iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan Public Betas Coming Soon - MacRumors
Skip to Content

iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan Public Betas Coming Soon

The third betas of iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan launched today, and a new document outlining a revamped two-factor authentication feature built into the operating systems suggests we may be seeing public beta availability in the very near future. A support document accompanying the two-factor authentication changes explicitly states that it's designed for "the public betas of iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan."

When Apple introduced iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 El Capitan at its Worldwide Developers Conference, the company promised that a public beta would be available beginning in July, so customers who are enrolled in Apple's public beta testing programs may not have much longer to wait to get access to the new software.

applepublicbetas
It is not clear exactly when the public beta will be seeded to customers, but the wording in the support document suggests beta testers will be receiving access to the same third betas of iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 that were seeded to developers this morning.

Public beta tests for major software releases are a relatively new feature from Apple, introduced for OS X with OS X Yosemite last year and iOS with the release of iOS 8.3 in March of 2015. iOS and Mac users can sign up for Apple's Beta Software Program on the company's dedicated beta testing site.

Related Forums: iOS 9, OS X El Capitan

Popular Stories

Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Apple Card Promo to Offer Free AirPods Pro 3

Friday May 15, 2026 8:59 am PDT by
Starting as early as next week, customers who sign up for an Apple Card at Apple's retail stores in the U.S. will receive $249 cash back when they purchase AirPods Pro 3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The promotion has yet to be officially announced by Apple, so exact terms and conditions are not available at this time. AirPods Pro 3 are priced at $249 in the U.S., so customers who...
Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 CarPlay Light mode 250609

Six Popular iPhone Apps Now Available on CarPlay

Thursday May 14, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's CarPlay system for accessing iPhone apps on a vehicle's dashboard screen has received six popular apps in recent weeks: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and the indie artist streaming platform Audiomack. Make sure you have the latest version of each app and they will automatically appear on CarPlay. ChatGPT Starting with iOS 26.4, CarPlay supports voice-based...
ipad mini 7 blue

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

Thursday May 14, 2026 5:08 am PDT by
According to the latest rumors, Apple is close to launching its next-generation iPad mini. 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 information found in code...

Top Rated Comments

GadgetBen Avatar
142 months ago
Bring on all the idiots that thank a beta should operate like the release version and complain like crazy about little bugs.

Far too many don't understand what beta means.
I don't think a lot of you developers understand what Public Beta means. It's the progression of Beta to consumers, therefore there has to be an element of stability and general functionality. Coding textbooks will be updated for future students to define Public Beta releases separately from Developer Betas
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xgman Avatar
142 months ago
Bring on all the idiots that thank a beta should operate like the release version and complain like crazy about little bugs.

Far too many don't understand what beta means.
gee thanks Dad...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
142 months ago
Pretty soon, even non-developers will be getting the infamous "it's a beta" retort!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
142 months ago
And will still launch broken.

Apple beta = alpha. RTM = beta.

This is Tim Cook's Apple.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Oblivious.Robot Avatar
142 months ago
Probably just minutes before to August. :(
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
barnaby117 Avatar
142 months ago
Can’t wait for the public betas! Especially interested to try out iOS 9.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)