Apple has just released the OS X El Capitan public beta download, making it available for anyone to install.
That’s in contrast to the existing El Capitan beta, which was strictly intended for developer use only.
Apple launched the third developer beta of OS X El Capitan earlier today, which mostly brings developer upgrades.
To access the public beta, you’ll need to enrol in the Apple Beta Software Program using your Apple ID.
Bear in mind that software beta versions are usually intended for people who want to help give constructive feedback about a new release.
That’s because they’re test versions of software and are typically laden with bugs. As such, you probably won’t want to use the El Capitan public beta as your daily driver.
“Please note that since the public beta software has not yet been commercially released by Apple,
It continues: “Be sure to back up your Mac using Time Machine…we strongly recommend installing on a secondary system or device, or on a secondary partition on your Mac.”
Related: OS X El Capitan Features: What’s new?
It’s worth noting that unlike the developer beta program, Apple’s public beta is completely free to access.
You’ll also sometimes receive different software builds from the ones pushed to developers.
Apple first introduced OS X 10.11 El Capitan at its Worldwide Developer Conference back in June, announcing that the software would be available as a public beta in early July.
The company only began testing major software releases using the public with OS X Yosemite last year, and on mobile with iOS 8.3 in March 2015.
If you need a Mac device to get El Capitan running on, you should check out our video review of the 2015 MacBook Pro 13-inch:
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
