Apple's developer betas have historically been limited to developers who have a paid account that costs $99 per year, but with the launch of the most recent betas, that's changing.
Anyone can now enroll in the free version of the Apple Developer program and get access to beta releases. All that's required to download betas is an Apple ID.
"OS beta releases" is now listed as an available resource even for those who are not members of the Apple Developer Program.
Apple has officially made the developer betas available for free. You only need to sign in with any Apple ID here https://t.co/YEQr1kg3Do Image source: https://t.co/ZPEBwECpxO pic.twitter.com/leJsobfJEt — iSoftware Updates (@iSWUpdates) June 6, 2023
This change means that anyone with an Apple ID can download and install the iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma betas without waiting for the public betas to launch.
Of course, it is not a good idea to install these betas on a main device as there can be notable bugs and issues with early software. More information can be found on Apple's membership page.
Apple's decision to make betas free follows a beta installation change introduced in iOS 16. Apple began requiring an Apple ID linked with a developer membership to prevent people from using profiles and other means of getting the beta without being a registered developer. Apple will now be able to keep track of everyone who is installing the developer betas with the Apple ID link.
