Apple has quietly updated its developer program with a free tier that includes access to developer betas, so any user who’d like to try them on non mission-critical hardware no longer have to pay $99 per year for early developer access.

Wesley Hilliard for AppleInsider:

Anyone interested in testing beta releases of Apple Software had two options — wait for public betas in July or pay $99 per year for early developer access. That changed with iOS 17 and the other 2023 releases, though Apple hasn’t made any official announcement.

Most people would be perfectly fine with waiting for public beta access, especially since those versions tend to be more stable than initial developer betas. However, a niche crowd has happily paid the $99 for early access, this writer included.

Now, Apple has created a free tier for the Developer Program. It includes access to Xcode tools, Xcode betas, on-device testing, Developer Forums, bug reporting via Feedback Assistant, and developer OS beta releases.

The paid tier, still $99 per year, includes everything else, including Apple support with code building and app distribution on the App Store.

MacDailyNews Take: We recommend waiting for the public betas if you want to beta test at all, as they tend to be more stable.

Please help support MacDailyNews. Click or tap here to support our independent tech blog. Thank you!

Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.

The post Apple developer betas are now free appeared first on MacDailyNews.