Apple entrusted a beta version of its upcoming desktop operating system dubbed OS X Yosemite to a million users, as a leaked information suggested. Tech analyst Bob O’Donnell agrees with the company’s decision of rolling out a beta version to testers, noting that by doing so, Apple will be able to solve every problem before the OS is officially released. The testing results will have to be kept as a big secret, though it’s doubtful all the users will keep quiet until the testing is over, so it’s possible we’ll get some more info about how the OS works before it’s out.
The company announced Yosemite in June at the World Wide Developers Conference and it has been working with developers ever since. This version of the OS is a beta, as we’ve previously mentioned, and it can be downloaded by no less than a million willing members of the society. As weird as this may sound, know that this is now the first time Apple released a beta version of an operating system, the company did something similar in 2000, when it introduced the OS X to the public for the first time. This time, Apple invites members of the public to test their beta Yosemite, but downloading the version will only be possible with the company’s approval. Testers must promise Apple secrecy regarding information about Yosemite. So talking about their experience with the OS and posting its interface to the internet are out of the question.
Secrecy was always one of Apple’s obsessions, so why entrust its upcoming OS X to the public? Even if the company gave betas to the public before, it has never reached up to one million testers, so this may be one of the biggest risks Apple took. “Apple wants feedback and actual testing for bugs from the broader Mac community. Those who signed up for this are more likely to be heavy Mac users , and they could deliver valuable info to Apple before the final version is released,” said president of Creative Strategies, Tim Bajarin.
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As surprising as this is, coming from Apple, releasing betas to the public is quite common in the the software industry, Microsoft doing something similar for the past 15 to 20 years. Apart from the feedback, the public betas may also reflect Mac’s complexity. “There’s a much more diverse set of applications and peripherals now available, and there’s no way for Apple to test every possible variations. This gives them the chance to get a wider set of applications and accessories checked and see if they work or not, and solve some problems before the product is released,” Bob O’Donnell noted.