All Devices Beta processes/App Developers Support

[earthdog]

So this is an opinion post (as most are)...

In the current world of Public Betas from Apple (FYI I am an IOS Developer) I wonder if the OLD WORLD perspective of no external updates to address Beta incompatibilities is wrong until release Build. I know it causes me frustration when I try to share with 3rd parties the bugs I experience with their apps. Their response in most cases is the OS you are testing is a Beta and we will address your issue at Final Release.

I believe the developers are short sighted and in some case alienating their customer bases that want to help.

Now my personal Soap Box which you knew was coming. I develop for many OEM's and my daily operation is building and testing on All supported devices as each build compiles. My customers are billed at each build increment. We work in a primary IOS environment including accounting for our Back Office since the Team is scattered geographically. So the nuts and bolts come down to Intuits refusal to actively receive input to address Quickbooks IOS lack of functionality/operation under Beta Builds. Is it the end of the world no, is it an inconvenience, YES!

I just question to antiquated form of thinking now that Apple does Public Releases. We all KNOW that you shouldn't load Beta's on production devices but we know it is not reality. I think its time for all Developers to support Apples preview world and carry their own torches and take advantage of the public Beta testers that Apple has provided... I do recognize many (mainly smaller developers) make that commitment to support their apps through the process it seems to me its the bigger one.

Flame Suit on from the Developers that don't want to join the future... Its my production if you don't support the process you will lose customers and revenue over time.

 

[Broken Hope]

Often developers can’t release fixes even if they want to, if there is an API change that requires a newer version of XCode then what do you expect them to do?

 

[earthdog]

I most cases IF this is the case its a rare deprecated call. I am not asking to do added features but baseline functionality.

 

[Puonti]

Betas are a moving target. Fixing tomorrow a problem you are experiencing today might simply cause unnecessary work because the underlying issue will be fixed by Apple next week. Dealing with external bug reports stemming from a beta operating system can be an unnecessary additional burden on a developer, so if some of them prefer to wait until the final release then I sure hope you can respect that.

 

[earthdog]

Betas are a moving target. Fixing tomorrow a problem you are experiencing today might simply cause unnecessary work because the underlying issue will be fixed by Apple next week. Dealing with external bug reports stemming from a beta operating system can be an unnecessary additional burden on a developer, so if some of them prefer to wait until the final release then I sure hope you can respect that.

This is an inaccurate assumption as a general rule. Again, if you go back to my original post the point is its time for developers to stop hiding behind statements like yours. We need to learn to be more accepting taking advantage of the Public Beta program that Apple uses. Using this tool allows us to be proactive not reactive.

 

[AlanShutko]

I submit bug reports during the beta cycle, and I can't say I've had bad results. I include the following disclaimer:

I am reporting the issue for your information only. I understand that this issue may be caused by a bug in the OS preview and may not be a problem with the app. Naturally, applications will not be officially supported until after the OS has been released.
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Some developers choose to make changes during the beta period to address issues, some do not. At worst, developers might delete my messages, but it's not a big deal. My main goal is ensuring that they have the information so that when the release does come out, they're prepared to address issues.

 

[Puonti]

This is an inaccurate assumption as a general rule.

That's why I didn't make generalizations in my post.

 

[jonblatho]

In the current world of Public Betas from Apple (FYI I am an IOS Developer) I wonder if the OLD WORLD perspective of no external updates to address Beta incompatibilities is wrong until release Build. I know it causes me frustration when I try to share with 3rd parties the bugs I experience with their apps. Their response in most cases is the OS you are testing is a Beta and we will address your issue at Final Release.

If you’re really an iOS developer, I’m sure you’re aware, then, that App Store apps may not be built with beta SDKs, platforms, or developer tools, and that submitting such an app will yield a near-instant rejection as an “Invalid Binary.” There’s good reason for that, too — things can change rapidly in the beta cycle. See also the SwiftUI APIs which were deprecated and eventually removed before they ever saw a public release, just over the course of this summer.

Some issues related to beta platforms can be resolved without using the beta SDK. If that’s the case, you can release an update to the App Store to resolve the issue, no problem. Others can’t. That’s the way it is, and that’s the risk you run when you install an iOS beta. If you can’t afford that risk or don’t want to deal with it, don’t install an iOS beta.
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This is an inaccurate assumption as a general rule. Again, if you go back to my original post the point is its time for developers to stop hiding behind statements like yours. We need to learn to be more accepting taking advantage of the Public Beta program that Apple uses. Using this tool allows us to be proactive not reactive.

It’s not inaccurate or “hiding” at all.