iOS 16.4 Will Let You Specify an Apple ID to Use for Beta Access

[MacRumors]

With the iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4 updates, Apple is changing the way that developer and public beta opt-ins work. Going forward, an Apple ID associated with a developer or public beta account is required, and with today's iOS 16.4 beta, you can use two different Apple IDs for access.

The prior betas made it clear that users would be required to sign in to a developer account or opt in to the public beta to access a developer beta or a public beta, respectively, but there was no option for individuals who have separate Apple IDs for their personal use and for their beta use. iOS 16.4 beta 3 adds an Apple ID field that can be tapped to sign in to a separate Apple ID to account for this situation.

You can sign in with a different Apple ID that is enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program or Apple Developer Program.

When you tap on the Apple ID button under Settings > General > Software Update, Apple allows you to enter a separate Apple ID for downloading the beta. That function lets you download betas as normal through a developer or public beta Apple ID, while using a standard Apple ID for all other iPhone functions.

This change to how beta updates are downloaded will primarily impact people who use Developer Center profiles to install betas that they would not normally have access to. There will be no mechanism for installing a beta from a profile going forward, and each person running the developer beta will need to have access to a developer account.

The public beta is available to anyone who chooses to sign up, but public betas trail developer betas, so non-developers who want developer beta access currently use developer profiles that are available to anyone with the link.

This crackdown on beta access will impact betas after iOS 16.4, and it will mainly be noticeable during the iOS 17 beta testing period that is set to happen later this year.

While the change does prevent non-developers from installing betas through a developer profile, it also simplifies the beta update process. Users can choose to enable the developer or public beta they have access to directly from an iPhone or iPad without having to go through extra steps to install a profile.

Article Link: iOS 16.4 Will Let You Specify an Apple ID to Use for Beta Access

 

[contacos]

Makes sense. Please add the same option for the Apple Store app 🙃

Also just tried it and interestingly enough, I was signed in with my private AppleID but it still toggled the „developer beta“ option? Also, when I signed in with my developer account, it surprisingly didn’t seem to require 2factor authentication (didn’t ask to confirm on a different device or sms code)

 

[atomic.flip]

Reinventing the wheel. Honestly this is so stupid. The profiles were completely fine for this and the use of UUID to limit access to devices was also perfectly fine for restricting access.

Instead of all this running in circles recreating a process that was already effective. They could have just monitored their developer accounts more closely to check for abuse. Or god forbid, limit access and improve the device registration process.

This whole separate developer account bs is honestly something many of us have been trying to get away from unless we are building specific test scenarios against iCloud functions.

The amount of waste here just irritates me.

 

[zorinlynx]

Reinventing the wheel. Honestly this is so stupid. The profiles were completely fine for this and the use of UUID to limit access to devices was also perfectly fine for restricting access.

Instead of all this running in circles recreating a process that was already effective. They could have just monitored their developer accounts more closely to check for abuse. Or god forbid, limit access and improve the device registration process.

This whole separate developer account bs is honestly something many of us have been trying to get away from unless we are building specific test scenarios against iCloud functions.

The amount of waste here just irritates me.

I suspect non-devs installing betas has resulted in a support burden for Apple and they just don't want to deal with it.

 

[roar08]

For those of us that have had Apple IDs for so long, it'd be great if they finally let us merge them — at least functionally — so we wouldn't be penalized for being long-term platform users and unable to benefit from features like 4TB of iCloud storage when subscribing to the top tiers of Apple One while paying for 2TB of storage.

 

[coffeemilktea]

Was the "non-devs installing developer betas" really THAT big of a deal that Apple dedicated money and manpower to it? 😅

They could have done something more important, like maybe work on more memojis!

 

[Aston441]

Was the "non-devs installing developer betas" really THAT big of a deal that Apple dedicated money and manpower to it? 😅

They could have done something more important, like maybe work on more memojis!

How about they try and imprison the idiots that put three dots at the top of my iPad.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

Reinventing the wheel. Honestly this is so stupid. The profiles were completely fine for this and the use of UUID to limit access to devices was also perfectly fine for restricting access.

Instead of all this running in circles recreating a process that was already effective. They could have just monitored their developer accounts more closely to check for abuse. Or god forbid, limit access and improve the device registration process.

This whole separate developer account bs is honestly something many of us have been trying to get away from unless we are building specific test scenarios against iCloud functions.

The amount of waste here just irritates me.

A: Apple has delt with random customers getting their hands on early developer beta’s off the Internet undoubtedly. iOS 14 and 16’s respective Home Screen and lock screen updates were so popular in fact that I got random people in my life asking how to get them early. And given that by iOS 16, it was literally just as easy as Googling “iOS Beta” and the first result is literally a profile download site, it could quickly become an issue if, say, iOS 17 has sideloading functionality, but beta one doesn’t have all the proper security guards in place. That won’t be fun for anyone.
B: one of those beta profile sites was already caught red-handed installing malware on peoples phones a couple years ago. Tbh I was shocked Apple didn’t change the install mechanism right then and there.
C: it makes total sense because it creates feature parity with the rest of their operating systems. The Apple TV and HomePods already have all of the beta options in the Settings app, and on macOS you can do it all via terminal.

