I think Apple may have been a bit too generous with this offering. How long does the code signing stay valid this way? Forever?
I think it would have been sufficient for the majority of use cases if an app sideloaded like this would only be valid for like 12 - 24 hours. I mean, as you wrote, this system is supposed to be for devs who want to test their apps on devices without having to pay for the dev program.
I think 12 hours would be enough time to judge you progress on device. Since you are going to test many iterations of that app, you are going to deploy it often anyway. Why would there be a need to have those apps work forever?
I realize there are edge cases where some people would want a longer, broad beta test for their app but is that really necessary for such a "free" option? Surely if you plan out your app of such scale and you arrive at that point in time to warrant a week long beta test you will very likely deploy on the app store anyway so you might as well buy into the 99 bucks a year program to correctly sign your apps.
Had Apple directly limited the time sideloaded apps like that work and made it public that this is "just" a feature aimed at developers to become interested in iOS development, this whole thing could have been avoided.
Why time-limit it? There's no rule that says you must publish every app you make to the app store. What if you're making an app that's intended precisely for your own personal use and nobody else's?
I think Apple may have been a bit too generous with this offering. How long does the code signing stay valid this way? Forever?
I think it would have been sufficient for the majority of use cases if an app sideloaded like this would only be valid for like 12 - 24 hours. I mean, as you wrote, this system is supposed to be for devs who want to test their apps on devices without having to pay for the dev program. I think 12 hours would be enough time to judge you progress on device. Since you are going to test many iterations of that app, you are going to deploy it often anyway. Why would there be a need to have those apps work forever?
I realize there are edge cases where some people would want a longer, broad beta test for their app but is that really necessary for such a "free" option? Surely if you plan out your app of such scale and you arrive at that point in time to warrant a week long beta test you will very likely deploy on the app store anyway so you might as well buy into the 99 bucks a year program to correctly sign your apps.
Had Apple directly limited the time sideloaded apps like that work and made it public that this is "just" a feature aimed at developers to become interested in iOS development, this whole thing could have been avoided.