Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.
iOS 17.4 has been out in the wild for a few days, and something I’ll never get used to with Apple is that it brings some new features for a mid-cycle release. For IT managers who manage Apple fleets, several new features are worth paying attention to. Let’s dive into what’s new with iOS 17.4 for the enteprise.
About Apple @ Work: Bradley Chambers managed an enterprise IT network from 2009 to 2021. Through his experience deploying and managing firewalls, switches, a mobile device management system, enterprise grade Wi-Fi, 1000s of Macs, and 1000s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple IT managers deploy Apple devices, build networks to support them, train users, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for IT departments.
Changes to stolen device protection and MDM
Stolen Device Protection provides an enhanced security measure for your iPhone when it is not within familiar environments, such as your home or workplace. This feature aims to safeguard your accounts and personal information in the event that your iPhone is stolen, ensuring an additional layer of protection against unauthorized access.
With the introduction of iOS 17.4, users are now spared the hassle of having to turn off Stolen Device Protection when enrolling in Mobile Device Management (MDM) or setting up an Exchange account. However, there’s a disclaimer, though. If you’re in a location, your phone doesn’t recognize as familiar, you might have to wait up to an hour.
Other misc updates
If your school or business configuration profiles allow it, users with Managed Apple IDs can incorporate student IDs or employee badges into their Apple Wallet. MDMs now have the capability to deploy thinned versions of apps, optimizing time, storage, and bandwidth usage.
Something that’s going to become a bigger and bigger consideration for Apple enterprise customers is alternative App Stores. This version of iOS adds new restrictions and commands are available for managing alternative App Stores. While this is focused on the European Union at the moment, I suspect Apple knows this will be something it has to deal with in the coming years around the world. For business devices, it’s likely going to be safer to rely fully on Apple’s App Store for the time being.
One final note is that iOS 17.4 enhances the reliability of making phone calls and browsing through contacts on devices with thousands of contacts and are subject to Managed Open In restrictions.
Wrap up
I love Apple’s recent trend of rolling out new features on a rolling basis over holding them until the next major release in the fall. These are all minor, but beneficial features for folks to manage Apple devices.
Apple @ Work is exclusively brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that integrates in a single professional-grade platform all the solutions necessary to seamlessly and automatically deploy, manage & protect Apple devices at work. Over 45,000 organizations trust Mosyle to make millions of Apple devices work-ready with no effort and at an affordable cost. Request your EXTENDED TRIAL today and understand why Mosyle is everything you need to work with Apple.
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