How to Get Beta Apps on TestFlight on Mac, iPhone, iPad
TestFlight is an Apple developer app used for beta testing applications before they are available to the general public on the App Store. With TestFlight, a developer can easily distribute pre-release versions of their apps to users for beta testing, and the beta tester can easily download, install, and run the beta app.
With WWDC just around the corner, where many apps will be in beta, now seems like a great time to review how to use TestFlight to download and install a beta app onto your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, or Apple Vision Pro. The TestFlight app works the same basically across all devices, the only question is whether or not the app you’re beta testing is for a specific platform, or all devices.
How to Use TestFlight to Beta Test Apps on iPhone, Mac, iPad
You will need to first download the TestFlight app onto the device you wanting to beta test with, and then you can download the app from the developer if they have invited you to participate. Here’s how it works:
- Grab TestFlight on your device from the App Store here (available for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Vision)
- Follow the TestFlight link from the developer, or check your email for the invitation link
- Copy the invite code from TestFlight
- Paste the invite code into the TestFlight app to redeem it
- The app will now install into your /Applications folder on Mac, or onto the Home Screen of your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, making it easy for you to launch at any time
- Click on “Open” in TestFlight to open the beta app, or launch the app directly on your device, and enjoy your beta testing
In the screenshot examples here, we are beta testing a fun puzzle game called ChonkBlocker (made by the same developer who created DialTone, the resurrected AOL client), using the TestFlight app on the Mac. The TestFlight app works nearly identically on iPhone and iPad, but if you’d rather read a TestFlight tutorial specifically for iPhone or iPad check here.
Updates to beta apps will arrive via TestFlight from the developer, so don’t forget to check periodically if you don’t have the default auto-update setting enabled.
Within TestFlight you can also provide feedback for the beta tested app, and attach screenshots, and if you are beta testing an app, you should definitely do that to help the developer, since that is the entire purpose of a beta test! Troubleshoot, bug test, use the app as you normally would, you’re helping to shape a piece of software before the general public gets a chance. Pretty cool, right?
Happy beta testing!
