Apple's 'Business Essentials' Service Expands to All Small Businesses

Apple today announced the official launch of its Business Essentials service designed to help out small businesses that use Apple products. The service was previously available in a beta capacity to a limited number of businesses, but now it is available to any small business that wants to participate.

apple business essentials
Business Essentials, available to businesses with up to 500 employees, is a subscription-based service that provides device management features that include setup and onboarding, iCloud storage, and optional 24/7 access to Apple Support through AppleCare+ for Business, another new addition.


‌AppleCare‌+ for Business can be added to any Apple Business Essentials plan, and it offers 24/7 access to phone support, training for both IT administrators and employees, and up to two device repairs per plan — by individual, group, or device — each year.

Apple Business Essentials is priced at $2.99 per user to $12.99 per user, with the price varying based on the number of devices and the amount of ‌iCloud‌ storage that each employee needs. A two month free trial is available to all customers, including those who used the service in beta.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Mechanical Aperture

Tuesday July 23, 2024 9:32 am PDT by
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...

Top Rated Comments

cupcakes2000 Avatar
30 months ago
You should really state that this is US only in the post. So not really all small businesses.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jeaz Avatar
30 months ago
Is it just me or would it be nice if this also included more "Microsoft 365" features such as e-mail accounts with custom domains, calendar sharing and so on. Maybe as Business Plus?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zachlegomaniac Avatar
30 months ago
We've been using Apple Business Essentials since the beta rolled out and will never look back. Mosyle was not a good fit for us. With Apple Business Essentials an ecologist, who knows nothing about MDM, can take care of all the devices in his small business (that sounds like a commercial). It was a pleasure getting everything set up with full support from the Apple technicians. It reminded me of why I buy their products both personally and for my company.

Now if they could rectify the horizontal scrolling software issue I have with Monterey on my MBA with 12.4...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sorgo † Avatar
30 months ago
God those mismatched notches are ugly ?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zachlegomaniac Avatar
30 months ago

That's interesting. The early feedback I saw indicated that Apple expected you to use ABE in addition to an MDM, not instead of one. So a couple of questions for you:

1. Does this mean that ABE is your only MDM now?
2. How difficult was it to switch to/add ABE for devices that were already enrolled in your MDM?
Huh, that's equally as fascinating to me. We pulled all of our devices off Mosyle, altogether, and are actively managing the devices with ABE (only). The business rep from our local Apple Store put me in touch with a guy out in California that helped me get started and that was that. Enrolling the devices was extremely simple.

One of my employees has taken over the device management through ABE since I went through the process first with an iPad Pro in the early winter. Feel free to DM me any questions you have and I can run them by her. I really struggled with Mosyle and started to think we'd have to outsource the work, but the entire UI of ABE felt much less intimidating (for someone of my skill level, anyways).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TriBruin Avatar
29 months ago

It looks pretty great and pretty easy. How does it manage apps that aren't distributed through the Mac or iOS App stores?
For Mac, it does not currently support installing non-Mac App Store apps. According to a stat I heard from Jamf yesterday, 12 of the top 15 installed Apps are non-MAS apps. Supposedly Apple is looking at adding this feature at a later date.

For iOS Apps, there really is no reason for non AppStore apps. A few years ago, Apple introduced a way for companies to post custom apps to the AppStore and designate them for specific customers. Those apps can be added just like regular iOS apps.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)