Apple Seeds Third OS X 10.11 El Capitan Beta to Developers - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Seeds Third OS X 10.11 El Capitan Beta to Developers

Apple today released the third beta of OS X 10.11 El Capitan to developers for testing purposes, just over two weeks after releasing the second El Capitan beta and a month after unveiling the new operating system at its 2015 Worldwide Developers Conference.

The update is available through the software update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Apple Developer Center.

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.

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.

What's new in OS X El Capitan beta 3:

Two-Factor Authentication - iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 El Capitan include an entirely revamped two-factor authentication system.

Photos app - As in iOS 9 beta 3, there are new albums for selfies and screenshots in the Photos app in El Capitan beta 3.

Related Forum: OS X El Capitan

Popular Stories

Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Thursday August 20, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the iPhone event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to...
macOS 27 next to MacBook Pro Running macOS 27

macOS Golden Gate Marks the End of an Era

Thursday August 20, 2026 2:19 pm PDT by
macOS 27 Golden Gate is not compatible with any Macs with Intel processors, marking the end of an era. The update, which is currently in beta ahead of a release later this year, is limited to Apple silicon Macs with an M1 chip or newer. Last year, Apple said that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the final macOS release compatible with Intel-based Macs, so this was an expected development. Intel...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Wednesday August 19, 2026 12:53 pm PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. More than a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change in the foreseeable future. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. ...

Top Rated Comments

145 months ago
you can finally add/edit locations in Photos :)

Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmh600cbr Avatar
145 months ago
probably only after DP4, like yosemite :(
"july" AKA 2 minutes to August
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrfr Avatar
145 months ago
Have they fixed the green button to maximize the window instead of going full screen? Most annoying bug in OS X since Yosemite.
That isn't a bug, and won't get fixed. Hold option and click the green button to get pre-10.10 behavior back.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmh600cbr Avatar
145 months ago
where is the public beta?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fangio Avatar
145 months ago
Spotlight has moved to the bottom of the screen for me
You can drag it everywhere on the screen in 10.11, it's not fixed anymore.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
145 months ago
changelog anyone?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)