what's new in device management

In the session titled "What’s new in device management" at WWDC 2024, several updates and new features were introduced for managing Apple devices. Here are the key highlights:

1. Apple Business Manager and Apple School Manager:

   • These web-based portals help IT administrators deploy devices, view inventory, purchase apps in volume, and manage user accounts.
   • Automated device enrollment is now available for Apple Vision Pro with VisionOS 2.0, allowing IT teams to enroll these devices into MDM within the setup assistant.

2. Software Update Management:

   • A new software update settings configuration replaces all legacy MDM software update management commands, profiles, and restrictions.
   • This new configuration can be used on supervised devices with iOS and iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 or later.

3. Apple Vision Pro Management:

   • VisionOS 2.0 supports most MDM payloads, configurations, and commands, making managing a Vision Pro as easy as managing an iPhone or iPad.
   • New configurations and payloads, including passcode policy domains and web content filter payloads, are supported.

4. Disk Management Configuration:

   • IT admins can manage external and network storage, choosing whether to allow or disallow them altogether or limit mounting to read-only volumes.

5. Platform Single Sign-On (SSO):

   • Expanded capabilities allow developers to build SSO extensions that extend to the macOS login window, synchronizing local account credentials with an identity provider.

6. Safari Management:

   • Safari extensions can now be managed on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS with a new Safari extension configuration.

7. Activation Lock Features:

   • New features make it easier to recover organization devices that have had activation lock inadvertently left on.

8. Education Enhancements:

   • Enhancements to education-specific tools were also discussed, making it easier to deploy managed Apple accounts in educational institutions.

For more detailed information, you can refer to the session chapters:

• Introduction
• Apple Services
• Platform updates
• Education enhancements

These updates aim to streamline device management for IT administrators and enhance the capabilities of Apple devices in organizational environments.