 

[tdar]

This was my original complaint about this process. I have a special email address for my developers account and I need a place to add it. Apple has now made this work exactly like I wanted it to work. Thanks Apple.

Sorry non developers . We pay for our access to the beta and you should not be able to get it for free.

 

[PineappleCake]

Reinventing the wheel. Honestly this is so stupid. The profiles were completely fine for this and the use of UUID to limit access to devices was also perfectly fine for restricting access.

Instead of all this running in circles recreating a process that was already effective. They could have just monitored their developer accounts more closely to check for abuse. Or god forbid, limit access and improve the device registration process.

This whole separate developer account bs is honestly something many of us have been trying to get away from unless we are building specific test scenarios against iCloud functions.

The amount of waste here just irritates me.

Ahh no. People still got through these things. These were easy to bypass.

 

[jdclifford]

How about they try and imprison the idiots that put three dots at the top of my i

I suspect non-devs installing betas has resulted in a support burden for Apple and they just don't want to deal with it.

Is there any difference in “support burden” if users download public beta instead? I don’t see it.

 

[tdar]

Ahh no. People still got through these things. These were easy to bypass.

Absolutely correct. That’s why Apple gave up on those methods and just allowed it to become a free for all. It’s totally time for them to crack down and start using a new method that is going to work.

 

[tdar]

Is there any difference in “support burden” if users download public beta instead? I don’t see it.

It’s really easy. The people like me who spend our own money want to be first but mostly want to know that we are the ones who get the developer vision of the beta because we are the ones who paid for it. There is no guarantee that the public beta will include everything that the developers beta has.

Let me add that from apple’s perspective, we are the people who know what the risks of using the beta are best. And we are the ones who know what to do with an early beta because it can really mess up your iPhone. We are expected to know how to recover.

 

[prime17569]

Is there any difference in “support burden” if users download public beta instead? I don’t see it.

The first couple developer betas are often not made available as public betas. These initial betas may be very buggy which is why Apple only wants developers on them.

 

[BobSc]

Was the "non-devs installing developer betas" really THAT big of a deal that Apple dedicated money and manpower to it? 😅

Oh come on please. Are you really complaining about this???? Apple can do more than one thing at a time and this in no way hurts any other issues that Apple is working on. If only the Apple haters could take a day off. Just one day. Please.

 

[atomic.flip]

A: Apple has delt with random customers getting their hands on early developer beta’s off the Internet undoubtedly. iOS 14 and 16’s respective Home Screen and lock screen updates were so popular in fact that I got random people in my life asking how to get them early. And given that by iOS 16, it was literally just as easy as Googling “iOS Beta” and the first result is literally a profile download site, it could quickly become an issue if, say, iOS 17 has sideloading functionality, but beta one doesn’t have all the proper security guards in place. That won’t be fun for anyone.
B: one of those beta profile sites was already caught red-handed installing malware on peoples phones a couple years ago. Tbh I was shocked Apple didn’t change the install mechanism right then and there.
C: it makes total sense because it creates feature parity with the rest of their operating systems. The Apple TV and HomePods already have all of the beta options in the Settings app, and on macOS you can do it all via terminal.

What settings app are you talking about on the HomePod?! It has no interface. And on the Apple TV profiles must be installed via Xcode and another Apple Utility that no average users know how to navigate.

The only other way is a tedious use of a hosted profile on a web server. And clearly shutting down services like the ones they complained about solves that.

No I don’t believe they did this to streamline anything. And I don’t believe it was a “support” nightmare.

I think this is just an example of people justifying their own jobs at Apple by reinventing a process.

Why do I say that? Because there is NEVER such a large lead time between developer and public betas that it merits this sort of granularity.

And access to any additional resources requires an Apple Dev Account.

I think another reason they shut down the profile sites is because very simply they were violating the TOS for access to the profiles. You’re strictly prohibited from redistributing them in the fashion the sites were doing.

Rest assured. The next thing these guys are gonna throw out there is “sub-accounts” that a primary developer account will be able to enroll into the beta distribution process. Then they will incorporate enrollment for wide scale deployments as enterprises will demand it.

It’s just a convoluted mess of reshuffling resources and I’ve seen this a thousand times over the years. When ever there is churn in a team this sort of stuff happens.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Was the "non-devs installing developer betas" really THAT big of a deal that Apple dedicated money and manpower to it? 😅

They could have done something more important, like maybe work on more memojis!

It could be that they want to avoid dedicating too much support resources toward too many non-devs breaking their devices by installing early betas and not knowing what to do. Hiring a few engineers to fix that is a lot cheaper.

 

[adrianlondon]

Soon....

