Apple releases OS X 10.11 El Capitan

Fresh from the release of iOS 9, Apple has officially launched El Capitan – the latest version of the company’s desktop operating system, OS X.
Taking its name from a granite rock formation found in Yosemite Valley, El Capitan is a primarily performance-driven update that brings improvements and a host of new productivity features to OS X.
El Capitan is officially available for download from the Mac App Store, and will be compatibility for all Macs that are able to support OS X Yosemite. Compatible Macs include:

  • iMac (Mid-2007 or later)
  • MacBook (13-inch Aluminium, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch or 17-inch, Mid/Late 2007 or later)
  • MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
  • Mac mini (Early 2009 or later)
  • Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)

Additionally, compatible Macs must also be running OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later in order to upgrade.
El Capitan will bring greater performance improvements to OS X, particularily in regards to graphics rendering speeds; OS X 10.11 will increase rendering speeds up to 50%, with up to 40% higher rendering efficiency – a treat for general desktop performance as well as gaming.

Spotlight
Spotlight will receive powerful new capabilities in OS X El Capitan

 
According to Apple, app switching and email opening will take place nearly twice as quickly as compared to Mavericks, while apps will open approximately 1.4 times faster.
Beyond performance enhancements, El Capitan brings improvements to Spotlight, Mission Control, as well as a split screen view not unlike the ability to snap apps side-by-side in Windows 10.
What are your thoughts on OS X El Capitan? How does Apple’s latest desktop operating system update compare to Microsoft’s Windows 10? Let us know in the comments below!