Apple Seeds Fifth OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan Beta to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming OS X 10.11.4 update to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, just over a week after seeding the fourth 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 fifth OS X 10.11.4 beta, build 15E56a, can be downloaded through the Apple Developer Center (developers only) or via the Software Update Mechanism in the Mac App Store (for developers and public beta testers).

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 fifth 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, with the new software coming as early as March 21, the date of Apple's planned spring event.

Related Forum: OS X El Capitan

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
ios 26 control center b2

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 2

Monday June 23, 2025 2:57 pm PDT by
Apple provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26, introducing the first changes and refinements to the new operating system since it debuted after the WWDC keynote. Because we're early in the beta testing process, there are quite a few tweaks to iOS 26, which we've rounded up below. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Control Center The background behind the...
ios 26 control center b2

iOS 26 Beta 2 Fixes Control Center Design

Monday June 23, 2025 10:58 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26 that Apple provided to developers today, Apple addressed one of the major complaints that people have had with Liquid Glass. iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right The Control Center buttons are now slightly more opaque, making it easier to see the different control options even on a multicolored background. The new, more opaque look is apparent with the ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

watchOS 26 Adding a Smaller Yet Useful New Watch Face Setting

Monday June 23, 2025 9:39 am PDT by
watchOS 26 is adding a new "Show Data When Locked" setting to the Apple Watch. MacRumors contributor Steve Moser discovered the new setting within the code for the first watchOS 26 beta, and a Reddit user has seemingly found it in action, but we have yet to figure out where it is exactly. Leave a comment if you know. The new privacy setting allows you to toggle on or off the ability to...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...

Top Rated Comments

Sirious Avatar
122 months ago
Praying there are next to no bugs



Attachment Image
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Happy-Mac Avatar
122 months ago
No comment from Apple on this one, they seed the fifth.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alphazoid Avatar
122 months ago
I said few weeks ago that the real OSX is OS X 12 not the 10.11. Still on Yosemite 10.10.5 until then
El Cap is much better experience than Yosemite ever was for me.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
122 months ago
Now with improved Ethernet support!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
navaira Avatar
122 months ago
I wish Apple would seed the first public beta of Apple Music 2 and iTunes 13...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dogslobber Avatar
122 months ago
Why is it I only ever run beta software nowadays? :-D
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)