Based on my experience so far, Photos for OS X looks to be a huge improvement over iPhoto in all aspects, even if it lacks some of the advanced tools that will appeal to Aperture users and professional photographers.

Advanced users, particularly those operating on 5K iMacs or Mac Pros, may be happier eventually switching to Adobe Lightroom - though most of them probably have done so already. But for most of us, particularly recent Mac converts and people who may not fancy themselves serious photographers, Photos is a welcomely humble way to approach image editing. It will be available free as part of an OS X Yosemite update this spring.

For now though, we're impressed with what Apple has done with Photos. It's a brand new app that manages to be powerful and fast. It's editing options are great and the iCloud Photo Library integration actually works.

It's all very impressive (and pretty), and generally a welcome upgrade from the aging iPhoto. For some people, the editing tools won't be enough to replace Photoshop, much less Lightroom, but for everyday users, it should fit the bill, and be easy to use, too. And hey, who can argue with a free app?

Apple is a master among tech companies at creating an ecosystem that rewards people for buying and using more of its stuff. At a time when we have strong, growing options for storing and managing all our files online, Photos is the best reason I’ve seen yet to consider ponying up for iCloud storage.

Even in its pre-public-beta version, Photos is fast, slick, and very easy to learn and navigate (partly because it’s so stripped down).If you’re happy with iPhoto and Aperture now, you should feel no hurry to switch over when Photos comes out this spring (as part of the free Yosemite10.10.3 update), unless you want that iCloud Photo Library feature. Which would be understandable.

Even though the Photos app we used was not yet finished, we're quite impressed with what's here, and it's clear that this is a pretty giant leap forward over iPhoto.If what we've seen so far is anything to go on, Apple Photos offers a lot of potential, and it should make a lot of Mac users quite happy.