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

iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google made waves yesterday by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple's Next-Gen Version of Siri Is 'On Par' With ChatGPT

Monday May 19, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report. Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...

Top Rated Comments

GadgetBen Avatar
129 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)
AngerDanger Avatar
129 months ago
Pretty soon, even non-developers will be getting the infamous "it's a beta" retort!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xgman Avatar
129 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)
Razeus Avatar
129 months ago
And will still launch broken.

Apple beta = alpha. RTM = beta.

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