There’s a Reason iOS 5 Is Called ‘Beta’ Software

Malcolm Barclay, on bad reviews showing up in the App Store for apps that have problems running on the iOS 5 beta:

Downloading and installing beta versions of iOS is akin to moving into a near-new house with missing windows, no carpet and some furnishing. In other words, it’s a building site. If you don’t understand this distinction, then you have no business installing it. You may not even be able to roll back to a prior iOS because of the firmware (software written directly to internal chip-sets) updates that will occur. You could brick your phone.

Other companies mean different things when they say “beta”. Apple means, “This software is ready for testing but not ready for production use.”

Update: Neven Mrgan, two years ago:

Proposal for a simple change to the App Store: those running pre-release versions of the iPhone OS and iTunes (which is now required to install the OS) should not be allowed to rate and review apps.

★ Monday, 13 June 2011