Apple has distributed the eighth beta of OS X 10.11 El Capitan to its registered developers while a new sixth build has been made available for public beta testers, MacRumors has learned.

A recent report stated that developers and public beta testers alike can now access the latest beta versions of the upcoming MacBook update. They can do so by navigating through the Updates tab on the Mac App Store.

The El Capitan beta 8, which has the build number 15A279b, can also be seeded through Apple's developer portal, Apple Insider reported.

Whether or not the update will bring design changes to El Capitan remains to be seen. Previous beta version of the OS have prioritized performance upgrades and operating system improvement through bug fixes above anything else.

MacBook users shouldn't have their heads down though since it can be recalled that beta 7 did have some slight outward-facing alterations such as a modernized "Welcome to Safari" screen and new accessibility toggles as observed by 9to5Mac. Beta 8 might just come with a few design tweaks of its own.

The release of the beta 8 came two weeks after El Capitan beta 7 was made available for developers and more than two months after OS X 10.11 El Capitan was showcased at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2015 in June.

Prior information pinpoints a fall release for the OS X 10.11 El Capitan this year. However, the uncertainty wouldn't be for too long as Apple is expected to announce a more specific release date for the upcoming MacBook OS at a press event on Sept. 9.

Naturally, the week-long lull has triggered the imagination of observant MacBook techies.

If Apple stays true to their general OS release timeline, the upcoming El Capitan is well on its way for a late September launching, as speculated by Gregg Keizer of Computer World.

The OS X 10.10 Yosemite was first seeded to developers on June 2, 2014. It ran seven builds up until Sept. 15 en route to an Oct. 16 release.

On the other hand, El Capitan was unveiled to developers nearly two weeks later compared to Yosemite, but it was able to catch up on the timetable starting with its beta 4. As of the moment, the progress of El Capitan has been two weeks earlier than the pace of Yosemite a year ago.

"If Apple hews to the same general timeline as last year -- and considers the eighth preview its final before gold master, as it did in 2014 -- the upgrade has a strong shot at shipping by September's end," Keizer said.

Meanwhile, the new sixth beta has been opened for public beta testers on the Mac App Store.

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