Given that the Settings of Beta apps are not displayed in GCM, it would seem there's no way to Alpha test these features? (my eyes only).
Actually they do work with GCM. That's one…
Thanks, I was actually wondering if there is a way to download an app from the app store that hasn't been released yet, when you aren't the original developer.
While a developer can download their own pending apps from the app store, it's not currently possible for someone other than the developer to do so. I have a couple of tasks on the books for our app store team to do that will enable some beta capabilities on the store. Right now, we have a two-phase plan to implement these features:
Phase 1: Allow developers to mark a submitted app as 'beta' which will place it in a special pending state. In a beta state, the app should behave like a pending app to the app author, but will not appear to Garmin as though the app is awaiting approval. This will eliminate the need to put "DO NOT APPROVE" warnings in pending app listings and make it easier for developers to manage new app versions of existing, approved apps. Once the author is ready, they can take it out of beta, and it will work just like a normal app submission does today.
Phase 2: Allow developers to white list certain app store users to give access to apps in a beta state. This will let non-authors download the beta apps, which are otherwise unapproved and not yet available to the public. The exact way this will function is still in design, so what I've described is the general concept we have in mind--I can't guarantee this will be the way the feature works, but it should be something similar to this.
Now that we have a Beta feature available on the store, .