On Tuesday, the OS X El Capitan Public Beta 5 made an appearance, but then it disappeared. It made its return today, and this time it’s here to stay—at least until the next beta rolls along.
To install the new beta, you must be part of the Apple Beta Software Program. If you’re not you can sign up, but remember, it’s beta software and it’s possible that you’ll encounter bugs and problems with your apps and hardware, which is why you should provide feedback when using the beta. For folks already running the El Cap beta, you can update the OS through the App Store.
The few obvious changes to the software include:
- A new color OS X logo in the About This Mac window;
- The Accessibility system preference has a few design tweaks, plus a new checkbox to enable/disable “Shake mouse pointer to locate;”
- A new Safari welcome screen.
Have no clue as to what this beta stuff is all about? Read our El Capitan beta FAQ.
If you’ve been using the beta and you don’t want to anymore, you can revert back to Yosemite.
Don’t want to try the beta, but you want to learn about El Capitan’s new features? We have a bunch of first look articles you can read:
- First look OS X El Capitan beta
- Hands-on with Safari 9 in El Capitan: Little changes make a big difference
- Hands-on with Notes 4 in El Capitan
- With Split View in El Capitan, going full screen makes sense
- Hands-on with Mail 9 in El Capitan: Improved full-screen support, swipe gestures, and more
- Hands-on with Maps in El Capitan: Public transportation gets front and center
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.