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Everyone (OK I haven't read all 10 pages, but most in the beginning anyway) in this thread is missing the point, the point isn't to extract more money (though I'm sure there will still be idiots who feel they just must have the developer betas for some reason, and sign up to the developer program for that), but the purpose is quite obviously to rein in people running developer betas when they shouldn't be, simple as that. The public beta program still has a purpose, they won't cancel that, but it's not the same purpose the developer beta serves, and they probably exercise more care when shipping the public beta builds, considering it'll impact "regular" people more than the developer builds.
 
Is there even going to be anything exciting in this year's iOS update? The only thing I could see was support for the rumored AR/VR headset, and unless you've got an actual headset to play with, that's not going to be particularly thrilling. 😅
 
This is designed 100% to stop YouTubers getting the details out on a bug-ridden beta to the public
This isn’t going to stop them because it’s a tax deductible business expense which generates ad revenue. Apple doesn’t want to stop them from reporting on the beta, they just want to make sure everyone who does so pays the fee.
 
This is designed 100% to stop YouTubers getting the details out on a bug-ridden beta to the public
YouTubers bought the $20,000 Mac Pro just to make videos on it.
They literally bought every specification of the new MacBook Pro and Mac mini just to test the SSD speeds.
I don’t think they’re too fussed about a $99 developer account.
Chances are they probably already have one.
Any video they make in general and Any video they make about the beta is instantly going to pay for that developer account, so they don’t care about this.
Also, most of these Youtubers literally go to the developers conference.
There will be absolutely no shortage of videos about the iOS 17 beta.
 
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For those of us who can’t wait a month for iOS 17 we will find a way!
I’m still waiting for iOS 16 to be released. 🙄

Have you seen the roadmap and committed and proposed feature list for iOS 17?
I get what you’re saying, but let’s be real. Half of iOS 17 is looking like all the stuff they didn’t finish up for 16. I’d be completely happy with a boring iOS 17 Snow Leopard type of release. Problem is the market (Wall Street) won’t let them.
 
A baffling number of people call in or visit Apple stores with issues because they’re running beta software.
Volunteers on the Apple Discussion Forums are always fielding questions from users wanting to know how to back out of a beta release because of problems.
 
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Volunteers on the Apple Discussion Forums are always fielding questions from users wanting to know how to back out of a beta release because of problems.
This would be less of an issue if people would wait for the public beta. Most of the showstopper issues are worked out by then.

But noooooo, gotta have it right away.
 
This likely to stop the hoards of idiots who inundate Apple Stores and Apple Support when their iPhones don’t behave well after putting a developer beta on their devices. I’ve seen it from personal experience.
 
It’s not that much of a secret though, if you want the “secret” that bad and you can’t wait the extra three weeks for the public beta you’ll pay the $99.
Or you can pay someone online to let you have access to their developer account of course but… again at that point if you really want it that bad just pay the $99.
This is literally how it used to be for years, iPhone OS 2 to at least iOS 8. Unless you were willing to do some shady business, the only way to get the beta was to sign up for a paid developer account.
And somehow, for those eight years, Youtubers still put out their videos, people still widely and openly talked about their experience using them, and especially back then Apple absolutely hated it.
You’re not looking at this from Apple’s perspective. Apple can’t stop people from not posting negative reviews by, ahem, encouraging them to be quiet or lose their developer account if those people aren’t developers. Likewise, once the public beta is released, Apple can say, “We love it when our customers share their experience with us,” and then ignore their feedback as “duplicate report” or “insufficient detail,” knowing most of the public will never follow-up. By restricting this but keeping the public beta for program, Apple can maintain secrecy over software while also claiming they are very open and responsive to public feedback.
 
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I wonder if the quality of bug reports from non-devs using the developer beta may be lacking? I have a feeling many of the non-devs on the developer beta don't even report bugs and just want early access.
But this can happen on Public too. People just want early access with no intention of reporting and no idea of the possible dangers. And then there can be people who have betaed stuff for years/decades and are good and know the dangers but don't want to develop. Let them in with a lower fee just to help beta but no dev tools.
 
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This likely to stop the hoards of idiots who inundate Apple Stores and Apple Support when their iPhones don’t behave well after putting a developer beta on their devices. I’ve seen it from personal experience.
The Apple should send them the talk to the hand emoji. Beta = NO SUPPORT
 
There are very few reasons for a non-developer to use a beta, I assume this has been done mostly to cut down on support requests from people who don't know what they're doing.
...you say this as if they don't release a public beta within days.
 
One can buy UUID registration for less than 9900 US cents.

Legally one can loose phone warranty if one uses iOS developer beta firmware without UUID registration.
One can also just wait a couple of days for the PUBLIC BETA.
 
Why even bother? It’s not like iOS 17 is worth the download. Apple still refuses to create a modern and fully functional OS for their mobile devices.
 
Each breathe of air should also be taxed. LONG LIVE 'MURICAAA
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman

I'll tax the street
(If you try to sit, sit) I'll tax your seat
(If you get too cold, cold) I'll tax the heat
(If you take a walk, walk) I'll tax your feet
(Taxman)

"Taxman" - The Beatles
 
I payed for a developer account last year, but apart from the novelty of getting access to the new macOS version several months before release and before public beta testers, it just wasn't worth the money. I did report bugs however.

But I would never use beta versions on my Apple Watch or iPhone.
I‘m part of the public beta. I’ve had no issues when I’ve installed it on my iPhone. This just seems like a few complaining because oh no they can’t put beta software on their phone the minute Apple announces it. Apple’s evil because someone couldn’t play around with the new lock screen features on day one. Wah.
 
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Once again MacRumors with a very misleading headline, Public betas will be free, as a Developer I have no issues paying the $99 or $129 cnd ,for the beta , Worth it for me to test my apps well in advance and learn some new swift ui language , even 16.4 and Xcode 14.3 beta has some new swift commands that make it easier ... Sign up for the Public beta its still free and pretty much the same beta as the developers we just get the initial release earlier ...

Nothing to see MacRumors move along

Also have you seen how many people complain on Reddit that don't know how to go back to release ios after they have installed a beta , quite annoying actually asking for help, when they mess with betas without knowing the consequences sometimes..
 
Why does Apple charge developers $99 per year? That is a hurdle for a kid that just creates an app for fun, which could generate a lot of money for Apple.
Anyone one can learn and start coding through Xcode , doesn't cost $99 , if you want to publish an app and get on the store well that will cost you the $99 , frankly its not a big deal , when I started developer program was well over $500 but you got a pretty good hardware discount ,still rather pay the developer fee ...
 
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I wonder if the quality of bug reports from non-devs using the developer beta may be lacking? I have a feeling many of the non-devs on the developer beta don't even report bugs and just want early access.
It’s not about bug reporting it’s about wanting access to the latest shiny object as soon as Apple announces it. They play around with it for a few minutes and move on (or uninstall it).
 
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As I noted last week in our thread about the 16.4 beta, I have always hated that people are getting for free what we are paying for. And the people who are getting it from one of these websites are getting it without providing any value at all. So I totally approve of this movement. But I hope that Apple remembers that some of us have more than one Apple ID. I use one for iCloud and a different one for the App Store, with a third one for the developer beta. Right now they only support two id’s on the phone.
 
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