Microsoft 365 · IT Support · Small Business Technology
Your Company iPhones and Macs Can Be Managed Too
By Tom Daugherty · October 30, 2026
Plenty of small businesses we work with run on a mix of devices. Windows PCs at the front desk, a couple of MacBooks in marketing, and an iPhone in just about everyone's pocket. When it comes to managing all of that, a lot of owners assume Microsoft's tools only cover the Windows side. So the Apple devices get set up by hand, one at a time, by whoever has a free afternoon.
They don't have to be. And a small change Microsoft made this month makes the Apple side a little easier still.
What changed
In the week of October 19, Microsoft updated Intune, its device management service, so that apps bought through Apple's business purchasing program can be assigned with unlimited licenses on iPhones, iPads and Macs. Microsoft says admins no longer need to keep track of license counts for those apps.
It's a small change. For a growing team, it means one less spreadsheet and one less reason a new hire is waiting on an app on their first day.
Intune already covers Apple devices
If you have Microsoft 365 Business Premium, you already have Intune. Microsoft lists "Endpoint management across devices with Intune Plan 1" as part of Business Premium. Business Basic and Business Standard don't include it.
Here's what that looks like for Apple devices, based on Microsoft's own documentation.
- New company devices can ship straight to the employee. Devices bought from Apple through your business account can arrive with your settings already in place, without anyone in IT touching them.
- Setup happens the first time they turn it on. The employee signs in with their work account, and the device configures itself from there.
- Updates and apps are handled centrally. Company-owned iPhones and iPads can receive software updates and approved apps. Macs can get Microsoft 365 apps and security settings like disk encryption and the firewall.
- Personal phones are covered too. For employees who use their own iPhone for work, Intune can set up a separate work area for company apps and data, so the business manages that part and leaves the rest of the phone alone.
- A lost device isn't a crisis. Company devices can be wiped remotely. On a personal phone, the work area can be cleared without resetting the whole phone.
- Only healthy devices get in. Intune can check that a device meets your security requirements before it's allowed to reach company email and files.
Why it's worth doing
For a small business, the payoff is mostly time and peace of mind. New hires get a working phone or laptop faster. When someone leaves, their company data doesn't leave with them. And the Apple devices get the same care as the Windows ones, instead of being the part of the business nobody is quite sure about.
Getting it set up right
There are a few moving parts behind the scenes. Your Apple business account has to be connected to Microsoft, you have to decide how company-owned and personal devices should be treated, and a couple of Apple certificates have to be renewed every year. Microsoft notes that if those renewals lapse, Intune can no longer manage the devices that depend on them. Done right, it all runs quietly in the background.
That's where Cracked Cloud comes in. We set up Apple device management in Microsoft 365, shape it around how your team actually works, and keep an eye on it so it keeps working year after year.
If your team runs on a mix of Windows and Apple, let's talk.
