Apple releases second beta of iPhone 3.0 Software to developers

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple on Tuesday afternoon provided its vast developer community with a second beta release of iPhone Software 3.0, which arrived alongside a promise by the company to gradually open its live Push Notification service and In-App Purchasing to beta testers in the near term.



The Cupertino-based iPhone maker reportedly told developers downloading the build, labeled iPhone OS beta 2 build 7A259, that they could begin developing applications that will rely on the company's new Push Notification service immediately.



Similarly, developers were also provided with more detailed information on how to build in-app purchasing functionality into their existing or future applications. Much of this technical information will reportedly appear in a App Store Kit reference guide.



Apple said it plans to open its live testing services that support these new services during the ongoing iPhone 3.0 beta test program, but warned that access would be limited to a chosen few developers at first, and gradually expanding to more developers as time progresses.



In an article published last Wednesday, AppleInsider reported that Apple engineers were "racing to deliver a new build of iPhone Software 3.0 to iPhone and iPod touch developers" that would support "live support for Push Notifications through Apple's servers."



Meanwhile, developers familiar with the new beta say Apple appears to have knocked out quite a few bugs that were reported by testers of the original beta released on March 17th. (A comprehensive walk-through of changes in this build is available here.)



Another series of changes were reportedly documented alongside the release of a new version of the iPhone SDK also released Tuesday. Some specific components that received attention were GameKit, Bluetooth, MapKit, Fonts, the messaging user interface, and text fields.



Apple has also reportedly confirmed that MMS messaging and device tethering won't be supported at all during the iPhone 3.0 beta test.



Changes in Beta 2



There's reportedly a new menu item in the system preferences labeled "Store" that contains no data.



The build runs much faster than beta 1 and includes substantial stability improvements.



No other changes are being reported at this time.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    Any idea what else has changed?
  • Reply 2 of 23
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GoodOmens View Post


    Any idea what else has changed?



    I do hope the things get less laggy for the final 3.0 versus 2.2...
  • Reply 3 of 23
    holgrholgr Posts: 1member
    Anyone with an unlocked first gen iPhone tried it yet? Did they upgrade the baseband this time? I have the file but am kinda afraid of installing :-)
  • Reply 4 of 23
    Must AI always refer to Apple's developer community as "vast." How about "ginormous" or "endless horde" or "biblical-sized" for some variety. Or better yet just drop the unnecessary adjectives altogether.
  • Reply 5 of 23
    dagamer34dagamer34 Posts: 494member
    The first build was crash-happy. The 2nd build is likely to be similar. As such, I'd suggest NOT installing the firmware on ANY primary user's iPhone. It always takes a couple of builds before features are fully baked (plus a ton of apps break as well).
  • Reply 6 of 23
    imantaimanta Posts: 29member
    I have to disagree somewhat with the whole "crashy-happy" comment. I have the first build installed on a number of phones and while it does have speed/lag problems and app memory management issues, the general OS has been pretty stable through testing (at least for me).



    However, it is clear that all us devs need to do some rework on existing apps for 3.0... You can immediately see which devs cut corners or hurried development to get apps out.
  • Reply 7 of 23
    Just installed it without any problems as an update over my iPhone OS 3.0 Beta on an iPhone 3G. MMS and Tethering still works on German T-Mobile network with a modified carrier bundle as well as Skype calls over EDGE and 3G. There is indeed a new menu item under Settings called "Store" that contains no data.
  • Reply 8 of 23
    tawilsontawilson Posts: 484member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Richardgm View Post


    I do hope the things get less laggy for the final 3.0 versus 2.2...



    They don't call it beta for nothing. Jesus!!!
  • Reply 9 of 23
    tawilsontawilson Posts: 484member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    The first build was crash-happy.



    Probably why Apple referred to it as an "Alpha/Beta".
  • Reply 10 of 23
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    The first build was crash-happy. The 2nd build is likely to be similar. As such, I'd suggest NOT installing the firmware on ANY primary user's iPhone. It always takes a couple of builds before features are fully baked (plus a ton of apps break as well).



    What part of "Beta" eludes you?
  • Reply 11 of 23
    rbonnerrbonner Posts: 635member
    This build is quite a bit faster than the first version, lags are mostly gone.
  • Reply 12 of 23
    tawilsontawilson Posts: 484member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post


    What part of "Beta" eludes you?



    Probably the bit where he's not supposed to have it.
  • Reply 13 of 23
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    I'm sure most everyone understands this is not intended to be used on your primary phone. Which why Apple has not released it for the general public. Its purpose is for developers to help Apple finds bugs and it gives developers the opportunity to build the new services into their apps.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dagamer34 View Post


    The first build was crash-happy. The 2nd build is likely to be similar. As such, I'd suggest NOT installing the firmware on ANY primary user's iPhone. It always takes a couple of builds before features are fully baked (plus a ton of apps break as well).



  • Reply 14 of 23
    akf2000akf2000 Posts: 223member
    Just installed it as an update (not restore) over Beta 1 with no problems. Much less laggy, the iPod app and SMS respond in 2.2.1 times. Apple have fixed the bugs I logged which is great to see.



    Just as an aside, Ambiance is still the only one of the 30ish 3rd party apps I have which doesn't initiate in 3.0
  • Reply 15 of 23
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by holgr View Post


    Anyone with an unlocked first gen iPhone tried it yet? Did they upgrade the baseband this time? I have the file but am kinda afraid of installing :-)



    Just wait until Pwnage writes a blog telling you what you can install it on.
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gobble gobble View Post


    Must AI always refer to Apple's developer community as "vast." How about "ginormous" or "endless horde" or "biblical-sized" for some variety. Or better yet just drop the unnecessary adjectives altogether.



    If Ai was trying to be bombastic they could have chosen a word like Brobdingnagian, but they chose the the simple and common vast to convey their point.
  • Reply 16 of 23
    eaieai Posts: 417member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gobble gobble View Post


    Must AI always refer to Apple's developer community as "vast." How about "ginormous" or "endless horde" or "biblical-sized" for some variety. Or better yet just drop the unnecessary adjectives altogether.



    But I come to AppleInsider to be buried in excessive quantities of pretentious, superlative adjectives!



    You have to admit that it's an achievement to be able to write a page long article that boils down to about 3 facts.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    akf2000akf2000 Posts: 223member
    Was

    settings > phone > My Number

    in Beta 1?
  • Reply 18 of 23
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by akf2000 View Post


    Just installed it as an update (not restore) over Beta 1 with no problems.



    Dammit! I didn't think to do that and I initiated my Restore literally 10 seconds before I read your post.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    akf2000akf2000 Posts: 223member
    ow! it's always preferable to do a restore but I didn't fancy watching the iTunes sync show tonight.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    dagamer34dagamer34 Posts: 494member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tawilson View Post


    Probably why Apple referred to it as an "Alpha/Beta".



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post


    What part of "Beta" eludes you?



    Umm, duh? I AM a developer, thank you very much. I'm simply reiterating for the kiddos who think it's a cool idea to have the latest firmware on their phones. It's not.
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