When a customer submits an app review from a beta iOS, that review should just be emailed directly to the developer, and not show up on any of the "official" review lists that other customers can see.<p>That way the developer is getting feedback about potential problems with the upcoming iOS, and can fix them, but it doesn't hurt their image for the 99.9% of customers running the non-beta iOS.
I suspect the reason this hasn't been corrected is because ideally only developers have beta iOS versions and are intelligent enough not to do this.<p>Unfortunately pretending only developers have beta releases at this point is ridiculous.
Why would Apple spend the energy to fix this? They'll be happy to see developers update their apps to work with iOS7 and the sooner the better.<p>/<i></i>edit<i></i> In no means am I saying that it is a good idea. I'm just saying that Apple's desires are not aligned with those of well-meaning developers here.
This is what happens when non-developers start using developmental OS's because they can't wait for the official release.<p>Most people using the iOS 7 beta seem to have nothing to do with development. It's why immediately after WWDC the internet was filled with complaints about various tiny aspects of it and why things like this happen.<p>I wouldn't be upset if Apple limited early access not only to people enrolled as developers but people with a published application.
As I stated before on a different article submitted today:
<a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6178515" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6178515</a><p>> I really wish the title of the article was more along the lines "Apple should prevent negative app reviews when using iOS beta".<p>> I felt a little mislead and thought that a developer had somehow figured out how to do the current title of the submission (news) vs. what it was really about (opinion, that I agree with, but not news).<p>Sad to see this happen twice today. Only happy about it in the sense that maybe it will get some traction if enough people complain. This title isn't as bad as the other one was (which eventually got changed, thankfully), but still - depending on how you read it you might misconstrue that this article teaches you how to stop this.<p>The worst part of it all is that I thought to myself "Title-bait like that couldn't possibly have happened again - maybe someone really did find out a solution!" and I fell for it. Fool me once, etc.<p>It would be better if it was prefixed with "Hey Apple, "
The real problem lays in the default trained behavior of the user - leave a review if _anything_.<p>Both app developers and Apple have wrongly been pushing users to voice opinions publicly in app reviews, leaving app developers exposed with no way to communicate with those users.<p>The solution is to start pushing users to communicate their suggestions and issues privately, in the app, where you can better manage conversations, keep users engaged, and build relationships that can turn upset users into long-term evangelists.
Is it just me, or do people who review apps on the iTunes App Store basically have no accountability? (With the resulting ethical failings that often accompany that.)
What people seem to forget is parts of iOS 7 are still under NDA, yet people race to post videos and full-length articles of how "the new beta has 10 more pixels on this icon!" That, plus the fact that there are websites that sell UUID registrations so non-develoeprs can use the betas are the reason this happens.<p>So, instead of blocking iOS betas from submitting reviews, how about everyone as a whole stops breaking the NDA?
Can someone comment on what is going to happen when iOS 7 is released? The upgrade from 5->6 didn't break any apps by default. It appears 7 resizes all the stock controls, and this breaks tons of apps by default. Will an existing iOS6 app work unchanged in iOS 7, or will it have to be fixed.
IMHO Apple should allow these reviews to go thru, and then simply hide/delete them on the server side. They're testing iOS as well, and I would bet that they're tracking crashes and bugs on the AppStore app and review process.
The root of this problem, I think, is that Apple requires the $100 membership fee (and thus provide a developer account) even for testing apps on one's own device. If Apple, instead required this fee (and gave developer accounts) only when somebody has submitted an app for publishing on the App store for the first time, then there would be a legitimate filter against people who like to download betas just for experimenting or are plain nincompoops pretending to be tech bloggers.<p>As an added benefit, by doing this, Apple would also invite a LOT more developers into its fold who would like to experiment with apps on their own device without committing to publishing any.