Starting with iOS 16.4, released this week, the iPhone has a new "Beta Updates" menu in the Settings app under General → Software Update. This menu allows members of Apple's paid Developer Program to enable iOS developer betas directly on an iPhone, without needing to install a configuration profile from the Apple Developer website.
Developer betas only appear in the menu if the iPhone is signed into an Apple ID enrolled in Apple's Developer Program. In future iOS releases, Apple says this menu will be the only way to enable developer betas, as profiles will stop working.
This change will prevent iPhone users who aren't enrolled in Apple's Developer Program for $99 per year from installing the iOS 17 developer beta for free when it is released at WWDC in June. Until now, anyone could easily install iOS developer betas for free by downloading the profiles from websites such as BetaProfiles.dev.
Apple already cracked down on websites sharing developer beta profiles last year. BetaProfiles.com shut down in August to avoid a "legal battle with Apple," while Apple lawyers provided Twitter with takedown notices for over a dozen tweets containing links to IPSW.dev. BetaProfiles.dev remains live and appears to be a carbon copy of BetaProfiles.com, but it's unclear if the website has the same ownership.
iPhone users who don't want to pay $99 per year for Apple's Developer Program will have to wait for the public beta of iOS 17, which will likely be released in July. Users can enroll in Apple's public Beta Software Program for free.
Users may still be able to install the iOS 17 developer beta for free using an IPSW file, but it remains to be seen if this will be an option. Many years ago, Apple only allowed beta IPSW files to be installed on devices registered to an Apple developer account, and Apple could choose to reintroduce this former policy. At a minimum, the elimination of configuration profiles will make the task more tedious in the future.
Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development.
Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag.
Timing
Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false.
The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence.
Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476
The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick.
"We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote.
If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by Juli Clover
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices.
With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...
