Apple has started seeding beta 4 of OS X El Capitan 10.11.4, watchOS 2.2, and tvOS 9.2 to developers, who can can now download and install the latest firmware on their compatible devices.
It was almost 2 weeks ago when Apple released beta 3 of all three firmwares, continuing with the company’s trend to push out incremental updates to pre-release software so that things can be finalized and released to the public. Those looking to download the latest beta 4 pre-releases can either head over to the Apple Developer portal now to grab the new bits, or directly update from their devices via OTA method if a previous version of the update is already installed on them.
OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 beta 4
Beta 4 of Apple’s next OS X update for Macs seems to be packing the usual under-the-hood performance improvements for now and retains the cool new features that 10.11.4 initially introduced: Live Photos support in Messages, password protection for notes in the Notes app, importing notes from Evernote and more. OS X 10.11.4 beta 4 doesn’t appear to bring in any new features for now, but we’ll keep you updated when any such change is spotted.
watchOS 2.2 beta 4
Apple is expected to announce new software updates and accessories for the Apple Watch at its rumored March 2016 media event, and with beta 4 of watchOS 2.2 being seeded, it all seems to be shaping up nicely. watchOS 2.2 brings with it a few notable changes to the Apple Watch experience such as the ability to pair the wearable with multiple iPhones, new features including a new Nearby function to the Maps app, and more. Progressing into the fourth pre-release, all changes – not outlined by Apple as yet – seem to be dwelling in the code of the OS with possible performance improvements and bug fixes instead of user-facing changes.
tvOS 9.2 beta 4
Apple TV set-top box has had its fortunes changed with the introduction of tvOS-powered Apple TV 4 complete with an App Store and a developer API for building apps for the platform. And now with tvOS 9.2, Apple is gearing up to introduce a host of new changes and features to the Apple TV experience as seen in the earlier three betas of the firmware. Support for Folders, Bluetooth Keyboards, Siri Dictation, an iOS 9-like App Switcher, iCloud Photo Library support and much more is coming to the set-top box. As for what’s new in beta 4, apart from the usual bug fixes and performance improvements, Apple has snuck in a firmware update for the Siri Remote with improved performance for the motion sensor and support for additional sound bar and receiver hardware. There also appears to be an empty, but new “What’s New” section within Settings > System. We’ll bring you more information on it as soon as we get to know more about it.
OS X 10.11.4 beta 4, watchOS 2.2 beta 4 and tvOS 9.2 beta 4 are not available to public beta testers yet but it’s only a matter of time before Apple makes them available to those registered in the Apple Public Beta program as well. We’ll update this post whenever that happens.
Update x1: OS X 10.11.4 beta 4 is now available to public beta testers.
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