Apple Seeds Second OS X 10.11 El Capitan Beta to Developers

Apple today released the second beta of OS X 10.11 El Capitan to developers for testing purposes, just over two weeks after unveiling the new operating system at its 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference. Any new changes found in the second El Capitan beta will be detailed below.

The update, build 15A204h, is available through the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Apple Developer Center. Apple has also released OS X Server 5.0 beta 2.

os_x_el_capitan_roundup
OS X El Capitan largely builds on the features introduced with OS X Yosemite, focusing on improving performance and user experience. Behind-the-scenes improvements in El Capitan have made a number of apps and processes on the Mac much faster, and the introduction of Metal makes system-level graphics rendering 40 percent more efficient.

Along with a new systemwide font, El Capitan includes a revamped Mission Control feature, a new Split View feature for using two full-screen apps at once, deeper functionality for Spotlight, and several new features for Safari, including Pinned Sites for housing frequently-visited websites and a universal mute button that quiets all tabs.

Mail's been updated with new iOS-style gestures and Smart Suggestions, and Photos, Notes, and Maps have also gained small improvements.

OS X 10.11 El Capitan is currently only available to registered developers, but Apple plans to offer a public beta of the software in July. Following testing, El Capitan will see a final release in the fall of 2015.

Related Forum: OS X El Capitan

Popular Stories

Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Wednesday November 19, 2025 4:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
ipad black friday 2025

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:20 am PST by
Black Friday is just over a week away, and iPad deals have finally started to flood in at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Below we're tracking discounts on every current generation iPad, including lowest-ever prices on M3 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro, plus steep markdowns on iPad and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a ...
ipad mini 7 feature red and blue

iPad Mini 8: Four Major New Features to Expect

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:50 am PST by
Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is highly likely to arrive next year, offering a significant refresh of the device with at least four major new features. OLED Display The next-generation version of the iPad mini could feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple Watch in 2015, ...
watchos 26 workout app

Apple Watch Users Claim Workout App Is Now Worse in Every Way

Thursday November 20, 2025 7:01 am PST by
Apple Watch owners have been voicing their frustration online over changes to the Workout app that Apple introduced in watchOS 26, with many finding the redesigned interface makes starting exercises difficult and exasperating. When Apple launched watchOS 26 in September, the Workout app went from large, easily tapped workout tiles to a scrolling, corner-button interface. Instead of tapping a ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Two More U.S. States Commit to Offering iPhone Driver's Licenses in Apple Wallet App

Thursday November 20, 2025 8:21 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Earlier this week, Illinois became the 13th state in the U.S. to offer the feature. Subsequently, we shared a list of additional states that are committed...
android iphone airdrop quickshare

iPhone Users Can Now AirDrop Files to Android Devices

Thursday November 20, 2025 9:47 am PST by
Google today announced a new cross-platform feature that allows for file sharing between iPhone and Android users. With AirDrop on the iPhone and QuickShare on Pixel 10 devices, there is a new file transfer function available. The file sharing option works on Apple devices that include iPhone, iPad, and Mac, along with the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Fold....

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
136 months ago
Perhaps you'd prefer its inverse, @redheeler:



[SPOILER="1024x1024 verson"]
[/SPOILER]

Attachment Image
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikhailT Avatar
136 months ago
anyone could check the graphic performance improvement? i have iMac 27 5k and expose is dreadfully slow in yosemite. thanks in advance!
Expose or Mission Control pretty much got an overhaul and is quick on all Macs, they changed how it is rendered. Even the weak rMB saw major improvements.

I have 5K iMac and I can say it is a huge improvement from Yosemite.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
theSeb Avatar
136 months ago
I thought these updates were only for us devs... first thing I do is open up Xcode to continue my project, only to see that it doesn't work with El Capitan Beta 2 anymore.

"No problem", I said to myself, "there's a 6.4 beta that should work fine". Except it doesn't.

Xcode 7 isn't an option because I consider releasing my game within the next 2 weeks and if I convert it to Swift 2.0 it'll get rejected because it's a beta language that has been compiled with a beta compiler.

Seriously ? o_O

Luckily, if you Show the Package Contents of Xcode.app, then go under /MacOS/, you can start Xcode 6 through the terminal. Not like they bothered telling us or anything ........
Yes, seriously. Please tell me that you are not really running a pre-release BETA operating system on your "production" machine?

I don't get the shock and indignation. You should not be running beta software on your production system. Beta software is for testing in a VM, or another computer. Why would you install a beta operating system if you're actively working on an application that will be released in the next two weeks? That's very dangerous.

Yes, these are previews are for devs. They are for devs to get their apps working with the latest SDKs and operating systems so that they are ready WHEN the new versions of the operating systems are out of beta and released to the public. They are not there to continue working on applications that you're planning to release before the next operating system is released. This is not rocket science to understand.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
redheeler Avatar
136 months ago
I'm assuming it's the Apple Watch San Francisco one.
It's not quite the same.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rudy69 Avatar
136 months ago
Could the 3 OS updates just have been put in one article?
3 articles = ~2-3 times the views!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
luisfelipesv Avatar
136 months ago
I always see developers complaining about non developers who install DP on their devices, saying that it's not right for them to download betas since betas are for developers, while that's true, they have the freedom to do that and I don't see that as a bad thing, I think they are just curious about the new things and curiosity it's a good thing, maybe curiosity is what lead most of developers to become that, maybe downloading betas without being a developer could be their first step to become one.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)