Content distribution methods for Apple devices
There are several ways you can distribute apps and books to Apple devices and users. After you decide on what types of apps you want to distribute, you can then decide which apps you want and where you’ll distribute them.
Distribute apps to devices
To receive assigned apps from your organization, devices need to enroll in your device management service. After assigning an app to a device, the device management service pushes it to the device, with no Managed Apple Account or Apple Account required. Anyone using that device has access to that app. You can reassign an app to a different device when necessary. For supervised devices, apps install silently without user interaction.
If you previously assigned apps to users, device management services can perform a silent migration from per-user assignments to per-device assignments. The device needs to enroll in a device management service. For more information, consult your developer’s device management service documentation.
The following apply to assigned apps on a device:
You can automatically remove apps when a user unenrolls the device from a device management service.
Apps don’t automatically reinstall after a restore from backup.
A device management service manages all app updates.
Apple Configurator also allows device-based app assignment. For more information, see Install apps with Apple Configurator.
Note: Devices that leverage User Enrollment, which is ideal for organizations where users bring their own devices (BYOD), use user-assigned apps.
Distribute books from the store in Apple Books
When books are assigned to users, those books follow the same country and region download restrictions as apps. The correct Apple Books country or region is determined by the address submitted when your organization enrolled in Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager. For example, if your organization enrolled with an address in the United States, the Apple Books locale is set to the United States.
Books purchased through Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager can be distributed through managed book distribution only to users, not devices, and they can’t be revoked and reassigned.
Note: Some Apple Books content isn’t available in certain countries or regions. To learn whether certain Apple Books content is available in your country or region, see the Apple Support article Availability of Apple programs and payment methods for education and business.
Required app for unsupervised devices
For devices with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, or later, a device management service administrator can install an app on unsupervised devices at the time of enrollment. The user needs to consent to this installation when they enroll in the device management service. To enable this feature, administrators set the iTunesStoreID of the App Store app in the RequiredAppIDForMDM property of the device management profile. Then, they need to make sure the app has a device or user license, and send the InstallApplication command after enrollment. A device management service administrator can also add a Managed App attribute to make sure the user can’t remove the app. If the app is already installed, the user receives an alert requesting device management of the app. For more information on the latest changes to the Device Management payload, see Device Management Profile on the Apple Developer website.
Distribute apps and books to users that have a Managed Apple Account
Users with Managed Apple Accounts can automatically receive Managed Apps purchased by their organization through Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager.
Distribute apps and books to users that have a personal Apple Account
Users with personal Apple Accounts need to receive and accept an invitation to participate in the distribution of Apps and Books content. Apps and books you distribute to a user through your device management service aren’t shareable with family members if the user has a Family Sharing account with iCloud.
Follow these steps to distribute apps to users with personal Apple Accounts:
Invite the user or group: The user receives an invitation to your organization’s Apps and Books Managed Distribution. You can send the invitation through your device management service or through email or push notification. The user then receives a prompt to accept the Terms and Conditions of the program.
The user accepts the invitation: The user’s personal Apple Account links to your organization (without revealing the Apple Account to you). This means you don’t need to create an Apple Account for these users. Apps you assign to a user appear in that user’s App Store purchase history.
The device management service sends app installation commands: Unsupervised devices prompt the user to accept the installation of an app. For supervised devices, apps install silently, without prompting. You can also assign more apps and books at any time.
Reassign apps: When a user no longer needs an app, you can reassign it to a different user.