Companies have figured out that quite a few people out there are more than willing to try pre-release software. This is definitely not something specific to smartphones, either, as we see beta versions of desktop operating systems and even video games that aren't officially complete seeing the light of day. Beta programs for smartphones seem to be pretty popular, though.
Which is good news for the companies releasing the pre-release software. The whole point is to get feedback out in a broad way, which, ultimately, will hopefully mean that issues that might not have been caught in smaller tests will be discovered. Of course, it doesn't mean that everything will be caught, but at least the biggest issues can get reported.
It's not for everyone, though.
Apple, Samsung, Google, and other companies would love if more people would sign up to test the unfinished software, but the drawbacks are pretty obvious. When you're using your daily driver, you don't necessarily want to see the software fail on you, or use apps that don't work. With each beta release, no matter the software or version, you always see the same warnings: May not be stable and so on and so forth.
The warning is apt, because sometimes beta software can be remarkably buggy. Putting it on the device you use every day is a brave decision. But I can definitely understand where that desire comes from. After all, with the major software updates there is usually something built in to make it worthwhile. And in other cases, maybe a new feature that is really exciting.
There's also the possibility that the upcoming software update is actually going to fix an existing issue that might be driving you crazy. Some people might think it's worth putting unfinished software on their phone just to fix a persistent issue.
I used to be a big fan of trying out beta software. There was something pretty exciting about trying those new features while they were still getting rolled out. However, eventually the buggy software just outpaced my desire to try things a few months ahead of a public launch.
Patience eventually won out.
I'm curious, though. Are you someone who likes to try out beta versions of software? Or were you someone who used to give it a shot, but ultimately decided waiting for the public and, hopefully stable, release was the best option? Let me know!
Do you try out beta software? originally posted at http://phonedog.com
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