Intro to apps and books in Apple School Manager
Apple School Manager and your mobile device management (MDM) solution work together so your institution can buy apps and books in volume, assign them to devices or users, and then install and update them wirelessly, even if the App Store is disabled.
You can also revoke and reassign apps to different devices and users, so your institution retains full ownership and control of purchased apps. You can assign the apps you buy through Apple School Manager to any devices or users in any country where the app is available from the App Store in that country.
Note: Books purchased through Apple School Manager or volume purchasing can be distributed through managed book distribution, but they can’t be revoked and reassigned.
If you have current Volume Purchase Program (VPP) accounts, you must migrate to Apps and Books. See the Apple Support article, Upgrade from Apple Deployment Programs before December 1, 2019.
Type of app or book | Can be assigned to iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac | Can be assigned to users |
|---|---|---|
Free or paid apps purchased through Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager | Yes (iOS 9 or later) (iPadOS 13.1 or later) (OS X 10.11 or later) | Yes (iOS 7 or later) (iPadOS 13.1 or later) (OS X 10.9 or later) |
Free or paid books purchased through Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager | No | Yes |
The App Store and Apple Books feature thousands of apps and books for education. Apple School Manager gives institutions a simple way to buy those apps and books in an area called Apps and Books. When you buy apps there, you can access special pricing for 20 or more copies if you’re an eligible education institution—either an institution for grades K–12 (or their districts), or one for higher education if the institution is accredited and grants degrees. For books, special pricing is not available.