Now YOU Can Try the Latest Apple Operating System Before It's Released

Jason O. Gilbert
·Technology Editor
Updated

Want to be the first on your block to try Apple’s latest and greatest?

Well, we can’t get you an iPhone 6. On Tuesday, however, Apple did announce something neat: a new initiative that will allow regular folks like you and me to try out the latest versions of OS X before they’re released to the general public. Usually, this privilege is granted only to Apple-sanctioned developers, who had to pay $99 per year for the honor. Now, however, Apple has opened the program wider, to less technically savvy computer owners, and made it free to boot.

Those who are curious will get to try out beta releases of OS X in the weeks and months leading up to an official release, helping Apple find bugs and improve its software. TechCrunch’s Darrell Etherington points out that we are a little over a month away from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where the company could unveil its latest version of OS X.

The OS X Beta Seed Program, also known as Appleseed, let in its first non-developers on Tuesday and was first spotted by MacRumors.

The program is free to join, though you do have to sign a nondisclosure agreement (shhhh), possess an Apple ID, and agree to submit feedback to Apple. You’re also potentially inconveniencing yourself, as early versions of operating systems can be buggy, slow, or nonfunctional at times. Updates are made available in the Mac App Store.

Microsoft, you might remember, ran a similar program for its Windows 8 operating system last year. And Google lets web surfers try out unstable, in-the-works versions of its web browser Chrome by clicking a box in the Settings menu.

The Appleseed program probably isn’t the right path for non-techies to take. But if you’re confident in yourself, and in Apple, you can find more information on Apple’s website here.

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