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Photos app finally arrives with new Mac OS X Yosemite release

Alongside the launch of iOS 8.3 on Wednesday, Apple also dropped a new version of its desktop software Mac OS X Yosemite.

The final release of Mac OS X 10.10.3 brings the long awaited Photos app, replacing the old stalwart iPhoto storage and editing application.

Photos, which has been available on iOS 8 since its release last autumn, finally comes to Macs following a long beta testing period.

The iteration for the desktop platform is, as intended, very similar to the mobile app with photos organised into Moments, Collections and Years.

Any edits to photos, using a brand new suite of editing tools a la the iPhone and iPad app, will also sync back to those stored on the mobile device and vice versa.

Thanks to this iCloud Photo Libraries integration, users will also be able to keep a copy of their entire photo library in the cloud that can be viewed in web browsers.

However, for many users, opting in will require them to subscribe to a monthly iCloud storage plan in order to safeguard everything and free up space on their hard-drive.

Read more: Best OS X Yosemite tips & tricks

Elsewhere in the update, users are also getting the multi-cultural emoji characters which also arrived today in iOS 8.3. There’s also a boost for Wi-Fi performance, plus more reliable screen-sharing.

Yosemite users can download the update from the Mac App Store from today.

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