Apple has made available public betas for iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 El Capitan, according to reports. The new software, based on the issue-laden third developer beta released yesterday, is available to users previously registered with the company's Beta Software Program. While the company normally waits until there is a fairly stable developer beta existing before issuing the first public beta, today's releases are fraught with issues and missing functionality.
Apple typically warns beta testers of the need to make a backup of their existing system prior to installing betas, and to use the betas on a test machine not used for production work, as data loss or instability or missing functionality are real risks. The relative stability and low incidence of serious issues during public Yosemite beta testing, however, may have lulled users into a false sense of security.
MacNN strongly recommends taking protective measures if attempting to run these early betas, and entreats casual users or curiosity-seekers to refrain from testing these particular versions unless they are serious about encountering and reporting problems.
As noted yesterday, the release notes for the third developer beta detail problems with two-factor authentication (which is being
revamped for iOS 9 and OS X 10.11), Mail (some Time Machine backups may not restore properly, and the Proactive Assistant features aren't working on emails from before the first beta), and issues with importing iPhoto or Aperture libraries into Photos.
The relatively-new Photos program in OS X 10.11 has some other issues, including a problem ordering print products and a tendency to prevent sleep. Users are also cautioned to avoid jumping directly from OS X Lion (10.7.x) to the El Capitan betas.
The iOS 9 developer and public betas are also notable for a lengthy list of minor and major problems. As with OS X, authentication has several problems, including an inability to reset the Apple ID password using iForgot, and a tendency to prompt multiple times for credentials. Bluetooth issues can cause crashes of the entire device when turning off a vehicle while an iOS device is still connected to a CarPlay-compatible head unit, and there are other reports that some Bluetooth headsets do not seem to be able to receive calls.
In addition, AirPlay continues to be unreliable, as it was in the second beta. Family and Home Sharing -- as indicated in a recent tweet from Eddy Cue -- remains a mess. The feature was partially disabled when iOS 8.4 came out in part due to integration issues with the Apple Music service, but Cue has said that the company is working on the problem.
HomeKit in iOS 9 is also in a semi-functional state, and the release notes warn developers to create encrypted backups of their systems, as the HealthKit database could be corrupted or deleted by the beta updates themselves. The release notes also list the same focus areas as the previous beta, asking developers to test iCloud Drive, Keyboards, Keychain, Maps, Mail, MDM, Music, Photos, Podcasts, Safari, Search, Siri, Settings, and VPN.
In addition to the previously-listed problems, the release notes for the public beta of El Capitan also reports that "some 32-bit apps may quit unexpectedly. Affected apps include Scrivener, MacSOUP, Torch, Cisco Jabber, iBiz and others." A future update to the beta that resolves this issue will be available soon, the company said. El Capitan and iOS 9 are expected to be released in the fall alongside new models of iPhone and iPad.
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