Managing Apple Intelligence with 42Gears UEM: Finding the Right Balance

Apple devices are impressively smart, adapting to our everyday behavior to offer personalised pointers and automate routine responsibilities. Apple analyzes our device usage patterns to suggest actions and app recommendations that make our lives easier.

Last year at WWDC, Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence and has been continuously enhancing it with new features in every minor release of iOS 18 and macOS 15. Apple describes Apple Intelligence as "AI for the rest of us", a suite of integrated, on‑device and cloud‑based AI capabilities designed to empower everyday users. 

Apple Intelligence combines on‑device processing with secure cloud computing to deliver smart, context-aware features. Most tasks are handled locally, reducing data transmission, and any data sent to the cloud is encrypted and deleted immediately after use to protect your privacy.

However, when these same features are active on company-owned devices, they can create security risks and management challenges. 

This blog covers Apple Intelligence by outlining its key features and demonstrating how 42Gears’ UEM- ‘SureMDM’ empowers IT administrators to balance productivity and security by providing flexible options to enable or disable these capabilities on managed devices.

What is Apple Intelligence? 

Apple Intelligence is like having a smart assistant built into your Apple devices. It watches how you use your device, understands your habits, monitors your interactions, and then tries to help by predicting what you might want to do next. Think of it as a helper that learns your habits and tries to make your device work better for you.

Key components include:

1. Siri Suggestions: Siri, now powered by Apple Intelligence with optional ChatGPT integration, is a smarter, more integrated personal assistant.
2. Writing Tools: Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tools now let you effortlessly proofread your text, try different versions, and are available not only for default apps but also for third-party apps.
3. Image Tools: Apple Intelligence lets you unlock your creativity by generating original images and custom Genmoji, and transform rough sketches into polished visuals with Image Wand.
4. App Recommendations, Focus, Mail Summary and many others: Apple Intelligence makes your day easier by suggesting apps tailored for you, cutting out distractions with smart Focus, and summarizing long emails so you get the key points fast
5. Automated Shortcuts and Predictive Text: Creates personalized workflows for routine tasks and Offers contextual text suggestions during typing

While these features/components enhance personal productivity, they can pose serious challenges in corporate environments such as security concerns, non-compliant to the company policies and more. That’s why we need some UEM solution to ensure data security.

Why Manage Apple Intelligence Using 42Gears UEM?

In corporate environments, providing unrestricted Apple Intelligence features can lead to several concerns:

1. Concerns about proprietary company data: Organizations may worry about where their sensitive data goes, who can access it, and whether it remains secure.
2. Selective feature enablement: Some companies may allow only a few Apple Intelligence options on corporate devices after thorough IT validation, ensuring they adhere to company compliance policies.
3. Balancing Productivity and Data Security: While Apple Intelligence is designed to boost productivity, its proactive features like App Suggestions and Siri recommendations can sometimes reveal sensitive work details or distract employees from work-related tasks. 42Gears UEM provides a comprehensive solution to address these challenges while maintaining the benefits of Apple Intelligence where appropriate.

When Should You Disable Apple Intelligence?

Disabling or restricting Apple Intelligence depends on the company's compliance policies, as well as the type of devices and environments. However, below are some scenarios where you might consider restricting users from using Apple Intelligence features:

1. High Security Environments – Such as financial institutions handling sensitive data, healthcare organizations managing patient information (HIPAA compliance), and government agencies with strict data handling requirements.
2. Work and Educational Devices – For corporate devices that manage confidential or sensitive data, as well as educational devices used in classrooms and sessions.

How to Enable/Disable Apple Intelligence Features with 42Gears UEM

42Gears UEM offers granular control over Apple Intelligence features through its intuitive management console:

1. Device-Level Assignment - Based on your requirements, you can control features on corporate devices by:
   • Configuring default settings for all managed devices
   • Setting different policies for distinct device groups
   • Enforcing time-based restrictions on intelligent features
2. Feature-Specific Management - Customize user experience by creating profiles that selectively enable features such as:
   • Genmoji
   • Image Wand
   • Image Playground
   • Writing Tools
   • Mail Summary
   • Integration with External Intelligence Services
   • User log-in for External Intelligence Services
   • Personalized Handwriting Results

Conclusion

Managing Apple Intelligence in corporate environments requires a delicate balance between functionality and control. 42Gears UEM provides the tools and flexibility needed to achieve this balance, ensuring that organizations can leverage Apple's smart features while maintaining security and compliance.

By implementing appropriate controls through 42Gears UEM, organizations can:

• Protect sensitive corporate data
• Ensure regulatory compliance
• Maintain productivity
• Retain beneficial features while mitigating risks

The key is to understand your organization's specific needs and use 42Gears UEM's capabilities to create a tailored approach to manage Apple Intelligence.