[ricardobeat]

This annoyance also extends to other features like using an iPhone as webcam, unlocking with Apple Watch, using Apple Music (you can’t login to a different account, only the system one)…

MDM is so common in every tech company - I bet Apple’s own employee issued macs are managed, it is inexplicable how this is still a problem.

[plussed_reader]

I think this is the 'https' flavor of the airplay handshake and it doesn't play well with the federated setup I use with work. Sidecar won't work with federated flavor of my orgs appleID. It could be policy, but I'm pretty sure it should work.

[chrnola]

> I bet Apple’s own employee issued macs are managed

I thought so too. The Apple retail employee that gave me the demo of the Vision Pro confirmed this. He said the manager at his store had a Vision Pro and wanted to use it with his Apple-issued Mac, which was managed via MDM.

[turquoisevar]

Apple’s MDM is a bit different. It runs through a SSO service called Apple Connect and Apple encourages employees to use their personal Apple ID to link to it instead of creating a separate Apple ID.

It essentially adds a special entitlement to someone’s Apple ID, similar to how a dev gets App Store Connect access added to their Apple ID when they enroll into the developer program.

This makes it so that every MDM device is logged into the personal Apple ID.

[chrnola]

Oh interesting. Might explain why Apple employees aren’t feeling this same pressure. Do you know if Apple’s MDM is the same for their retail and corporate employees?

Also - I’m not super well versed in MDMs, but they seem to come in two general flavors/deployment strategies: bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and manage a fleet of employer-owned hardware.

In my experience, I’ve only ever seen BYOD policies for employee-owned _smartphones_ (e.g. for access to an intranet mail server). I’ve never worked anywhere that permitted employees to use their own _workstations_.

[turquoisevar]

> Do you know if Apple’s MDM is the same for their retail and corporate employees?

Apple Connect, SSO authentication service, is used by all Apple employees, both corporate and retail.

The actual MDM itself (what is allowed, how much is controlled, what can be accessed, etc. etc.) does vary from corporate to retail and between employee roles and departments and from device to device (BYOD v. Apple owned devices).

To facilitate this they use a bit of a patchwork of mainly in-house developed solutions and Jamf MDM services.

A lot of it is pretty well documented in public, The Apple Wiki page[0] on Apple’s internal apps would be a good entry point to go down the rabbit hole, should you be so inclined.

Just keep in mind that a lot of the information on the inner workings of Apple will be perpetually outdated, due to the nature of that information and its reliance on employees leaking information. You’ll find that most publicly available information is about stuff on the retail side, because corporate employees usually are more risk averse when it comes to jeopardizing their job.

0: https://theapplewiki.com/wiki/Apple_Internal_Apps

[w-ll]

The real crime is Macbooks still ship with a 1080p camera when their ungodly huge phones ship with 48MP

[piskov]

Do you want your laptop screen be as thick as an iPhone?

It’s just basic physics: you cannot have 1-inch sensor with a lens right on top of it in 3-5mm of total thickness. Just the same way your eye is not flat but 2cm long.

[w-ll]

the camera protrudes on iPhones making them not sit flat, why cant they add a little bump to the outter shell of the top of the Macbook to fit better cameras?

The options are 3rd party things to mount your phone that take up way more space.

[piskov]

You do understand that larger sensor means not only thicker package but also larger width?

Would you like 1cm black border around your display like it’s a pc from 2010?

Short answer: all this would make an ugly laptop.

That’s why they created belkin magsafe iphone camera mount

[w-ll]

an iphone is not 1cm thick and I absolutely would not mind a buldge on the top of the screen, it doesnt change how the laptop would sit. and i think the iphone whith their protrudeing camera so that they wobble when placed screen up is more of a design crime. like some chair or table outside a cafe that wobbels, Steve is dead clearly in design

[piskov]

iPhone is not only 1cm thick, it’s actually more: 1.275cm to be precise with the bump.

Also camera hole has a diameter of 1.6cm.

[ricardobeat]

Folded optics and metalenses would like to have a chat. They just started using it on the iPhone, I imagine either tech will make it to laptops in the next couple years.

[SoftTalker]

What does anyone use the Macbook camera for except video calls or meetings. 1080p is more than enough for that.

[w-ll]

Face tracking. Even for my self, sounds crazy but a handful of my terminal aliases attempt to capture my mood by scanning my face so I can make a fun chart of my emotion while commiting code.

The fact companies sell products to stick mounting gear on a Macbook to mount your iphone to capture better video will tell you theres a market.

[verticalscaler]

The Macbook camera ships with the same chip as the iPhone 5S (2013). It has sufficient pixels for what it is meant for with most of the processing done in software. That last bit is key.

[piskov]

It’s not about the chip or sensor for that matter: it’s about the lens.

That’s why macbook from 2010-2013 has better camera quality: it has thicker display and more space for camera module.

[verticalscaler]

This matters for FaceTime how? What more are you trying to do with this thing? I don't follow.

Might just be the only example where I actually agree with Apple about keeping something as thin as possible.

[w-ll]

Why thin? The WxH of their phones is crazy, bend gate.... I'd take a thicker phone, cant belive the dropped the 13 mini size, it was my last refugee since they killed the SE.

[verticalscaler]

Agreed about phones disagree about MacBooks.

I wouldn’t want a thicker laptop screen just for a bigger lens. Pointless.

[rovr138]

I can’t use my wife’s iPad as a second display.

Joined her on a travel trip. She went to the office, decided to try using her iPad as a second monitor via usb c… nope. Can’t do that.

No idea why. It’s unlocked. It’s trusted. Why can’t it be used?

[piskov]

Surely there’s an app for that: “Duet display” exists more than a decade (sidecar basically sherlocked it). Also something called Astra or Luna (don’t remember exactly).

[rovr138]

Hah, same thing I thought!

Went looking on the AppStore and I had bought Duet on December 2004!

They went subscription based, https://www.duetdisplay.com/

[ttepasse]

There are also Apps which display HDMI input streams over USB-C. Orion and such.

[ClassyJacket]

Because these artificial limitations make you more likely to buy a second one

[lilyball]

MDM does not by default prevent users from logging in with their own AppleID.

[WWLink]

Huh? That must've been a recent change. I used to log into apple music via itunes with my personal account while MacOS itself was using my work account.. yep, two separate apple IDs.

That sucks.

[threeseed]

You have one AppleID for iCloud and one for App Store, Music, AppleTV etc.

They can be the same or different. And this hasn't changed for years.

[WWLink]

Good to know it hasn't changed lol. Coulda swore I saw the account option in the Apple Music app.