14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has found a very effective way to block users from trying out developer builds of iOS for free. The company is giving up on the configuration profile method and is embracing a system that will make it impossible for someone who isn’t part of the developer program to get the builds.
Right now, installing a developer build of iOS is pretty tempting, especially for power users who don’t wait to wait any longer to try out the latest improvements that Apple is working on.
More often than not, Apple also ships public betas of the same builds, typically a few days or one week later, but some users rush to install the developer builds to skip the waiting times.
A report from MacRumors reveals that Apple no longer wants to allow users to get iOS developer builds if they didn’t pay for an account.
Right now, if you want to be part of the developer community, you need to pay for an account to get access to the Apple Developer Program. The price is $99 per year, and it provides you with a series of goodies, including the option of installing developer betas of new iOS versions.
Once iOS 17 reaches this phase later this year, Apple will give up on the method that relies on configuration profiles and integrate a new Beta Updates section in the Software Update screen on the iPhone. The new menu will show up for users who are logged in with the same Apple ID used for the developer program.
This means Apple will make the verifications server-side, so only devices where a developer account is being used will be provided with the latest iOS beta build.
Sure enough, public betas will continue to be free, but they will still come a few days later after the dev builds.