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Poll: Is iOS 9.3 a big enough upgrade to persuade you to try the beta?

ios-9-3

Personally, I’m a coward where betas are concerned. Trying one on a secondary device is fine, but I tend to steer clear of them on my daily drivers.

But the iOS 9.3 beta, released yesterday, was a big one! There was Night Shift, that gradually warms the colors on the display to match our natural circadian rhythms, making it easier to fall asleep after staring at the screen until late. Notes secured by Touch ID. Better access to health data. Improved Apple Music integration within CarPlay. Improved personalization for News. And additional 3D Touch functionality for the stock apps.

Not only that, but our usage so far suggests that it’s an extremely stable beta, with no issues at all noted yet …

If you haven’t already done so, check out the full details and gallery, then let us know whether iOS 9.3 might be the release that finally tempts you to venture out there into beta-land.

While you once had to have a developer account to gain access to iOS betas, Apple introduced a public beta program last year that allows anyone to sign up. You can register for it here.

Developers still get a head-start, sometimes by a day or less, but for bigger releases they get access 1-2 weeks before the rest of the world, so you may need to wait a little while before iOS 9.3 hits the public program. Signing up as a developer costs $99/year, so we’re also asking whether that might be a route you’d consider for bigger releases.

Let us know in the poll, and share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

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Comments

  1. rogifan - 8 years ago

    Has a public beta been released?

  2. ag80911 - 8 years ago

    Interesting – I thought you were going to say – “would you lose your jailbreak for this ‘upgrade” – in my case – the answer is NOT

    • Alex Moran - 8 years ago

      You thought wrong. That wasn’t the question. Sorry you weren’t included. I see you forced yourself into the equation tho

  3. teen idle (@fariflux) - 8 years ago

    I tried the 9.1 beta on my iPad and it was a horrible experience. I don’t ever want to try iOS betas again. ):

    • twelve01 - 8 years ago

      Probably somewhat dependent on how far your device is front the latest build. In my experience, the public betas are fine – only a few minor bugs here and there.

  4. im only beta tester on my ipad, not taking risk on my main phone

    • yuniverse7 - 8 years ago

      same here. I find it the betas so far(not 9.3), haven’t caused much, if at all, problems for me. I’m waiting for it to appear on my ipad

  5. Robert Stukenbroeker - 8 years ago

    Did you change the header for the sites RSS feed to the title of this post?

  6. Doug Aalseth - 8 years ago

    Years ago I grabbed Beta software to play with. Now not so much. I use my devices for particular jobs and I need to have them reliable and solid. Not only do I now not go for Beta software especially OS software, I’ve started waiting the extra week until Apple rolls out the .01 patch

  7. tonywmd23 - 8 years ago

    9.2 was a big enough beta for me to try, let alone 9.3. But frankly, with bigger beta comes bigger risks of the beta being unstable and buggy.

  8. 89p13 - 8 years ago

    Go big or go Home – Apple now provides a “Configuration Profile” that allows OTA to the device for this Beta. That’s a nice addition when my Mac is at home but I can download and install OTA while in the office.

    Depending on the iPhone 6sPlus trial today I may upgrade the iPad Pro but leave my iPad Air 2 at 9.2 release. iOS 9.3 Beta 1 for the iPhone is 1.7 GB so it’ll be awhile until it downloads and installs.

    I’ll post up if there are any burps.

    • 89p13 - 8 years ago

      Our office WiFi is a dog so it took about 58 minutes to download and (2) automatic reboot cycles, but it did install without any burps and doesn’t appear to have “broken” anything that I have tried so far.

      I really like the ability to password protect selected Notes. I’m not too sure about the “blue Light Reduction” as it’s about 12:30 where I am.

      I haven’t had any third-party software problems yet and the base O/S doesn’t seem to have slowed down. I am running an iPhone 6s Plus w/128 M of RAM so YMMV. :)

  9. I was under the impression that you could now sign up for a developer account for free and only had to pay the $99/Year if you want to submit apps to the App Store. Not looked into it personally yet just read about it in relation to side loading apps on the ATV4.

  10. Greg Kaplan (@kaplag) - 8 years ago

    Definitely not caring to install dev beta’s anymore. Not on my 4s where every ounce of performance matters. 9.2.1 feels pretty decent again so I’m not looking to jump into something with new features that might drop things back while they work out the kinks. I’ll consider the Public beta when it’s available though. I’ll probably check it out on ipad 2 and see how it runs before making the switch.

  11. Lawrence Krupp - 8 years ago

    I’m not a beta kind of user and I have no issue with people installing beta software. I DO have an issue with those same people bitching about beta software, badmouthing Apple and asking for instructions on how to back out of the beta. If you don’t know what you are doing then you have no business installing beta software. It’s not something to try and brag about.

  12. ttss6 - 8 years ago

    I used to always download the public betas, but after a while the new features lost their “fun” and charm and it became a pain in the butt dealing with secondary devices that I could rely on.

    My favorite thing about public beta is the feed back app so I can feel like I contributed to making the next iOS and OS X releases less buggy and better with my suggestions.

  13. gkbrown - 8 years ago

    If I had an extra device, I’d definitely install betas on it. But since I only have one, I generally stick with final release software.

  14. cdromdrive (@cdromdrive) - 8 years ago

    This beta update breaks Apple pencil support for scrolling and pointing on the interface. So mind out iPad Pro users

  15. kevicosuave - 8 years ago

    I’m a developer and I only beta when I need to check compatibility or look for how new features will impact projects, so I can be ready upon release. Even then, it’s on spare equipment. I would never beta just to get new features a little early, and recommend that nobody else does either.

  16. aromedia - 8 years ago

    I’m still in pain with with 9.2. So many bugs…

  17. crichton007 - 8 years ago

    I put iOS 9 public beta on my iPad near the end of the review process but by and large I’m not interested in testing; I use Apple to (generally) get more stable software.

  18. Jake Becker - 8 years ago

    Can anyone try the Phone app and see if it keeps switching back to iPhone when you’re trying to use speaker or Bluetooth? My number 1 bug with 9.2. It’ll sit on one of those for a few minutes and then suddenly go back to the internal speaker.

  19. pdixon1986 - 8 years ago

    I did venture out into the public beta world for the 9.1 … but i reverted back on the official release… i was too worried about issues occurring – if i remember rightly i did have the odd issue due to it being a beta release and decided that i could wait instead for future full releases.

  20. svluisfelipe - 8 years ago

    I’m a developer but I don’t always install betas

  21. numtsi - 8 years ago

    I’m no developer, I will never try betas, and as a user I can’t see any reasonable reason why I ever should do it…

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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