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iOS 5 beta 2 warning: history from iOS 4.2 days shows it’s a bad idea

iOS 5 beta 2 warning: history from iOS 4.2 days shows it’s a bad idea

For those looking to get their hands on the beta 2 version of Apple’s iOS 5 operating system for iPhone and iPod touch, we can sum up our advice on the matter in one word: don’t. There’s no massive revelation about a defect in the beta, no discovered defect, no specific dire consequences.

But the mere fact that it’s a “beta” means that it’s officially unfinished. The entire point of the iOS 5 beta testing program is to allow iOS app developers to be the sacrificial lambs who slog through the incomplete version of iOS 5 so they can discover and report on everything that’s still wrong. And while others may want to get their hands on it because they just “can’t wait” until the fall for iOS 5 to officially arrive, be warned that it’s not the real thing. It’s dangerous, and even if it weren’t unfinished, it still wouldn’t be the real thing. The iOS 4.2 / iOS 4.2.1 saga of 2010 proved that.

Last year Apple released iOS 4.2 beta for developers, which they dutifully tested even as other “enthusiasts” illicitly acquired the beta for sporting purposes. Those folks found out the hard way that the call it beta for a reason, as installing it on their iPhone made it less than reliable – something you don’t want to do to your cellphone. Then the iOS 4.2 “golden master” came along, which was the official, “finished” version of iOS 4.2 which was released to developers just before it was to be released publicly. Except, oops, the golden master turned out to have bugs in it which were nasty enough that Apple scrapped the entire iOS 4.2 release and instead later released iOS 4.2.1 instead.

In other words, even when you think you’re getting the finished version, if you’re acquiring it through unofficial channels, you may not be getting the real thing. And if you’re downloading something that has “beta” in its name, such as iOS 5 beta 2, you’re just asking for trouble. If you just can’t help yourself, at least be sure to install it on a device you have no need for reliability from, such as an iPod touch or an old iPhone you no longer use as your phone. After all, that’s what real developers do – they know enough not to install a beta on their real iPhone.

Take a page from them. Or better yet, just wait until the real iOS 5 is released in the fall; it’ll have everything (and more) that the current beta has now, and as a bonus, it’ll actually be safe, finished, and reliable.

[Thanks: http://www.beatweek.com/]

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