Workspace ONE UEM has had a bit of stagnation over the last 12 months, while they work on their new platform and architecture. With VMware Explore only a week away, their timing is impeccable as Workspace ONE UEM 2306 launches. We’re going to take a good look at 3 huge capabilities they’re introducing: (1) MacOS Update Management, (2) Windows DDUI and CSP Integration in the Console, and (3) New iOS Profiles.
Workspace ONE Introduces MacOS Update Management
Previously, I covered the new MacOS Updater Utility (MUU) which addressed major gaps in MacOS Updates. Now, in 2306 we now have the next stage of MacOS Update Management.
These are API driven, which start with leveraging the Apple API endpoint for current OS updates available. It’s pretty interesting. This is a small snip:
{"PublicAssetSets":{"iOS":[{"ProductVersion":"12.5.7","PostingDate":"2023-08-02","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":["iPad4,1","iPad4,2","iPad4,3","iPad4,4","iPad4,5","iPad4,6","iPad4,7","iPad4,8","iPad4,9","iPhone6,1","iPhone6,2","iPhone7,1","iPhone7,2","iPod7,1"]},{"ProductVersion":"15.7.8","PostingDate":"2023-08-02","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":["iPad5,1","iPad5,2","iPad5,3","iPad5,4","iPhone8,1","iPhone8,2","iPhone8,4","iPhone9,1","iPhone9,2","iPhone9,3","iPhone9,4","iPod9,1"]},{"ProductVersion":"16.6","PostingDate":"2023-08-02","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":["iPad11,1","iPad11,2","iPad11,3","iPad11,4","iPad11,6","iPad11,7","iPad12,1","iPad12,2","iPad13,1","iPad13,10","iPad13,11","iPad13,16","iPad13,17","iPad13,18","iPad13,19","iPad13,2","iPad13,4","iPad13,5","iPad13,6","iPad13,7","iPad13,8","iPad13,9","iPad14,1","iPad14,2","iPad14,3","iPad14,4","iPad14,5","iPad14,6","iPad6,11","iPad6,12","iPad6,3","iPad6,4","iPad6,7","iPad6,8","iPad7,1","iPad7,11","iPad7,12","iPad7,2","iPad7,3","iPad7,4","iPad7,5","iPad7,6","iPad8,1","iPad8,10","iPad8,11","iPad8,12","iPad8,2","iPad8,3","iPad8,4","iPad8,5","iPad8,6","iPad8,7","iPad8,8","iPad8,9","iPhone10,1","iPhone10,2","iPhone10,3","iPhone10,4","iPhone10,5","iPhone10,6","iPhone11,2","iPhone11,6","iPhone11,8","iPhone12,1","iPhone12,3","iPhone12,5","iPhone12,8","iPhone13,1","iPhone13,2","iPhone13,3","iPhone13,4","iPhone14,2","iPhone14,3","iPhone14,4","iPhone14,5","iPhone14,6","iPhone14,7","iPhone14,8","iPhone15,2","iPhone15,3"]},{"ProductVersion":"5.3.9","PostingDate":"2023-07-24","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":["Watch2,3","Watch2,4","Watch2,6","Watch2,7","Watch3,1","Watch3,2","Watch3,3","Watch3,4","Watch4,1","Watch4,2","Watch4,3","Watch4,4"]},{"ProductVersion":"6.3","PostingDate":"2023-07-24","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":["Watch2,3","Watch2,4","Watch2,6","Watch2,7"]},{"ProductVersion":"8.8.1","PostingDate":"2023-07-24","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":["Watch3,1","Watch3,2","Watch3,3","Watch3,4","Watch4,1","Watch4,2","Watch4,3","Watch4,4","Watch5,1","Watch5,10","Watch5,11","Watch5,12","Watch5,2","Watch5,3","Watch5,4","Watch5,9","Watch6,1","Watch6,2","Watch6,3","Watch6,4","Watch6,6","Watch6,7","Watch6,8","Watch6,9"]},{"ProductVersion":"9.6","PostingDate":"2023-07-24","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":["Watch4,1","Watch4,2","Watch4,3","Watch4,4","Watch5,1","Watch5,10","Watch5,11","Watch5,12","Watch5,2","Watch5,3","Watch5,4","Watch5,9","Watch6,1","Watch6,10","Watch6,11","Watch6,12","Watch6,13","Watch6,14","Watch6,15","Watch6,16","Watch6,17","Watch6,18","Watch6,2","Watch6,3","Watch6,4","Watch6,6","Watch6,7","Watch6,8","Watch6,9"]},{"ProductVersion":"16.6","PostingDate":"2023-07-24","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":["AppleTV11,1","AppleTV14,1","AppleTV5,3","AppleTV6,2","AudioAccessory1,1","AudioAccessory1,2","AudioAccessory5,1","AudioAccessory6,1"]},{"ProductVersion":"15.7.2","PostingDate":"2022-12-13","ExpirationDate":"2023-11-12","SupportedDevices":Essentially, you can leverage a variety of methods for deploying MacOS Updates:
- Download Only (download but don’t install)
- Default (download or install the update, based on the current device state)
- InstallAsap (downloads the macOS update, and notifies the user a reboot is coming imminently (restart can be cancelled))
- NotifyOnly (downloads the update and notifies the user its available)
- InstallLater (user will be periodically informed of an available update)
- InstallForceRestart (downloads the update and forces a device restart if needed (this doesn’t require user consent).
Additionally, you can do some cool stuff like pause/unpause updates. The main change here for those unaware is this is now largely leveraging the Apple MDM capabilities that are built in, which will be much more reliable than the previous methods. Let’s check out the demo of setting up the policy.
Creating MacOS Update Policies in WS1
First, let’s check out a demo on how easy it is to create these policies. At this juncture, you should note that they don’t have the latest update available (13.5), but N-1 is still pretty strong.
The only video I wasn’t able to capture and it still looks like some work-in-progress is the MacOS updates. It might just need more time to bake and I will update the article accordingly once we get there. You can see below, it sees that I am assigned to new patches for 13.4.1 and 13.5, but nothing has happened yet.
Update: After a day or so, it finally went when I powered on my Mac.
Essentially, in troubleshooting logs you will see it sends the command: (INSTALL_ASAP)
You can read more about INSTALL_ASAP and other commands in the Apple API docs. Basically, Install_ASAP downloads the software update and trigger the restart countdown notification. I didn’t see any notification as a FYI, but the install did go smoothly.
Workspace ONE Windows Changes
We’re looking at a few changes today of note. The new DDUI experience, which only Android and MacOS users are familiar with today. Additionally, we will check out the new addition of CSPs to the console reducing the need for VMware Policy Builder, which I featured last year at VMware Explore.
The New Windows DDUI Experience Featuring Windows CSPs
So a large amount of CSPs are now available inside of Workspace ONE, which are basically the technology behind Windows Profiles. The full list is below:
Now, check out the demo on the enhanced admin experience:
New iOS Profiles
The last item I wanted to check out are the new features for iOS, including:
- Webclips in Home Screen Layouts
- Data-Driven UI
- Powerful search capabilities
- Bringing the new iOS features from XML to DDUI
Final Thoughts
It’s been tough for me over the last several months to find good topics to write about for Workspace ONE as they’ve been trying to update the backend architecture. Workspace ONE UEM 2306 is a great update that has some capabilities we have been waiting a long time for.
The one feature for me that the jury is still out on is the MacOS Update capabilities, which still aren’t working like I need them to be, but we will continue to look at that and update the article accordingly. I hope to catch many of you in Vegas next week. Check out my sessions!!
