[plot_almighty]

Probably a tired topic, but with so many iOS enthusiasts, why has Apple opted to make the Dev preview a paid service? I'm relatively new to iOS having used a Windows Phone since 2011, and I'm currently using WP 8.1 on my Nokia Lumia 920 as my daily driver. (Huge Windows fan with an appreciation for the design in iOS 7)

I picked up a 4S to try out iOS 8 only to discover its $99 to download, and was a bit saddened by that. Any chance the preview can be obtained without costing an arm and a leg?

Sent from my iPhone using iMore Forums

[John Yester]

Nope It's a developer build... Which means it only is mainly for Developers to start coding with iOS 8 feature set.

Plus stability issues, most developers don't use devices with iOS 8 as daily drivers. it's just used to load the OS on the device to test apps.



No way of getting it any where else. You have to have your UDID registered with Apples servers.

[matthewjagiela]

Apple doesn't want the average user installing unstable software and then complaining when things don't work properly. It's not meant for daily devices yet (even though I use it on my daily phone). It will be available to everyone *soon* =)

[Just_Me_D]

I agree with both John and Matthew. Furthermore, the number of iOS enthusiasts, at least in my opinion, pale in comparison to the number of overall iOS users. The smartphone is way more personal than a computer and it needs to be functional at all times.

[BreakingKayfabe]

Probably a tired topic, but with so many iOS enthusiasts, why has Apple opted to make the Dev preview a paid service? I'm relatively new to iOS having used a Windows Phone since 2011, and I'm currently using WP 8.1 on my Nokia Lumia 920 as my daily driver. (Huge Windows fan with an appreciation for the design in iOS 7)

I picked up a 4S to try out iOS 8 only to discover its $99 to download, and was a bit saddened by that. Any chance the preview can be obtained without costing an arm and a leg?

Sent from my iPhone using iMore Forums

Ninety-nine bucks is a bargain if you're actually someone looking to make apps for iOS to make some money. If you're just wanting to load it just for the sake of saying "I have iOS 8" to your friends, then, yeah, it's kinda gonna seem like a lot of money to spend.

[bsbharath1987]

Hey, is it illegal going to these websites (like imzdl) that register your UDID so that you can install the betas? I'm not sure how that works, but they do it for a fraction of what the full developer licence costs.