Apple Acquires Enterprise Device Management Firm Fleetsmith

Enterprise security software Fleetsmith is now part of Apple. Fleetsmith is a suite of management and security services that allows users to oversee a fleet of Apple products, automatically managing apps, settings, and security preferences while implementing best practices for IT and security.

fleetsmith
Fleetsmith has always been focused on Apple products, and now Apple has purchased the company. Fleetsmith said that, "Our shared values of putting the customer at the center of everything we do without sacrificing privacy and security, means we can truly meet our mission, delivering Fleetsmith to businesses and institutions of all sizes, around the world."

Fleetsmith offers a free trial for up to 10 devices. Afterwards, you can opt for the free version of Fleetsmith or pay $8.25 per device per month for enhanced settings and more control over each device.

Popular Stories

Apple Glasses Purple Feature

Apple Smart Glasses Launching in 2026

Thursday May 22, 2025 12:22 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week. Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Raises iPhone Trade-In Values For Limited Time — Here's the List

Friday May 23, 2025 6:48 am PDT by
Apple has temporarily increased its iPhone trade-in values in select countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K., and China. Apple says the extra credit towards a new iPhone is available through June 18. In the U.S., the maximum estimated trade-in values increased by only $5 to $30, with the full changes in that country outlined below. ...
iPod shuffle generations

Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle

Thursday May 22, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The big news in the technology world this week is that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working more closely with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on a futuristic AI device. The company is remaining tight lipped about the device, but Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared some alleged details about its design. In a social media post today, Kuo said the device will be "slightly larger" ...
CarPlay Ultra Aston Martin

CarPlay Ultra Solves One of Regular CarPlay's Biggest Limitations

Thursday May 22, 2025 9:16 am PDT by
The next generation of CarPlay is finally starting to roll out, and it includes a new feature that solves one of regular CarPlay's longstanding limitations. Apple last week announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, and it offers a Radio app, allowing you to control AM and FM radio stations within CarPlay. With regular CarPlay, you must switch between CarPlay and your vehicle's built-in software ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Thursday May 22, 2025 4:06 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
General Calendar Feature

Apple Calendar App Revamp Confirmed by Job Posting

Friday May 23, 2025 3:12 am PDT by
A new Apple job listing has provided more evidence that the company is working on a major overhaul of its Calendar app. A senior software engineer position for "Calendar Experience," spotted by Macworld's Filipe Espósito, explicitly states that Apple seeks candidates to join a team that will "reimagine what a modern calendar can be across Apple's platforms." Listed on April 29, the posting ...

Top Rated Comments

mlrproducts Avatar
64 months ago

It's probably go the way of most of Apple's other enterprise/educational services: Apple will only support Apple devices, while Google and Microsoft and other competitor's MDM supports all platforms, so no medium sized company or university will use it because they can't ensure or don't want to have a 100% Apple environment, and they don't want to do everything twice.
As someone who worked for Apple B2B for 5+ years you're 100% right. Apple and business go together like Apple and Intel... they have to somewhat but they sure don't want to support it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PR. Avatar
64 months ago
Interesting, this might make Jamf nervous considering they have a lot of schools on their books with purely iOS/macOS devices.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nylonsteel Avatar
64 months ago
hate it when corporate it gains more control of emplyees computers
how do we get our work done with all the bloat and restrictions and permissions
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ITinSF Avatar
64 months ago
My IT team uses Fleetsmith, we woke up this morning to find all 3rd party app integrations GONE. The entire 'value proposition' has bottomed-out. Fleetsmith charges up front, annually, we paid $24K+ last January and now the most useful feature set has been ripped out. The terms say they can add and remove features at any time, but imagine if you took your car into a dealership for its warranty service and they returned it without the seats, justifying it on 'terms'. Not what you expect when terms state 'add or remove features'; this was the entire feature set!
This is not any kind of behavior a customer would expect from a partner; and if your vendor is not behaving like a partner...
It is still possible to manually create an app for assignment to a profile so you can push its install to devices. However, this requires constant updating by an IT resource to ensure the most recent versions of an app package is replacing the outdated version. The overhead created by this is HUGE, especially for SMBs with limited IT resources.
Overall, before this 'gutting', the service was fairly immature, lacking some basic admin functions and features. I was truly shocked when I read the announcement that Apple bought them. It will require a lot of heavy lifting (think FileVault encryption keys), but as soon as possible, and hopefully with some claw-back of our subscription fees by our legal department, we will move to an alternative, Addigy or jamfPRO.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JMStearnsX2 Avatar
64 months ago
This could be interesting, I manage our MDM at my organization and if Apple decides to offer a 1st-party MDM solution it could really be a great benefit to us, especially if it's free and an extension to Apple DEP/Business Manager.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacsRgr8 Avatar
64 months ago
Addition to Apple Business Manager / Apple School Manager?
Getting some security and management features in there in the future?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)