Mikey Campbell
In a substantial change to its operating policies, Apple has opened its OS X beta testing process to all Mac users with a newly minted Beta Seed Program.
The Beta Seed Program allows consumers to join Mac developers in test-driving pre-release versions of the Mac operating system in exchange for "quality and usability feedback. The program was first spotted by The Loop.
After signing up, users can install the latest beta version of Apple's upcoming OS X 10.9.3 Mavericks maintenance update on their Macs. The most recent beta — build 13D45a — was released on Monday.
It appears Apple has been quietly working to implement the new open beta policy for at least a couple of months via a "Feedback Assistant" that turned up in build 13D38 OS X 10.9.3 earlier this month. At the time, the standalone app's purpose was unknown, though it is now believed to be part of the Beta Seed Program.
From Apple's Beta Seed Program webpage:
Join the OS X Beta Seed Program and accept the Beta Seed and Confidentiality Agreement. Apple will provide a Beta Access Utility for your Mac, which gives you access to pre-release versions of OS X in the Mac App Store Updates panel.
As with any beta or pre-release software, the latest OS X Mavericks is not yet finished and may have unknown bugs or decreased functionality. Users should take this into consideration before installing the beta on a vital machine.
Wesley Hilliard
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
29 Comments
I received that app on my Mac with a previous beta a week or two ago.
Interesting that they're doing this with a rumored OSX redesign coming this year. My guess is after the redesign the left side of the image below will have a design language similar to the right side. [img]http://photos.appleinsidercdn.com/gallery/9031-488-140422-Feedback-l.png[/img] Now if only Apple could find time to update the dark gray nav bar on apple.com. It really looks out of place with the new design language they're using on their website.
If you are a casual user it's probably not the best idea to install Beta software either. Of course AI has a lot of iPhone users who would not be described as "casual". :D
I'm not convinced that this is a good idea. How many people know what 'Beta' really means, or understand that 'Beta test' means it's not even supposed to be free of bugs and loose ends (let alone actually not have many).
MS has tried this with Windows Phone 8.1 and apparently the forthcoming update has been widely condemned for having bugs and omissions - many people there having forgotten that it's not finished yet. I think the idea that you have to be a "developer" to have the Betas (though anyone can actually be a developer) is a sound warning that Betas are not for normal users or use.
Thank You Apple for your open mind it now is a better way to give feedback about any issue