stuck {in/at} beta
You can be "stuck at home", "stuck at the airport" or "...at a certain level" e.g. Today, inflation is still low, but unemployment is stuck at a painfully high level. But you are "stuck in the middle", "stuck in the suburbs" and "stuck in debt".
So, what about a virtual entity or state such as "beta"?
beta
4. also: a stage of development in which a product is nearly complete but not yet ready for release (Merriam-Webster)
Is a product or site stuck IN or AT beta?
- It shouldn't be stuck in beta
- It shouldn't be stuck at beta
Is there a reason why one preposition should be preferred over the other?
Both prepositions are fine. Consider a less metaphorical context where you're constrained to remain somewhere that really is a physical location...
1: I was stuck at the office all day yesterday.
2: I was stuck in the office all day yesterday.
...where both versions have links to at least hundreds of relevant instances in Google Books. And in terms of relative prevalence, there's this NGram usage chart...
In principle a speaker might make a considered choice between the metaphorical container reference (in) or the position reference (at). The "container" mode is more appropriate if the weather was pleasant, but you couldn't go out (you had to remain inside), whereas the "location" reference (at) is better if you couldn't go somewhere further away (down the road to watch tennis at Wimbledon, say, if your office is in London).
In practice that distinction isn't always relevant, and it isn't always accurately reflected by the choice of preposition anyway (native speakers aren't necessarily that precise on such matters.
With an even more metaphorical context such as...
3: Our new killer app has been stuck at beta for months.
4: Our new killer app has been stuck in beta for months.
5: Our new killer app has been stuck on beta for months.
...the (semantically trivial) difference between at and in is just a matter of whether you visualise the circumstances as being unable to advance past a certain point in the development process, or trapped in a constraining situation.
But per #5 above, we can also use a surface metaphor (on) - which is perhaps better understood in this particular case as a "level" (of advancement up through vertically-oriented stages, as in...
6: I'm stuck on level 3 with my new SuperMario video game.
TLDR: It doesn't really matter which preposition you use, but if you understand the nature of the underlying metaphoric relationship, you might want to take account of this when making your choice (so your words truly reflect what you want to say, not what you think someone else might say).
Both work, but the nuance is different.
With stuck in beta, what is conveyed is that the process is still underway - the development is metaphorically stuck inside the process. With stuck at beta, it is the state that is conveyed, not a process - the release hasn't progressed beyond the beta phase.
Here are a few examples using "stuck at beta x" to indicate that no version beyond beta x is available. Note that it is not the case that the beta x version has not yet been released.
So, wait, do we have to pay again if we bought it in beta or not? And where do you get the newest version? My game is stuck at beta 1.8 and won't update. - KarmaTheAlligator, The Escapist Portal
Can we get a link for [IOS] 8.2 beta 1 or 2 because [s]ome of us are stuck at beta 5[?] [- Kody Terrell Whitehead, idownloadblog forum]2
Here are a couple of examples using "stuck in beta" to indicate a longer-than-expected process. Note that these examples show a process they can't get out of:
I opted into the Beta a few months ago. After the device began to crash a lot I tried to get out. I un-enrolled from the Beta but never received an update back to stable. I factory reset the phone, but when I swipe down it still shows as in the Android Beta program in the settings page. - Leigh Llweelyn, Pixel Phone Help forum
All said, it appears the Spanish e-book industry is still stuck in Beta. The pivotal and innovative collaborative e-book distribution program announced earlier this year by Spain’s Big Three—Random House Mondadori, Planeta and Santillana—is now scheduled to ramp up for spring 2010. Meanwhile, Spain’s Ministry of Culture is expected to issue a government report concerning e-book policy in mid-January. - Emily Williams, Publishing Perspectives
All told, the two phrases are fairly similar. Something stuck in beta is delayed by the process. Something stuck at beta simply hasn't been (or can't be) upgraded further, without any reference to a holdup in the process.
Ciao,
as a non native speaker who moved to Australia since 4 years I appreciated your question and I think the answer is simpler than what you think
Forget the "stuck at/in" existence just for a second
In your daily talks you say: "I'm at home", "I'm at the airport", "I'm at your level". You also say "I'm in the middle", "I'm in the suburbs", "I'm in debt". Do you get where I'm pointing, right?
In IT we say that "your product is in beta". So "your product is stuck in beta"
Hope it helps
Thanks and have a good weekend,
Antonino