Apple Gives Enthusiasts A Taste Of OS X El Capitan And iOS 9 With First Public Betas

When Apple announced OS X El Capitan and iOS 9 at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in early June, it promised to make available public betas of both operating systems this summer. True to its word, Apple opened the floodgates today by giving everyday consumers a taste of test versions of both operating systems, which will be released this fall. Apple has offered a public beta of OS X Yosemite last year, but this the first time that the company has offered a wide-scale public beta of its iOS operating system.

In order to take advantage of the public betas, you will first need to register via the Apple Beta Software Program website. In the case of the El Capitan beta, Apple suggests backing up your computer using Time Machine in case things get a little dicey when running the beta software. Once registered, you’ll be given a redemption code that will allow you to download the El Capitan beta from the Mac App Store (it will show up under your “Purchased” software).

A full El Capitan installer is downloaded to your desktop and weighs in at a hefty 6GB.

Those choosing to go the iOS 9 route are encouraged to either backup your device to a Mac, PC, or online using iCloud. Once that is taken care of, you will need to visit the Apple Beta Software Program website from your iOS device. Once there, you will need to download a configuration profile and agree to Apple’s terms and conditions, which basically state that it is not responsible if iOS 9 trashes your apps or causes you to have restless nights — in other words, please don’t try installing this beta software on your primary device (if you have a spare iPhone or tablet laying around, use it as a guinea pig).

Once you accept Apple’s T&C’s, you will have to reboot your iOS device and from there, you’ll be able to download the current iOS 9 beta and future builds via the built-in Software Update feature.

You can read more about Apple’s upcoming operating systems by reading our previous article which details all the latest and greatest features of El Capitan and iOS 9.