The iOS and iPadOS beta versions are mainly divided into the Developer Beta and Public versions. The Developer Beta is theoretically only available for developers, such as the new iOS version released after the WWDC conference in June each year, which is only allowed for developers to use.
However, in reality, anyone can get the Developer Beta by installing the Developer Beta Profile. This is different from Apple’s plan.
Therefore, in the iOS/iPadOS 16.4 Beta version, Apple has introduced a new option. If the user has participated in the Apple Beta Software Program, after installing the profile, there will be an option called “Beta Updates” in the system. In “Beta Updates,” users can directly switch between the Developer Preview version and the Public Beta version.
The advantage of this is that users do not need to switch channels by deleting or modifying the profile. The bad news is that the Developer Preview version requires an account with developer privileges to log in.
This means that in the future, ordinary users will not be able to use the Developer Preview version, only developers who have paid to join the Developer Membership can perform early testing. It is already mid-February, and the iOS 17 DP version will be released in June. Apple’s operation is probably to prepare in advance and prevent too many ordinary users from using the Developer Preview version when testing iOS 17.