It happens every year like clockwork: On a warm Monday in June, Apple executives kick off the Worldwide Developers Conference by announcing a slew of new features coming to their products in the fall. And as soon as the keynote is over, countless fans rush to download in-progress versions of the updates to try them out for themselves. Welcome to beta season.

I’ve long been among the rabid nerds who just can’t wait to get my hands on all the latest features. I still remember the days when I had to pay a fee through some sketchy website and submit my IMEI number in order to download an early version of iOS 6. Beta testing has been part of my summer routine for over a decade.

Then last year, something unimaginable happened. I watched the keynote, heard about the new features coming to my favorite devices, and… didn’t download the betas. It’s not that I wasn’t thrilled about the updates. In fact, last year’s additions to iPadOS were the most exciting in years. But I made the decision to stay on the stable, public operating systems rather than spend my summer testing out the new and shiny.

It honestly surprised me that I made it through the whole summer without caving. There were points where I was tempted, for sure. But I survived. Ultimately, I made it to the fall and got to experience the finished updates alongside the general public. After hearing my friends talk about the betas for months, finally getting access to the new features myself felt like Christmas morning.

That experience, along with spending a significant amount of time using TestFlight versions of Mastodon apps early this year during that whole boom, led me to become beta-averse. I’m currently running only public release versions of all the software on my devices, both operating systems and apps. No OS betas. No TestFlight betas. No TestFlight app, even. I’m on the normie train, I guess.

But still, I’m tempted. It feels like everyone I follow on social media is living in the future thanks to beta software, and I’m stuck in the past. That leaves me conflicted.

As I’m going round and round trying to decide whether or not the betas are for me, I figured I might as well write down my thought process and share it. When it comes to the question of whether or not to test beta software, there are several pros and cons on both sides in my mind.

The Pros of Beta Testing

Fun. Getting to experience the latest and greatest before anyone else is undeniably an enjoyable experience. I know I’m a nerd, but few things beat the thrill of installing a beta one version of iOS for me.
Being part of the conversation. There’s so much to talk about in these updates, and the chatter goes on all summer long as people form opinions, discover tiny details, and share their experiences. Beta talk dominates my social feeds from June to September.
Feeling included. While anyone can test out Apple’s beta software with a simple checkbox, a small minority of users actually do. Being part of that group offers a different experience from what most people have with their devices. It’s not an exclusive club, but it is one that feels cool to be in.
Impacting future updates. Apple is very welcoming of feedback from testers, to the point of including the Feedback app in every beta version of their operating systems. It’s nice to send in bug reports or feature requests and know that you’re helping make the software better in a small way.

The Cons of Beta Testing

Bugs. Betas are by definition incomplete software, and sometimes—especially in the earliest versions—there can be some glitches that make day-to-day use difficult.
Battery life. There are few things worse than being stuck with a dead phone when you need to communicate with someone. Beta software typically isn’t focused on optimizing battery life, so it typically suffers until the public release.
Inaccessible apps. Some apps, like banking apps and games, check your device’s operating system every time you open them and lock out unrecognized versions to prevent fraud and cheating. I’ve never personally lost access to my banking app due to a beta, but I know several people who have, and I’ve definitely spent a whole summer annoyed that I was unable to play Pokémon Go.
An incomplete experience. Many of the new features that are being tested are social features, which means they require other people to be on the betas as well. Some of the updates I’m looking forward to most like shared password groups and Find My item sharing aren’t useful to me now because the people I want to share with aren’t beta testers. By the time the features are released to everyone, I might have already forgotten about them and moved on. (It’s happened before. 😬)

The Pros of Not Beta Testing

Stability. No betas means no beta bugs. That’s not to say that every update Apple releases is perfect, but your chances are a lot better with a public release than with a beta one.
Anticipation. Rather than Apple’s big updates being old news by mid-July, I get to spend the summer looking forward to their release in September. Waiting to experience the new features myself is part of the fun.
Being on track with the general public. It feels like everyone I interact with online is a beta tester, but the truth is that the majority of the people I know won’t get the latest updates until they’re publicly available. It’s enjoyable getting the chance to see the updates through their eyes.
Experiencing Apple’s software as intended. As cool as the new features are, they’re often unfinished during the beta cycle. A big part of the reason I didn’t try the betas last year was because I wanted my first run with Stage Manager to be in its completed form. Trying to use incomplete features over the summer can be frustrating and turn people off to them before they’re even fully baked.

The Cons of Not Beta Testing

FOMO. This is the worst part of not being on the beta train. It feels like my friends are having a fun and totally separate experience without me.
Less of an opportunity to offer feedback. Apple listens to feedback year-round, but the beta cycle is a critical time and the best chance to have your input heard.
Not seeing features as they develop. There’s something intriguing about seeing a new feature start from bare bones and grow into its fullest form. Without beta testing, you’re only seeing that through the eyes of others, not your own.
A less fun summer. By not jumping on the betas, you’re trading exhilaration for stability. Three months of reading other people’s opinions on the updates just isn’t as enjoyable as forming and sharing them yourself.

That’s a lot to consider, and maybe I’m the only one who cares so much about this stuff. But it’s a process I go through every year, and the conclusion I come to isn’t always the same.

Will I stay strong this year and resist the beta temptation? Or will I give in and have fun with my fellow Apple nerds? Only time will tell, but at least I’ve got this handy list to refer back to as I spend my summer sitting uncomfortably on the fence.

Are you testing Apple’s beta software this summer? What are the factors you consider when deciding whether or not to press the install button? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, on Mastodon, or on Threads. Thanks for reading!