Overview

Apple Developer offers both free and paid programs. Free programs include a basic Apple Developer Account and the Safari Developer Program, while paid plans include the iOS Developer Program and the Mac Developer Program. Paid memberships are for one year, and are renewable at the same price as originally purchased. Alternate versions of these programs targeted towards universities and enterprises are also available.

This article provides information on the benefits of membership and how to set up your iOS developer account.

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Information

Benefits of Membership

Support from Apple engineers	Apple Developer Program members are eligible to receive help such as technical support and code support directly from Apple engineers in their products.
Apple Developer Library	The Apple Developer reference library provides developer news, technology releases, and technical information. It also provides Apple-authored technical documentation, a wide range of Software Development Kits tools, and sample code.
Access to prerelease software	Another notable feature of the Apple Developer Program is the ability to receive prerelease software, most importantly prerelease versions of Apple’s own operating system, as well as other Apple software. Apple products are regularly seeded whenever a build occurs.
Eligibility to attend the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC)	With an Apple Developer Program membership comes the eligibility to attend the WWDC, one of the premier Mac conferences held throughout the year. In the past, the WWDC has been the venue for the introduction of Mac OS X v10.3, Mac OS X v10.4, and Mac OS X v10.5, as well as the introduction for the Power Mac G5 and its successor, the Mac Pro.
Invitations to exclusive workshops	Apple developers receive invitations to exclusive workshops and conferences about the latest technologies. Generally, the workshop is a demonstration of the latest Apple technology done by an Apple engineer.
iPhone SDK	Apple developers can download the iPhone SDK in order to write applications targeting iOS. The iPhone SDK is available in all Apple Developer accounts, including free memberships.
Compatibility testing	The Apple Developer Program provides compatibility testing for new Applications. The compatibility testing centers are located in Cupertino, California, Tokyo, Japan, and Beijing, China. At the Cupertino campus alone, there are three separate labs which collectively have hundreds of Mac configurations, with several different third party peripherals.
Listing on the App Store	Apple Developer Program members are able to submit their applications to the Mac or iOS App Store, where they can either publish their application for free, or sell their product to end-users.

 

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Process

The Apple Developer registration process is extremely simple. Below is a step-by-step guide. If you run into any issues, we recommend contacting Apple Support directly at 1-800-633-2152.

1. First, register for the Apple Developer program by clicking the Enroll link.
2. On the next screen, read up on the program, then click Start Your Enrollment at the bottom to proceed.
3. Next, you will be prompted to sign in or create an Apple ID. You can use your existing ID (most people have one set up for their iTunes account/iPhone) or register a new one – entirely up to you.
   Note: If you opt to create a new Apple ID, the following steps will vary slightly, as you will need to input billing info and personal details.
4. On the next screen, for the Entity Type dropdown in the I develop apps as field, we recommend selecting Individual/… for now. The process is quicker than business/organization registration.
5. If you are using an existing Apple ID, you will be prompted to log in.
6. Agree to the agreement to proceed to the next step.
7. Complete the Tell us about yourself section. Under “What are you developing?“, select iOS: Apps (App Store). You can check the box for Android under the “What other platforms do you develop for?” section as well.
8. Click Register, and you will be taken to a contact information screen. Fill out your billing address and continue.
9. On the next page, you will check the box for the iOS Developer Program ($99/year).
10. Review your enrollment info on the following page and click Continue.
11. Next, agree to the Program License Agreement and click Continue.
12. Finally, confirm your purchase by clicking Buy Now.
13. You should receive an email confirmation of your order with a link to verify your email address. Follow the instructions to confirm your account.

    

14. Log in to iTunes connect and Developer page using the same login info. Accept any Terms of Service prompts that appear. These prompts can prevent your login info from properly validating when you try to publish an app on our site, so it is good to take care of this now!