Apple now field-testing iOS 5 with App Store applications (update: AT&T, too)
App Store developer FutureTap just revealed that they have received their first crash report from an iOS 5 device. This means that Apple is currently field-testing their next-generation mobile operating system …
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had used field testing for a forthcoming iPhone before, as shown by its 2009 testing of the next-generation iPhone. The appearance of a FutureTap crash report extends that validation process into the App Store software layer, which matters as iOS adoption spans iPhone, iPod, and iPad.
First-order effects
- FutureTap and other App Store developers have evidence that their applications are being run against Apple’s next iOS release, exposing compatibility failures before public availability.
- Apple gains crash telemetry from real application use during its iOS 5 testing process.
Second-order effects
- App Store developers face pressure to test and update software against the forthcoming operating system rather than wait for its public release.
- Application stability becomes a shared release-readiness issue for Apple and its developer ecosystem, not solely an operating-system testing task.
Third-order effects
- If Apple continues to validate major iOS releases through live App Store crash reports, third-party developers become an operational part of platform quality control.
The trend: Mobile-platform releases are increasingly validated across the operating system and the application ecosystem together, using field telemetry to surface compatibility issues early.