Beta testing is a critical part of the web browser release cycle which, for popular browsers, results in new major versions shipping at a monthly cadence. Browser stability and quality is dependent on a large and active beta testing audience. Due to the dynamic nature and enormous size of the web platform, new web APIs are frequently added and adopted by web sites, and new features and fixes are continuously developed. As a result, many problems are discovered and fixed in the beta phase which enables the vast majority of users to have a smoother experience.
On other platforms, separate Beta and Nightly builds can be distributed using the typical platform affordances. On iOS, beta versions of applications are not permitted on the App Store and instead are distributed through a separate TestFlight system. This has a few issues:
TestFlight has a 10,000 user limit, which is a tiny fraction of the beta population for web browsers with large user bases.
The limitation becomes a maintenance burden for browser developers: when reaching the limit, old users must be manually removed from the list.
The user experience for prerelease testers is more complicated than on other platforms: users must download the separate TestFlight application, sign up for an access code, wait to receive it, and then paste it into the application. Distributing with a public link is not feasible because of the user limit restriction.
This may be solved by allowing browsers to distribute prerelease builds in the App Store, or by making changes to Test Flight (removing the user limit entirely and allowing unlimited distribution from a public link without manual management). In any case, prerelease testing should not create more friction than exists for Safari: new versions of the Safari web browser are included in beta versions of the iOS operating system and do not face the same restrictions.
Beta testing is a critical part of the web browser release cycle which, for popular browsers, results in new major versions shipping at a monthly cadence. Browser stability and quality is dependent on a large and active beta testing audience. Due to the dynamic nature and enormous size of the web platform, new web APIs are frequently added and adopted by web sites, and new features and fixes are continuously developed. As a result, many problems are discovered and fixed in the beta phase which enables the vast majority of users to have a smoother experience.
On other platforms, separate Beta and Nightly builds can be distributed using the typical platform affordances. On iOS, beta versions of applications are not permitted on the App Store and instead are distributed through a separate TestFlight system. This has a few issues:
TestFlight has a 10,000 user limit, which is a tiny fraction of the beta population for web browsers with large user bases. The limitation becomes a maintenance burden for browser developers: when reaching the limit, old users must be manually removed from the list. The user experience for prerelease testers is more complicated than on other platforms: users must download the separate TestFlight application, sign up for an access code, wait to receive it, and then paste it into the application. Distributing with a public link is not feasible because of the user limit restriction.
This may be solved by allowing browsers to distribute prerelease builds in the App Store, or by making changes to Test Flight (removing the user limit entirely and allowing unlimited distribution from a public link without manual management). In any case, prerelease testing should not create more friction than exists for Safari: new versions of the Safari web browser are included in beta versions of the iOS operating system and do not face the same restrictions.