Roger Fingas
Apple on Thursday launched the first public betas of OS X El Capitan and iOS 9, giving the public an early glance at the operating systems before they officially debut this fall.
The company warns that because the platforms are in beta, some apps may not work properly. Before installing, users are strongly urged to make backups of their data in case problems arise with either apps or the operating systems themselves.
The betas are available through the company's Beta Software Program website for registered participants.
The new code should be based on third developer betas which were released on Wednesday alongside a new seed of watchOS 2. The El Capitan build contained known issues with two-factor authentication, restoring Time Machine backups for Mail, and importing iPhoto and Aperture libraries into Photos, among other bugs.
Before installing the new software, see AppleInsider's ongoing, in-depth Inside iOS 9 series.
Read more about iOS 9:
- First look: Apple's News app debuts in latest iOS 9 beta
- Inside iOS 9: Apple Maps gains transit directions for buses, trains, subways, more
- Inside iOS 9: Siri Suggestions, news, apps & more on Apple's revamped search screen
- iOS 9 power-saving tactics include cutting display power for face-down devices
Read more about iOS 9's iPad changes:
- iPad home screen folders now display 16 apps per page in Apple's new iOS 9 beta 3
- Inside iOS 9: Apple's QuickType keyboard gains quick cut, copy, paste & more on iPad
- Inside iOS 9: Apple's iPad-exclusive split-screen multitasking will enhance productivity
- First look: iOS 9's new cursor-controlling gesture keyboard on iPad
- Inside iOS 9: Apple's iPad-only 'Picture in Picture' mode lets you keep watching video with any task
Read more about OS X El Capitan:
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Andrew Orr
47 Comments
JFYI ... There are betas of Carbon Copy Cloner and Little Snitch that work in 10.10.11 beta and Disk Warrior 5 works fine.
If you don't have a machine that isn't in the path of work need, I strongly advise people to hold up on this. Being the first kid on the block with the new OS isn't going to be great if you can't get things going because a bug prevents what you need from working. The iOS public beta is out too. That I'll put on an iPad, as I have a couple I can use. Frankly, I'm more excited by that for my iPad Air 2.
[quote name="melgross" url="/t/187140/public-beta-of-os-x-el-capitan-to-go-live-later-on-thursday#post_2746148"]If you don't have a machine that isn't in the path of work need, I strongly advise people to hold up on this. Being the first kid on the block with the new OS isn't going to be great if you can't get things going because a bug prevents what you need from working.[/quote] Prepare for the inevitable raft of "my computer has been bricked" comments from people who are not paying attention.
[quote name="SpamSandwich" url="/t/187140/public-betas-of-ios-9-os-x-el-capitan-to-go-live-later-on-thursday-u#post_2746152"] Prepare for the inevitable raft of "my computer has been bricked" comments from people who are not paying attention.[/quote] Beta's are pretty exciting, and Apple wouldn't release a public beta is it was really screwed, as early betas always are. Still, it is a beta, and with the gotchas Apple did announce, it's fairly risky. And what about those they haven't yet found? I've done a lot of beta testing for Adobe and others over the years, and it can be pretty dreary and frustrating until late in the process. But I am backing my iPad Air 2 to my Mac now, in prep for the iOS beta, which is much more interesting and exciting. I do have another iPad—just in case. But the full backup will allow a downgrade should that be required. I'm not sure how Time Machine would handle a downgrade on a Mac for a beta though, as I've never done it.
Beta's are pretty exciting, and Apple wouldn't release a public beta is it was really screwed, as early betas always are. Still, it is a beta, and with the gotchas Apple did announce, it's fairly risky. And what about those they haven't yet found?
The big problem for the average person is the apps they use. There are plenty that don't work properly with the developer beta of El Capitan, and that likely won't be any different with the public betas. So people need to understand that they shouldn't install the beta on a machine where they need to do day-to-day work.