TechRadar pro

IT insights for business
RSS
US Edition
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Insights
TechRadar
Español
  • VPN
  • Mobile Industry
  • Linux
  • Networks
  • Data Centre
  • Laptops/PCs
  • Printers
  • Software
  • Security
  • News
  • In Pictures: OS X 10.11 El Capitan

In Pictures: OS X 10.11 El Capitan

By Kane Fulton 2015-09-30T10:30:00.272Z Operating systems  

Set sail to the land of performance improvements and, er, tabs

Shares
Introduction

Introduction

OS X 10.11 El Capitan lands on the Mac App store later today with new versions of stock apps, a slew of updates and a barrel full of performance improvements. There's nothing radically new to be found with Apple's latest release, but the Snow Leopard-esque speed refinements and productivity-focused tweaks will no doubt be welcomed by the Mac-toting hordes. Without further ado, click on to feast your eyes on the OS X 10.11 El Capitan's new features.

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
1 Never curse at your cursor again

1. Never curse at your cursor again

Don't you hate it when you lose your mouse cursor behind windows and apps? ...said no-one ever. Anyway, it's a problem you'll never have again because El Capitan makes the cursor bigger when you shake your mouse like a Polaroid picture. Hopefully it will stop growing before it gets to frankencursor proportions and swallows your desktop. An odd, but welcome feature all the same.

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
2 Spotlight gets a bit brighter

2. Spotlight gets a bit brighter

El Capitan shows that OS X has got smarter. You can now issue context-specific commands via Spotlight to find files; for example, typing in "slides from [person's name] about [something]" will conduct a more specific search than simply searching from the file name. It remains to be seen what different file types and commands El Capitan recognizes.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
3 Apple makes a split decision

3. Apple makes a split decision

Here's a feature that Windows users will recognise: Split Screen view. Just as split-screen functionality has come to iOS 9, OS X 10.11 El Capitan now lets you divide the screen to allocate apps in full-screen, with an adjustable black bar running down the middle to alter the size of the screen's two halves.

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
4 Mail gets full size attachments

4. Mail gets full-size attachments

Apple has made some small improvements to OS X's Mail app, which now works with natural search phrases in a similar manner to Spotlight. Typing in "mail I ignored from Hugh", for example, will bring up any unread mail from a contact call Hugh that's been sitting unloved at the bottom of your inbox. Mail also gets iOS-style swipe commands, such as swiping left or right to quickly save an email to a folder or delete it.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
5 Metal comes to OS X

5. Metal comes to OS X

Apple's Metal graphics engine, which is currently available in iOS, has made its way to OSX 10.11 El Capitan. Apple claims that Metal "opens up new possibilities for rich and engaging worlds" and allows for 50% performance in supported games and reduces the level of processing power required to run games by 40%. The Metal API is integrated into the Unreal Engine 4 games engine by Epic games, which was demoed using a cartooney zombie-bashing game called Fortnite.

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
6 Mission Control gets smoother

6. Mission Control gets smoother

Apple has made Mission Control smoother and added the ability to see which apps are open using a three-finger upwards swipe. It works in tandem with OS X El Capitan's new Split Screen feature too. When Split Screen is activated, entering Mission Control allows you to drag open apps and windows into one half of a virtual desktop.

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
7 Safari gets pinned tabs

7. Safari gets pinned tabs

Safari has added the ability to pin your favourite websites to the toolbar on the left-hand side, something that Chrome users have had for some time. Additionally, El Capitan now tells you which tabs are playing audio, allowing you to close the offending website or mute it. This could be particularly useful when struck by all-infuriating autoplay videos that scream out of the speakers unannounced.

Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
Shares

Related articles

  • Best 32 inch TVs 2018 the best secondary TVs for any budgetBest 32-inch TVs 2018: the best secondary TVs for any budget
  • HP Envy x2 up for pre order but ARM based tablet costs more than Surface ProHP Envy x2 up for pre-order, but ARM-based tablet costs more than Surface Pro
  • The best 40 inch TVs of 2018The best 40-inch TVs of 2018
  • Fortnite Battle Royale news and updates what rsquo s new in Fortnite Fortnite Battle Royale news and updates: what’s new in Fortnite
See more Operating systems news

Free To Download
TechRadar Pro's Buyers Guide

Join 13,000 TechRadar Pro subscribers!

This buyers guide focuses on the red hot market of ruggedised mobile computing, covering laptops, 2-in-1 devices, smartphones as well as storage and software.

GET MY FREE MAGAZINE
No spam, we promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details without your permission.
  1. 1

    Samsung Galaxy Note 9 release date, price, news and leaks

  2. 2

    OnePlus 6 release date, news, price and leaks

  3. 3

    Fortnite on mobile: how to join the battle royale on iOS and Android

  4. 4

    Best smartwatch: the top choices you can buy in 2018

  5. 5

    The best laptop 2018: our pick of the 15 best laptops you can buy this year

  1. 1

    iPhone X2 may heavily rely on Apple’s biggest competitor, Samsung

  2. 2

    Google’s new iMessage rival plans to completely replace SMS messaging

  3. 3

    Best shows on Netflix (April 2018): 60 fantastic Netflix series

  4. 4

    Here's how a printer could bankrupt your business

  5. 5

    OnePlus 6 release date, news, price and leaks

TechRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.