Apple Releases Second OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan Beta to Public Beta Testers

OS X El Capitan LogoApple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.4 beta to public beta testers, just a few days after releasing the second OS X 10.11.4 beta to developers and just over a week after releasing OS X 10.11.3.

The second beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store for those who are enrolled in Apple's beta testing program. Those wishing to join the program can sign up on Apple's beta testing website.

OS X 10.11.4 includes a couple of new features, such as the ability to support password protected notes in the Notes app, but like the recent OS X 10.11.3 update, it appears to focus primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements with few noticeable outward-facing changes.

Apple is likely to release OS X 10.11.4 in the spring, alongside iOS 9.3, watchOS 2.2, and tvOS 9.2.

Related Forum: OS X El Capitan

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Clicks Communicator Feature

'Clicks Communicator' Unveiled — Will You Carry This With Your iPhone?

Friday January 2, 2026 6:35 am PST by
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator. The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
Apple Fitness Plus hero

Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More

Friday January 2, 2026 6:43 am PST by
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch. The key announcements include: New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January. "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...

Top Rated Comments

chucker23n1 Avatar
130 months ago
I wonder if they'll fix the Safari full screen youtube bug that's been around since El Capitan came out...
Fix Mail not sending mail, some Apps need to be 100% guaranteed to work, sadly Apple thinks otherwise.
Have you guys considered, y'know, reporting those issues?

(FWIW, I can watch YouTube in full-screen in Safari, and I can send mail with Mail. I have been able to in 10.11.3, 10.11.2, 10.11.0, and, well, for a long time.)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
130 months ago
How exactly? (Comparison with Yosemite would be handy.)
Significantly lowered vector of stability and security issues.

Isn't it nice of Apple to not release dev and pub betas on the same day, thus giving Macrumors EIGHT new articles to post?
Yes, I'm sure increasing Macrumors's ad impressions is a top priority for Apple's beta release schedule.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Paradoxally Avatar
130 months ago
Get rid of Rootless (system integrity protection). Please and thank you.
There is zero reason to compromise on security for the sake of true root access. The majority of users will benefit from added security, as they do not need root. Those who do know how to do disable it anyway.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bladerunner2000 Avatar
130 months ago
Rootless benefits 99.99% of users. For advanced users:

http://osxdaily.com/2015/10/05/disable-rootless-system-integrity-protection-mac-os-x/
It doesn't though. Did you or anyone else ever have any kind of detriment with the lack of SIP in all of the years prior?

All SIP has done is restrict choice/options to the consumer even more and effectively destroyed 3rd party developers like TotalFinder or XtraFinder.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KALLT Avatar
130 months ago
How exactly? (Comparison with Yosemite would be handy.)
I always found it odd that an operating system predominantly targeted at consumers would allow unrestricted root access. Access that could destroy an entire system with one single command, a command that could be executed by any program. Perhaps the times are not as bad on the Mac yet and maybe it is premature in El Capitan specifically, but future-proofing OS X for such attack vectors is not a bad idea in my opinion. I also love to see how some developers scrambled to fix their applications just so that it would continue to work without problems, so why not stick to Apple’s security guidelines to begin with?

So far the only reasonable complaints I heard were from people who like to used hacks like TotalFinder or XtraFinder or swap application icons. If you you are experienced enough, you will find the tool to turn SIP off and use OS X just like before. No big deal. I’d wager that the mentioned percentage of 99.9% is equal to the percentage of people who did not turn off SIP.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dogslobber Avatar
130 months ago
When I said "exactly" I didn't mean "by saying something that actually means nothing whatsoever but sounds smart". If you come with a statistic of 99.99% of users benefitting, please follow that real world examples where that happens, ideally with numbers confirming the 99.99% percentage. Thanks in advance!
SIP protects users who would blindly type admin password to allow their system to be root kitted. That means even if they type that sudo root password indiscriminately, SIP will protect those system files from being altered or overwritten. Or that's what is generally claimed. I think it's a good idea for the majority who don't do OS or kernel development.

In terms of TotalFinder and such hacks, those lead to OS instability through using undocumented interfaces so it reduces the barrier for support needs as it's more of a hassle to disable SIP than be bothered with some wacky app.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)