The next major version of Mac OS X got a strong thumbs up from the Mac users who make up Macworld ’s Reader Panel, with more than two-thirds of panelists planning to upgrade to OS X 10.5 when it’s released next spring. But panelists are tempering their enthusiasm for the operating system update code-named Leopard, with a majority describing the planned changes to OS X as interesting rather than important.
Those results come from a survey of 765 members of the Macworld Reader Panel conducted by market research firm Karlin Associates. The poll was conducted from August 23 to August 25, a little more than two weeks after Apple CEO Steve Jobs previewed Leopard at this month’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
Asked about their OS X 10.5 upgrade plans, 35 percent said they would switch to Leopard just as soon as Apple released the update; another 33 percent plan to upgrade within the first three months of Leopard’s release. Twelve percent plan to wait at least six months, while three percent will wait a year. Only 8 percent said they had no plans to upgrade to Leopard.
Most have positive feelings about the features they’ve seen so far, although the largest percentage of respondents—49 percent—described OS X 10.5 as a solid update with interesting changes, compared to 32 percent who agreed that Leopard would introduce a number of important features. Another 14 percent called Leopard a ho-hum update.
What phrase best describes your reaction to Apple’s preview of Leopard?
| It looks like a great update with a number of important features. | 32% |
|---|---|
| A solid update with some interesting changes. | 49% |
| Ho-hum. Nothing to get excited about. | 14% |
| Disappointing—Apple really missed an opportunity. | * |
| No opinion | 5% |
* Less than 1 percent responded
Total respondents: 765
Time Machine, the automatic backup feature built into OS X 10.5, appears to have captured the attention of most respondents. Asked to give their impressions of the enhancements and additions promised in Leopard, 71 percent of those surveyed said they were most impressed with Time Machine. A little more than half described themselves as impressed with Leopard’s enhanced 64-bit support, earning it the second-highest rating.
Changes to the existing iCal, Dashboard, Spotlight, Universal Access, and iChat features scored the lowest percentage of favorable responses, with less than a third of those surveyed saying they were impressed by the changes. Respondents were least impressed with iChat, which includes special effects features and the ability to control another chat participant’s desktop.
How Impressed Were You With Each Previewed Leopard Feature?
| Most Impressed | Neutral | Least Impressed | Don’t Care/Don’t Know | No Answer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Machine | 71% | 16% | 2% | 11% | * |
| 64-bit support | 51% | 31% | 2% | 14% | 2% |
| Spaces | 47% | 31% | 4% | 17% | 1% |
| Mail changes | 43% | 37% | 5% | 14% | 1% |
| Core Animation | 37% | 36% | 4% | 22% | 1% |
| iChat enhancements | 30% | 37% | 11% | 22% | * |
| Universal Access enhancements | 27% | 44% | 6% | 23% | * |
| Spotlight | 26% | 52% | 5% | 16% | 1% |
| Dashboard | 25% | 51% | 8% | 15% | 1% |
| iCal changes | 25% | 45% | 8% | 20% | 2% |
* Less than 1 percent responded
Total respondents: 765
The survey also looked at panelists’ reactions to the Mac Pro, and whether those surveyed were planning on buying the Intel Xeon-powered desktops that replace the Power Mac G5. Of the 267 survey participants who said they were planning on purchasing a new computer in the next six months, 55 percent identified themselves as either extremely or somewhat likely to buy a Mac Pro. That compares to 31 percent who said they were unlikely to purchase the newly released desktop.
Editor’s Note: This article was reposted at 7:15 p.m. PT on August 29 to adjust the percentages in the survey question on when respondents planned to upgrade to Leopard so that the total number equaled 100 percent. This adjustment resulted in an adjustment of less than 1 percent to each of the responses to that question.