, and, according to Engadget, will come built into the operating system, removing the extra step of downloading it from the App Store.

Once Photos for OS X ships, users will have the opportunity to migrate existing Aperture libraries to play around with the new system's editing tools. An added bonus: Any edits made on your Mac will appear in the iOS photo app, thanks to iCloud integration.

General consensus among reporters who got their hands on an early version of the software appears to be positive. Most consider Photos a welcome upgrade from iPhoto, with its cross-platform features and upgraded tools.

Diehard editors, however, may want to stick to Photoshop or Lightroom for their refining work; Photos will not, for most, replace Aperture. But, as Engadget put it: "Who can argue with a free app?"

For more, see PCMag's review of Apple OS X Yosemite 10.10.1 and the slideshow above.