Apple begins testing OS X 10.11.1 with focus on stability, compatibility and security

By Katie Marsal

Before OS X 10.11 El Capitan launches to the public, its first forthcoming maintenance and security update is already available in beta form for developers to test.

The first beta release of OS X 10.11.1 was supplied to developers on Thursday. It is identified as build "15B17c."

Apple's accompanying notes state that update "improves the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac." Specifics on what changes or fixes might be found in the point-one release were not given.

Developers and public beta testers were given a golden master candidate of OS X 10.11 last week ahead of its public release. Apple will make OS X 10.11 El Capitan available as a free download on the Mac App Store Sept. 30.

El Capitan is largely a polish of last year's OS X 10.10 Yosemite, but will gain a handful of key new features like Split View, an enhanced Mission Control, and performance improvements.