In a surprising move, Apple has decided to make it free for anyone to test out their latest developer betas without having to pay a $99 yearly subscription fee. This means that anyone can now sign up for the Apple Developer Program and download the latest versions of Apple software for free. This includes the developer betas for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, and watchOS 10.
To take advantage of this new policy, all you have to do is sign up for the Apple Developer Program using your Apple ID. Once you have done this, you will be able to enroll and download developer betas without having to wait for public beta launches.
The new Developer free tier also includes access to Xcode developer tools, on-device testing, and beta releases. Furthermore, developers will also have access to the Apple Developer Forums and Feedback Assistant to report any bugs they come across.
This is great news for developers who have been using Apple’s software for years but may have been hesitant to sign up for the Developer Program due to the yearly fee. Now that it is free, developers will have a much easier time testing out the latest software and providing feedback to Apple.
Paid developer accounts still have a range of perks and support from Apple, including app distribution on the App Store. However, for those who are just starting out or who may not need all of the benefits that come with a paid account, the free Developer Program is a great option.
Apple has not stated why they decided to make this change, but it is clear that they are committed to making it as easy as possible for developers to create and test their apps on Apple’s platforms. This move may also be an attempt to encourage more developers to create apps for the Mac platform, which has seen less app development than iOS.
Overall, this is a welcome change from Apple and one that will make it easier than ever for developers to create and test their apps on Apple’s platforms. It will be interesting to see if this move results in an increase in the number of apps available on Apple platforms, or if it simply makes it easier for existing developers to create even better apps.
