Apple ’s next-generation operating system, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, is due for release Friday.

The company on Monday issued a press release detailing the operating system’s new features and improvements, which include the following:

A more responsive FinderMail that loads messages up to twice as fastTime Machine with an up to 80 percent faster initial backupa Dock with Expos? integrationQuickTime X with a redesigned player that allows users to easily view, record, trim and share videoa 64-bit version of Safari 4 that is up to 50 percent faster and resistant to crashes caused by plug-ins.

Also, Snow Leopard will free up to 7GB of hard drive space for upgrading Mac users once installed, according to Apple .

Available for pre-order, the Snow Leopard upgrade costs $30 for current Mac OS X Leopard users, $10 for customers who purchased a Mac after June 8, and $170 for those using older versions of Mac OS X (i.e. Tiger, OS X 10.4).

See our previous coverage of Apple ’s Worldwide Developers Conference for more tidbits on Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

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Press Release [Apple ]