Apple Seeds Fourth OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan Beta to Developers

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.4 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the third OS X 10.11.4 beta and more than a month after releasing OS X 10.11.3. OS X 10.11.4 has been in testing since January 11.

The fourth OS X 10.11.4 beta, build 15E49a, can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center or via the Software Update Mechanism in the Mac App Store.

os_x_el_capitan_roundup
OS X 10.11.4 offers a couple of new features, such as Live Photos support in Messages, the ability to password protect notes in the Notes app, and an option to import notes from Evernote, but like the recent OS X 10.11.3 update, it appears to focus primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements. Almost all of Apple's OS X updates to date have been smaller updates that improve performance rather than introduce new features.

We'll update this post with any features or significant changes that are discovered in the third beta of OS X 10.11.4. OS X 10.11.4 is likely to see a spring release alongside iOS 9.3, tvOS 9.2, and watchOS 2.2.

Related Forum: OS X El Capitan

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 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. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New MacBook Pros Could Now Arrive in March

Sunday February 8, 2026 6:02 am PST by
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...

Top Rated Comments

Ebenezum Avatar
130 months ago
I would like Apple to finally start including detailed listing of changes and bug fixes in 10.11.4 once it is released. I am not expecting miracles but the information that Apple has provided for 10.11.1-11.1.3 is seriously lacking to say the least...

Is it really too much to ask given the Apples resources? :(
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anonymous123 Avatar
130 months ago
Would love to know if the MacRumors staff is capable of posting one of these without the first two words being "Apple today".
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kagharaht Avatar
130 months ago
Focus Areas

* iBooks
* Messages
* Notes
* Photos

Useless. No WiFi Sleep Wake, BTMM, HomeSharing, Powernap, Finder, Slow SMB, Bonjour Problems.

It's all FLUFF no MEAT for Apple these days.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
130 months ago
Useless. No WiFi Sleep Wake, BTMM, HomeSharing, Powernap, Finder, Slow SMB, Bonjour Problems.

It's all FLUFF no MEAT for Apple these days.
Well, let's see. The BOM mentions, among many other things:

"WiFi Sleep Wake"

Wireless Diagnostics.app
WiFiAgent.app
CoreWLANKit.framework
CoreWiFi.framework

"BTMM"

awdl_d2d.bundle
BTMMPortInUseAgent.plugin

"HomeSharing"

Not sure what you mean by this. In iTunes?

"Powernap"

powermetrics
powerd.bundle
AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext

"Finder"

FinderKit.framework
com.apple.Finder.axbundle
Finder.app
FinderSync.framework

"Slow SMB"

SMBClient.framework
mount_smbfs
smbutil
smbd
smbfs.kext
smb.bundle
smbfs.fs

"Bonjour Problems"

BonjourEvents.plugin
com.apple.bonjour.plugin
mDNSResponder
mDNSResponder.bundle

You're right, though. Clearly, 10.11.4 only contains a new version of Finder for marketing reasons. Useless.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SlipperySlop Avatar
130 months ago
Useless. No WiFi Sleep Wake, BTMM, HomeSharing, Powernap, Finder, Slow SMB, Bonjour Problems.

It's all FLUFF no MEAT for Apple these days.
First of all, you have absolutely NO proof that no work has been done on areas that interest you, do you?

Secondly, doesn't it take a lot of **** to think that just because you think something is fluff should mean that everyone should consider it the same way? Please. There are issues in those apps that you hate that many love and need that need to be addressed, despite your irrational dismissal of those apps. I will just never understand the mentality of many of those who post here. It's already almost impossible to extract useful information from the childishness and fluff that pervades these forums.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
till213 Avatar
130 months ago
('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/22/apple-seeds-os-x-10-11-4-beta-4/')


Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.4 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the third OS X 10.11.4 beta ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/08/apple-seeds-third-10-11-4-el-capitan-beta/') and more than a month after releasing OS X 10.11.3 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/19/apple-releases-os-x-10-11-3/'). OS X 10.11.4 has been in testing ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/01/11/apple-seeds-first-osx-10-11-4-beta/') since January 11.

The fourth OS X 10.11.4 beta, build 15E49a, can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center ('https://developer.apple.com/osx/download/') or via the Software Update Mechanism in the Mac App Store.



OS X 10.11.4 offers a couple of new features, such as Live Photos support in Messages, the ability to password protect notes in the Notes app, and an option to import notes from Evernote, but like the recent OS X 10.11.3 update, it appears to focus primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements. Almost all of Apple's OS X updates to date have been smaller updates that improve performance rather than introduce new features.

We'll update this post with any features or significant changes that are discovered in the third beta of OS X 10.11.4. OS X 10.11.4 is likely to see a spring release alongside iOS 9.3, tvOS 9.2, and watchOS 2.2.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Fourth OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan Beta to Developers ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/02/22/apple-seeds-os-x-10-11-4-beta-4/')
Downloading right now...
[doublepost=1456165291][/doublepost]
I would like Apple to finally start including detailed listing of changes and bug fixes in 10.11.4 once it is released. I am not expecting miracles but the information that Apple has provided for 10.11.1-11.1.3 is seriously lacking to say the least...

Is it really too much to ask given the Apples resources? :(
Sorry, but an added "Implemented NSA backdoor" just doesn't read so good in the Release Notes...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)