4 features in iOS 13, Apple's next iPhone software, that business users will love
- Apple's next big update to its iPhone software, iOS 13, is expected this fall.
- Most of the new features in iOS 13 are aimed at consumers, but the company did include several key new items for business users, too.
- These include separating your work and personal lives on your phone and using Face ID to sign in to apps.
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Apple's next big update to its iPhone software, iOS 13, is expected this fall. While most of the new features in it are aimed at consumers, the company did unveil several key new updates for business users, too.
We don't have many details on these features. But Apple did provide a summary of them in its detailed list of new iOS 13 features released on Monday in conjunction with the start of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, taking place this week in San Jose.
Here's what we know.
An employee's personal device will be able to separate business apps and data.
This is a feature called "user enrollment," and it's for people who use their own personal phone for work. We don't have details on how this will work, except that it involves having "separate iCloud accounts for your personal and work lives," as Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, described on stage on Monday. We presume it will be an option in Apple's Business Manager, the relatively new service Apple rolled out last year's WWDC, which lets IT department manage fleets of Apple devices and volume-licensed apps.
Apple already introduced ways to separate personal data on a phone owned by the company and controlled by IT when it released Business Manager, so this next step is important.
Worth noting: Google launched Android for Work way back in 2015, which provides similar functions.
Companies can create and manage Apple IDs for business users.
Since Apple relies so heavily on Apple ID logins for signing into devices and downloading apps, it's making this situation work better for businesses. Through Business Manager, an admin can create Apple IDs used by employees that will give them access to business-controlled services like the company's iCloud Drive and iCloud Notes.
Easier device setup for the IT department.
A feature called Automated Device Enrollment lets the admin include custom content and security settings when setting up a device. For businesses that own thousands of Apple devices, this just makes sense. Worth noting, many third-party mobile device management apps already help IT pros with such things.
Face ID and Touch ID to sign on to business apps and websites.
Apple is making it easier for a company's business apps and websites to use its biometric security features, although it's not clear yet if it will be a business version of Apple's cool new "Sign in with Apple" feature - a cool new feature for consumers that lets them sign into apps and websites without handing over their email or using Facebook or Google accounts.