Apple Releases Mac OS X 'El Capitan' And iOS 9 Public Betas, Website Hammered With Traffic
News broke only a few hours ago that Apple has made available copies of both of its upcoming operating systems, iOS 9 and Mac OS X El Capitan. It's safe to say that people are interested. At press time, it appears as though beta.apple.com is suffering from the influx of traffic. The website is still functioning, but you will likely have to wait a few minutes for it to load.
Once the website manages to load, you'll have to sign up for the beta access program. The link to sign up is affected by the same level of traffic flow currently. It took me approximately 5 minutes to load the signup dialog box.
As a member of the Beta Access Program from Apple, you'll gain access to the latest public beta versions for all of your Apple devices. The beta version will come pre-loaded with a built-in feedback tool for reporting bugs. The Feedback Assistant app can be found in your Dock if using a Mac, and on the second page of the Home screen on iOS devices.
Mac OS X El Capitan isn't a massive change from previous versions, but with this update Apple is bringing Metal to OS X. Metal is similar to DX12 and Mantel in that it allows for developers to access the GPU directly. Apple has made some bold claims about the performance increases seen by making use of Metal, stating that it can enhance GPU rendering performance by as much as 50 percent.
iOS 9 features enhancements to Siri, search and some changes to how the hardware is managed to improve battery life, performance and security. Another notable, and highly anticipated change, is multi-tasking. Split view is available on the iPad Air 2, but slide over and picture-in-picture mode work in iPad Air, Air 2, Mini 2 and Mini 3.
It's safe to say that people are interested in trying out the new operating systems. It might be a good idea to hold off for a few hours until rush hour dies down on Apple's website, though.
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Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.