Apple Launches Public Betas of iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan

Just a day after releasing a new set of developer builds for iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan, Apple today launched its public beta program for both upcoming operating systems. Apple had announced at WWDC last month that it would launch the public betas in July, and a new support document published yesterday regarding changes to two-factor authentication hinted a launch was imminent.


iOS and Mac users interested in trying out the public betas can sign up on Apple's beta software program page.

We'll be looking for any changes specific to the public beta versions, but they are almost certainly essentially identical to the developer seeds released yesterday.


iOS 9 is the first major version of Apple's mobile operating system to see a public beta release, as the company did not initiate the program for iOS until iOS 8.3 earlier this year. OS X users may already be familiar with the public beta process, as a similar program was in place for OS X Yosemite last year.

Related Forums: iOS 9, OS X El Capitan

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...

Top Rated Comments

WordMasterRice Avatar
138 months ago
PSA: IT IS A BETA. THINGS WILL NOT WORK. THAT IS ALRIGHT.
PSA IT's OK TO TALK ABOUT BETA ISSUES AND LOOK FOR WORKAROUNDS.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jadAce Avatar
138 months ago
PSA: IT IS A BETA. THINGS WILL NOT WORK. THAT IS ALRIGHT.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TMRJIJ Avatar
138 months ago
Back up on iTunes/Time Machine first, guys. Remember it's a 'Beta.'
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smithrh Avatar
138 months ago
Kudos to MacRumors for not posting this until the site was actually live.

I had read about the public beta being available on a few other sites and I wasted about an hour hitting "refresh"...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChinaRye Avatar
138 months ago
Very tempted to do this, but fear I may regret it once I do. I think I will sit on the sidelines for a bit.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anthonymoody Avatar
138 months ago
Wish this thread could be split iOS - OSX.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)