Installing Developer vs Public betas

[s2mike]

Quick question about the betas:

I'm in the public beta program and have been installing the public betas the second they're available OTA.

However, sometimes I'm impatient and end up searching out the developer beta IPSW file and installing that if the public beta isn't released at the same time as the developer beta.

Regardless of whether I install the dev or public beta, the phone always updates without a hitch and the betas always run smoothly.

Is there any disadvantage to doing it like this? I just installed the developer beta for 9.3 beta 2, and will be prompted to install the public beta later this week when it's released. Is there any potential problem that comes with flipping back and forth between the two?

Just curious. Thanks.

 

[vertsix]

I wouldn't think so. Developer betas have some additional stuff for developers, and public betas don't. Also, developer and public betas are only one or two days apart, so there's like no point in switching back and forth.

Patience, my friend.

 

[s2mike]

I wouldn't think so. Developer betas have some additional stuff for developers, and public betas don't. Also, developer and public betas are only one or two days apart, so there's like no point in switching back and forth.

Patience, my friend.

Well, I guess that was my question. The only point in switching back and forth is to get the new beta as soon as possible.

If there were a particular reason why this wouldn't be good for the phone, I'd just stay on the public beta track and only install those...but if it makes no difference either way, I'll rather just grab whatever comes first because I'm an impatient freak of a person.

I assume that whenever a new iOS update is installed, be it from the developer profile or the public profile, the previous version of iOS that's installed is completely erased. If that's correct, then I guess it wouldn't matter which version of the beta gets installed.

 

[lagwagon]

The risk in updating pretty much twice as often (developer then public then developer then public and so on.) is you double your odds in the update roulette. Not all installs are equal. Sometimes you might have more bugs one time vs another even if it's the same version/build.

I don't think there is any physical harm but I can't imaging it's healthy to always be installing the OS that often.

 

[WaruiKoohii]

I wouldn't think so. Developer betas have some additional stuff for developers, and public betas don't. Also, developer and public betas are only one or two days apart, so there's like no point in switching back and forth.

Patience, my friend.

Developer betas are identical to public betas, with the exception that from time to time a show stopping bug is found and a slightly newer build is released to resolve them. That happened with 9.3B1 as I recall.

Additionally, since the builds are identical, if you install the developer release, you won't be prompted to install the public release.

The risk in updating pretty much twice as often (developer then public then developer then public and so on.) is you double your odds in the update roulette. Not all installs are equal. Sometimes you might have more bugs one time vs another even if it's the same version/build.

I don't think there is any physical harm but I can't imaging it's healthy to always be installing the OS that often.

Why would you update twice as often? The build almost never changes between developer and public, so therefore you'd only be prompted to update once (when the new developer build comes out).

The builds are identical.

That said, since developer builds are released a day or two before the public build, being on the public build schedule gives you a little buffer in case a show stopping bug is found. For example, 9.3B1's initial release had a bug where on some devices the install would hang, and you'd have to do a hard reboot to get it to continue and finish. This was fixed in a slightly updated build when the public release came along.

 

[throAU]

Regardless of whether I install the dev or public beta, the phone always updates without a hitch and the betas always run smoothly.

Is there any disadvantage to doing it like this?

Boldfaced point is by no means guaranteed. You may have been lucky so far, but that may not always be the case.

The "public betas" are significantly more tested before they are released to the general public - the developer previews are less tested prior to going out (they come out faster) and people running them are more reasonably expected to deal with issues that arise; they are NOT intended for use as an every day device. They may crash more, performance may be bad, etc. They are intended for new API testing, and developing new apps against; not so much for actual use as an end user device.

Yes, i've run developer previews on my work phone, but it's riskier than public beta, which is riskier than release software.

That's the disadvantage, and whether or not it is "worth it" is up to you to decide.

 

[s2mike]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate the input!

On a semi-related note, I see people referring to doing clean installs of iOS updates. Why is that? Do little digital reminents and pieces of old iOS' get stuck in the phone? What's the point in doing a clean install?

 

[Suckfest 9001]

They're both just as risky; it's the same iOS build...

 

[lagwagon]

Why would you update twice as often? The build almost never changes between developer and public, so therefore you'd only be prompted to update once (when the new developer build comes out).

The builds are identical.

That said, since developer builds are released a day or two before the public build, being on the public build schedule gives you a little buffer in case a show stopping bug is found. For example, 9.3B1's initial release had a bug where on some devices the install would hang, and you'd have to do a hard reboot to get it to continue and finish. This was fixed in a slightly updated build when the public release came along.

I don't update twice as often and I know the DP and PB builds are identical. I was replying to the OP because he was implying that he does.

And as far as the release schedule between DP and PB. It's not always a day or two apart. It's sometimes same day. It's quite random, the pattern changes nearly every 9.x version and sometimes build to build.

 

[s2mike]

I don't update twice as often. Actually, iOS 9.3 beta 2 is only the second time I've been impatient enough to grab the dev beta before waiting for the public release. And being that the builds are the same, I wasn't prompted to install the public release today...so it's exactly the same as if I'd just held off and only installed the public beta. I was just wondering if installing dev betas on top of public betas and vice versa caused any harm to the phone.

 

[lagwagon]

I don't update twice as often. Actually, iOS 9.3 beta 2 is only the second time I've been impatient enough to grab the dev beta before waiting for the public release. And being that the builds are the same, I wasn't prompted to install the public release today...so it's exactly the same as if I'd just held off and only installed the public beta. I was just wondering if installing dev betas on top of public betas and vice versa caused any harm to the phone.

Then no, installing a DP over top a PB won't harm or do anything. Except this time around in 9.3 the DP has its own profile. So once you have the DP profile and are on the DP, you will only get DP. (They made this change probably because prior to 9.3 beta, if one was on PB and a new DP came out and PB didn't they could delete the PB profile and the DP would show up in updates. They probably wanted to stop that, so they made a new profile for DP's)

 

[s2mike]

Then no, installing a DP over top a PB won't harm or do anything. Except this time around in 9.3 the DP has its own profile. So once you have the DP profile and are on the DP, you will only get DP. (They made this change probably because prior to 9.3 beta, if one was on PB and a new DP came out and PB didn't they could delete the PB profile and the DP would show up in updates. They probably wanted to stop that, so they made a new profile for DP's)

Thanks for the peace of mind!