Apple today released OS X 10.11 El Capitan to the public, making the newest Mac operating system available for free to Mac users around the world. OS X El Capitan went through eight developer betas before the golden master version of the software was released on September 9.
OS X El Capitan is still rolling out to users, but it can be downloaded using the Software Update function in the Mac App Store, and it will run on all Macs capable of running OS X Yosemite. Here is a direct link for the update: OS X El Capitan.
As an update complementary to OS X Yosemite, as the OS X El Capitan name suggests, the new operating system builds on the features introduced last year. OS X El Capitan focuses on improving user experience and performance.
OS X El Capitan looks like OS X Yosemite, but it includes a new systemwide font, San Francisco, and it introduces a new Split View option for Mission Control, allowing two full-screen apps to be used side-by-side. El Capitan includes an improved Spotlight Search and several new app features. Safari, for example, has gained Pinned Sites and a universal mute button, while Mail has new iOS-style smart suggestions.
Photos in OS X El Capitan supports third-party photo editing extensions from Mac App Store apps, Notes has new features, and Maps includes Transit directions. Under-the-hood improvements in El Capitan also make a number of apps and processes on the Mac faster, and the introduction of Metal makes system-level graphics rendering 40 percent more efficient.
More information on OS X El Capitan can be found in our El Capitan roundup, which includes details on major features and some little tweaks that were added throughout the beta testing period. Discussion of El Capitan's new features is also taking place in our OS X El Capitan forum, and we encourage all of our readers to join in with questions and new discoveries.
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Been on El Capitan for the last 48 hours. My favorite feature is how much faster and smoother everything runs with it being optimized with Metal. It's a noticeable difference. Enjoy everyone but don't expect to be blown away. I tried using the full screen features but so far, can't seem to break my current habits and workflow.
Some fun things to try and note: • Auto-hide the menu bar - System prefs - general - hide • Select a file and command+option+delete to bypass the empty trash step and delete a specific file • wiggle your mouse to make it bigger for a second • Dashboard is off by default - go to mission control system pref to turn it on if you want • Beautiful new desktop backgrounds • Safari - I use "command 1" "command 2" etc to go to my fav websites in the favorites bar. Now it's command+option+number. Go to safari - prefs - tabs to change it back. • swipe to delete something in Mail
