TestFlight now supports automatic beta app updating and it's awesome

By Oliver Haslam
published

TestFlight on iPhone
TestFlight on iPhone (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • TestFlight has been updated with support for automatic app updates.
  • The mechanism is similar to automatic App Store app updates.
  • It's going to be a lifesaver for those who live with tons of beta apps daily.

Apple today updated the TestFlight app, allowing people to have their beta apps update automatically just like they can apps from the App Store.

TestFlight is used by developers to enable them to make beta versions of their apps available to testers, members of the media, and pretty much anyone else.

The newly updated TestFlight also includes the usual stability improvements and bug fixes, of course. But it's the addition of automatic app updates that will be the biggest deal for those of us who have multiple beta apps installed all the time.

  • Support for automatic updates, ideal for ensuring you're always testing the latest beta build.
  • Stability improvements and bug fixes.

Users will still be notified when there is a new update for apps because TestFlight notifications pop up every time an updated app is launched. Users will also presumably continue to receive push and email notifications when a new update is released.

The update is available to download (opens in new tab) from the App Store now and is, of course, free.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.