Want iOS 6? No problem. Buy it from a scofflaw developer

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Wired:

If you’re a diehard Apple fan who desperately wants to run a buggy alpha version of iOS 6 right now, your only legal option is to shell out the $99 to join the iOS Developer Program. Affordable for a developer, the barrier to entry is high enough to keep out casual fans from accidentally bricking their phones and cluttering up the Genius Bar. But over the last couple years, a cottage industry’s popped up around illicit UDID activations — startups exploiting Apple’s Developer Program to sell access to pre-release iOS software, usually for less than $10 per device. The craziest thing? Apple doesn’t seem to care.


  • http://twitter.com/hypothesard Hypothesard

    The craziest thing? Apple doesn’t seem to care.

    So, People who bought an iPhone (with or without carrier subsidy), Install a software (iOS6 Beta) on their device without the proper rights to do so (having paid 99/y for a Apple Developer account).

    Thus voiding the warranty Apple owes to The customer who’d have done the same thing (Installing iOS6 on their iPhone) but with the proper rights (Having Paid for a Developer account)

    // It’s not right, It’s bad, But its tolerable even if It’s not even acknowledged //

    For Apple Its a win-win situation (if they can tag those unpaid Beta-Tester, and filter them out, or at least list them separately) — If something goes wrong and the Device needs to be serviced , It would be out of Warranty. — If the Device keeps working : The non-paid-dev may (or not) give useful feedback

    I don’t think Apple’s revenue (99/y/dev) is of any significant amount for Apple to run after the outlaws (99/y is paid to principally pay for the App Hosting and the App submission infrastructure, which those non-paid-devs do not use at all)

  • lucascott

    I wouldn’t say that Apple doesn’t care, just there there’s no way to actually stop it. THe best they they can do is make a rule (which they have) that you install at your own risk and there is zero service if something goes wrong.

    If they can actually prove that an account is doing this kind of selling they will likely shut it down but proving it is not an easy thing outside of perhaps someone that has been in the program for a couple of years and had zero submissions but even that’s not proof positive