Apple Silently Updates Their Developer Portal And Program

While there were some major updates that were announced regarding OS X and iOS, there are a few things that have already been made available that weren’t announced during the WWDC keynote. Specifically, Apple has done a few updates to their developer site.

First, the Developer portal itself has been updated with a newer look. The page to get to various downloads has also been updated. The pages seem more in line with the public iOS pages, showing features and what developers can do. It seems much more informative than the previous versions of these pages.

Secondly, Apple has changed how people can get into development. Specifically, up until now, developers have needed a paid account to test applications on an iOS device. Moving forward, with Xcode 7, Apple is now allowing developers to test apps on devices without a paid membership.

This means that getting into app development is really simple. Download Xcode and get started on your application right away. It’s that easy. Once you’re ready to put the app on the App Store, then you pay for a membership.

Also, Apple has simplified their development programs. For years, Apple has had two separate offerings: a paid iOS and paid OS X developer program. If you wanted to develop for both, you needed two separate programs for $99 each.

Now, there is just one offering. This is great not only for developers that already develop on both platforms but also for those that wanted to try developing for one platform while already working on the other. Got a great idea for OS X but only have an iOS account? Now, it doesn’t matter.

No doubt, as WWDC continues through the week, we’ll learn even more about what Apple is doing for developers, as well as how the new software and tool updates will expand upon what Apple is providing for their devices.