Mac OS X Lion Notes: iOS Scroll Bars, Any Corner Resizing, Dock Changes

During last week's media event, Apple demoed a few early features of Mac OS X Lion which will be released in 2011. While Apple focused on a few particular features (Mac App Store, LaunchPad, and Full Screen Apps), readers have noticed a few other user interface changes coming to Apple's next operating system.

030119 scrollbar

One rumor that was posted ahead of the event predicted that Mac OS X 10.7 would be getting iOS-inspired scroll bars. During the event, Apple showed off new versions of their Apps with these new scroll bars in place. Like iOS, the scroll bars disappear when not in use, but reappear during scrolling or with mouse movement.

Meanwhile, one reader who had accurately predicted these changes also reveals that in Mac OS X 10.7, users will be able to resize windows from any corner.

ALSO you can now resize the windows from any corner, again, works nicely.

Currently, windows are only resizable on the bottom-right corner of the windows.

030726 resume

A couple of other new features that Apple glossed over during the presentation was "Auto Save" and "Apps resume when launched". As a result of these new features, it appears that Mac applications are no longer depicted as launched or unlaunched in the Mac OS X Dock:

031902 dock

032509 snow
Top: Lion; Bottom: Snow Leopard

This actually represents a big shift in Mac OS X's representation of apps. The typical "light" indicator under each launched application is gone from the Mac OS X Lion dock. Apple's implementation of instantly resuming applications when launched may blur the lines between launched/unlaunched, though the distinction still remains important when talking about multitasking.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

Totti Avatar
196 months ago
wouldn't that be confusing? Not knowing what's running at a glance?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
187 months ago
no.
Historically : yes. Otherwise : Citation needed.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrianMojo Avatar
196 months ago
Removing the light represents a fundamental shift: Apple doesn't want you to think about what's "open" or "closed," just like an application being open or closed shouldn't be an issue on iOS. But honestly it's not the same -- the amount of RAM that, say, Photoshop eats up when in the background is not the same as a piddly iOS app, so unless Apple begins restricting what OS X apps can do in the background I don't see this as exactly a great feature.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blue Sun Avatar
196 months ago
What was wrong with the light indicator? If it ain't broke....
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)