Apple: It seems this new Apple ID user, registered as a developer, has 1000 iPhones! Wow.

 

[atomic.flip]

The first couple developer betas are often not made available as public betas. These initial betas may be very buggy which is why Apple only wants developers on them.

Only once a year during the major OS revisions. I.E. iOS 16 to 17. But every point revision is always just a couple of days at most from developer to public. It’s not nearly enough time to vet bugs that would be a support “nightmare”.

As an example Microsoft has different channels for different types of testing. 4 tiers.

I’m not advocating Microsoft’s process but it is very effective and gains a great deal more data than Apples process.

They even trial feature with their testers that don’t always make it into the product.

That said Apple’s user base and culture likely wouldn’t allow for this sort of testing.

Again. All I am saying is that mark my words. This process will not ultimately limit the amount of people getting access to betas. Eventually the process will bloat to the point they can no longer control it because that is basically how things roll over at Apple.

Great intentions in some areas. But then they lose momentum.

Like most of their internal apps. iCloud even.

 

[pacificblue]

Thank god they added this, otherwise it would have been a headache for every sensible professional who separates work ID and personal Apple ID.

 

[atomic.flip]

Soon....

Apple: It seems this new Apple ID user, registered as a developer, has 1000 iPhones! Wow.

Exactly!!! And then you’ll have device number limits imposed on accounts and problems with developers complaining it’s limiting their testing because in some odd scenario they might actually be a requirement.

Now. I also suspect they will try to do away with profiles entirely and try to replace them with some sort of centralized support console.

But I really don’t think these plans are fully baked at all. And this is why I’m again frustrated by the shift in direction.

Pick a new one sure. But please have a destination in mind.

 

[RamGuy]

It’s really easy. The people like me who spend our own money want to be first but mostly want to know that we are the ones who get the developer vision of the beta because we are the ones who paid for it. There is no guarantee that the public beta will include everything that the developers beta has.

Let me add that from apple’s perspective, we are the people who know what the risks of using the beta are best. And we are the ones who know what to do with an early beta because it can really mess up your iPhone. We are expected to know how to recover.

I've been running Apple developers for ages. There has never been any difference between Public BETA and Developer BETA, like ever. They are the same builds every time. The only difference is how new builds tend to drop a day earlier in the developer channel compared to the public beta channel. And with major releases, there are normally 1-3 builds only made available in the developer channel before it gets released in the public beta channel.

Previously you could only get audioOS/HomePod BETA's through the developer channel or the Apple Seed program. But recently, you can also enable public beta for audioOS/HomePod. The only exception is on the OG HomePod, which still requires a profile through the developer channel or Apple Seed program.

This goes for all their BETAs. It doesn't matter if we are talking iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS or audioOS. Developer and Public BETA channels receive identical builds.

 

[RamGuy]

The first couple developer betas are often not made available as public betas. These initial betas may be very buggy which is why Apple only wants developers on them.

Not often at all. This normally happens only with major releases. And it's normally only 1-3 builds that will be developer channel only. There has never been any developer channel only builds of any feature releases.

 

[atomic.flip]

It could be that they want to avoid dedicating too much support resources toward too many non-devs breaking their devices by installing early betas and not knowing what to do. Hiring a few engineers to fix that is a lot cheaper.

This MIGHT have made some sense if we were dealing with betas from years ago. But even the major revision early betas have been incredibly stable the past few years.

It has nothing to do with support headaches and everything to do with someone reinventing the wheel again at Apple and ditching one mature process for another immature and half baked one.

They do this with their products as well. It’s become a very bad habit.

3D Touch, Touchbar, touchID, MagSafe (taken away then given back again generations later), macPro 6,1, new MacPro with intel, supposed MacPro with Apple Silicon, vacillating on whether to use intel or Apple silicon in new products. LOL

qualcomm, then Intel modems then back to Qualcomm when that failed.

Buying Siri, then investing very little in enhancing it, developing shortcuts then abandoning them in favor of re-engineering Siri back end, then re-engineering HomeKit only to make it run like total garbage for months on end then rolling it back to the original then updating it again and half resolving the problems.


My god the list is really getting very long.

 

[tdar]

I've been running Apple developers for ages. There has never been any difference between Public BETA and Developer BETA, like ever. They are the same builds every time. The only difference is how new builds tend to drop a day earlier in the developer channel compared to the public beta channel. And with major releases, there are normally 1-3 builds only made available in the developer channel before it gets released in the public beta channel.

Previously you could only get audioOS/HomePod BETA's through the developer channel or the Apple Seed program. But recently, you can also enable public beta for audioOS/HomePod. The only exception is on the OG HomePod, which still requires a profile through the developer channel or Apple Seed program.

This goes for all their BETAs. It doesn't matter if we are talking iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS or audioOS. Developer and Public BETA channels receive identical builds.

You seem to forget that the original beta for developers does not come out for public beta users. This new program may just allow Apple to impose other restrictions.