iCloud Cluster****, Or Why You Shouldn’t Run Betas On Important Devices

iCloud features in the iOS 13 betas have been removed because of buggy issues (And is probably a big driver behind iOS 13.1 betas). Developer Craig Hockenberry says this resulted in some unhappy customers.

Entire folders were either gone or corrupted. Apple’s mechanism to recover deleted files was of no help. The customers with weird folder duplicates were the “lucky” ones…Anyone who’s not a developer, and hasn’t been burned by a bad OS, does not know the kind of trouble that lies ahead. It’s irresponsible for Apple to release a public beta with known issues in iCloud…As an Apple shareholder, I also worry about how these failures will damage the iCloud brand.

This is exactly why you don’t run beta software on mission-critical devices. It’s not irresponsible of Apple, it’s irresponsible of people who ignore the warning on beta.apple.com to make backups. These people are why there are “Caution: Product May Be Hot” labels on microwaveable food.

Check It Out: iCloud Cluster****, Or Why You Shouldn’t Run Betas On Important Devices

7 thoughts on “iCloud Cluster****, Or Why You Shouldn’t Run Betas On Important Devices

  • *** These people are why there are “Caution: Product May Be Hot” labels on microwaveable food. ***

    No, it’s why peanut packages include ” Warning: Contains Peanuts” labels

  • Meanwhile over on Cult of Mac they’ve been saying iOS13 is essentially done, go ahead and put it on everything.
    https://www.cultofmac.com/649530/ios-13-beta-stable-enough/
    After the release of iOS 13.1 beta 2, iOS 13 is probably good enough for you to install and use. I’ve been running the new iPadOS on an old test iPad since the very first version, and it has been glitchy all the way. But as of the latest developer beta, almost all of the problems have been ironed out.
    Idiots.

    1. I’ve had minor iCloud issues, as well as bugs with the Mail app with the first several betas. Everything is fine now except for the fact that long, vertical photos in Files won’t display properly.

  • “This is exactly why you don’t run beta software on mission-critical devices.”
    Did you actually read the article? You should read it again.

    First, his whole point is that what was screwed up was iCloud—it’s not device-specific. So even if the betas *weren’t* installed on “mission-critical” devices, *it didn’t matter.* The data was screwed up anyway, because the non-mission critical device screwed up the iCloud data which propagated to every other device on the account.

    Second, as he also pointed out, Apple now *promotes the betas to the public*. The betas are no longer a developer-only product. If you’re going to promote something to the public (who are not indoctrinated in betas), you have to go out of your way to warn them. And, this time, they promoted a public beta knowing that iCloud was completely screwed up, and did it without warning the potential *public user* testers appropriately. (And “appropriately” doesn’t mean “only use on non-mission critical devices”, for reasons already stated.)

    Yes, it was absolutely irresponsible of Apple.

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