WWDC 2011: Mac OS X Lion More Like iOS With LaunchPad, App Resume & Auto Save

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We earlier introduced a few notable features that Apple has added to Mac OS X Lion (including the great price of $29.99). Here are a few additions that make it seem Apple is making OS X more and more like iOS.

The main advantage you get with mobile interfaces is that they’re designed to let you just leave the device and pick up from where you left. With desktop operating systems, though, the systems are not as agile. Close most applications and you won’t be able to revert to your last settings when you open it again.

With Mac OS X Lion’s LaunchPad, Resume and AutoSave features, it’s almost an iOS like experience, with how apps interact with the user.

LaunchPad basically acts like the iOS SpringBoard. Simply do a four-fingered pinch and a box with icons of all your apps will appear onscreen for your easy pickings. No need to wade through App icons in a Finder window or Spotlight search. Accessing them through a customizable LaunchPad is certainly easier. Your Mac App Store purchases also automatically appear on LaunchPad, much like if you were buying an iOS app from the App Store.

Meanwhile, Resume gets you up and running with your app without the need to remember the last document you opened or what you were previously doing. Close the Mail app while typing an email and you can continue writing the message when you open the app again. If you quit Safari while reading a webpage, it will still be there when you reopen the browser.

AutoSave saves you from the usual headaches of losing files–or worse, overwriting them with different versions. You no longer have to make silly excuses that your thesis got inexplicably erased when the power went out. AutoSave actually stores backups of your document in different versions, so you can simply choose among the different saved versions in one view, a la Time Machine. It’s like how you won’t lose your edits when manipulating a document on your iPad.

If these features aren’t leading to some sort of iOS / OS X convergence, then at least Apple is trying to unify their interfaces by getting the best of both worlds into OS X Lion. You get to organize your apps like you would an iPad, you can enjoy the instant feedback when opening apps, and you’re secure with the fact that your documents are safe.