DETROIT – I’ll admit it. I get excited about everything Apple. I love the iPhone, iPad and recently purchased the Apple watch.
But there is one bad apple that’s ruining the bunch for me…the day I decided to become a member of the “Apple Beta Software Program.”
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I’m not a computer programmer or tech-genius. I’m the average smartphone user. I like to play a few (really dumb) games, mess around on social media and take hundreds of pictures of my children and food. Sound familiar?
I’m probably describing most people who are 30-plus. Life is so exciting, right?
One thing that REALLY excited me was a link I saw for the opportunity to become a member of the “Apple Beta Software Program.” I mean, just check out the description on Apple’s site: “Help make the next release of iOS, macOS, and tvOS our best yet. As a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, you can take part in shaping Apple software by test-driving pre-release versions and letting us know what you think.” Test-drive?! Pre-release?! It’s basically like the CIA for Apple users, right? WRONG.
I focused my beta testing on my iPhone 6 plus, and I almost instantly regretted it. Sure, there were a few fancy features. The screen grab function gives you an icon-like preview, the slide up menu has new options, icon image updates…blah blah – who cares. None of this matters to me because the first beta version made my phone run insanely slow. Not to mention, the apps I used the most crashed constantly (life is hard without Facebook and BitMoji). And, for some reason, apps took forever to update.
I’m now on version 5 of the “public beta” and things are starting to improve. The apps aren’t crashing as much, the phone is moving a little faster and the app updates are working again. I get it. The beta program is to weed out the weaknesses in the updates. But, I really didn’t think it would make my phone so painful to use.
The full public release of iOS 11 is expected in a month or so. But, if you’re a glutton for punishment, you can join me in the beta torture program by clicking here (https://beta.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/).
Here’s Apple’s colorful preview of the new iOS (https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-11-preview/).
When I get the alert to download the beta version of iOS 12, I will probably click “download” because I can’t help myself. I’ll then complain to my wife about how much I hate it.
If you do decide to do it, backup your phone to your computer first so you can undo it if you don’t like it (something I forgot to do).
You’ve been warned.
