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what wwdc 2025 and the next macos release could mean for apple admins
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What WWDC 2025 and the Next macOS Release Could Mean for Apple Admins

Kandji Team Kandji Team
9 min read

Every year, Apple’s new macOS release offers an opportunity to innovate. It also brings uncertainty for IT teams trying to keep pace with constant change. With the next major release set to preview at WWDC 2025 (June 9 to 13), admins are preparing for a high-stakes upgrade cycle. Early previews hint at broad updates spanning the Apple product suite, from design changes that unify UX across devices to much-anticipated Apple Intelligence features.

Understandably, admins are both excited and concerned over possible shakeups. Many want to know:

  • Will new features ship with proper controls?
  • Will the update process be predictable?
  • How much time will we actually have to prepare?

These feelings (sometimes strong) were evident in the 2025 Apple in the Enterprise Report Card from Six Colors. Kandji’s Arek Dreyer recently sat down with Six Colors founder and editor Jason Snell to discuss the findings from this year’s report in light of the upcoming macOS changes and other expected announcements at WWDC 2025.

Their conversation revealed a familiar mood: cautious optimism, tempered by the realities of supporting Apple devices in complex enterprise environments. In this article, we’ll review the trends that emerged from that conversation and how Kandji helps enterprise teams stay ahead of the curve.

macOS Upgrades Remain a High-Friction Moment for Enterprise IT

According to Snell, this year’s survey highlighted a growing gap between enthusiasm for Apple hardware and concerns about the software experience. “You get the sense that Apple’s hardware is firing on all cylinders,” said Snell, “and that the software is shaky.” While Apple continues to innovate, some admins feel caught off guard by the timing or packaging of new features. This is especially hard when rollout schedules and enterprise controls don’t align.

Line chart showing year over year scores for Apple hardware

Apple Intelligence was a major focus in this year’s report. Snell described it as a moment that “came in hot,” and noted that while admins appreciate the privacy-centric design of Private Cloud Compute, they also want enough lead time and tooling to ensure a secure and reliable rollout.

“Controls and Mobile Device Management (MDM) settings didn’t always appear until right before the features shipped,” Dreyer noted. For many admins, unexpected changes make it harder to maintain internal documentation, plan user education, and coordinate phased rollouts.

Common admin challenges during macOS upgrades include:

  • Inconsistent rollout timing for .0, .1, and .2 features
  • Compatibility or stability issues that surface post-release
  • Security patches that arrive mid-cycle, requiring fast action
  • A lack of time to test and train before users adopt new features

Kandji gives IT teams the flexibility to manage updates on their schedule and wrangle the uncertainty around Apple’s timing. With support for version deferrals, enforcement policies, and granular scoping, enterprise admins can test upgrades with smaller pilot groups before scaling them fleet-wide. Controlling the timing and scope of rollouts lets admins reduce risk and still take advantage of new macOS capabilities.

DDM Is Evolving, and Still Promising

Declarative Device Management (DDM) was one of the most forward-looking topics in this year’s survey. Snell described DDM as “promising” and noted that most feedback was more about pacing than criticism. “Why isn’t it here yet?” was a common sentiment in the survey. Delays could be due to unpredictable experiences in early implementations, which led to some confusing behaviors, like boot-to-recovery issues, silent failures, or mismatches between UI and status indicators.

Still, most admins see DDM as a step in the right direction. In fact, MDM infrastructure scored higher this year than in previous surveys. Snell noted that while gripes remain, they’re “the good kind of gripes,” and there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic. 

Line chart showing year over year scores for DDM

IT teams can use Kandji to avoid common DDM pitfalls while still experiencing benefits like improved performance and more responsive policy enforcement. For organizations not ready to go all-in on DDM, Kandji’s support for phased adoption ensures compatibility and stability throughout the transition.

Enterprises Need Flexibility, Visibility, and Version Control

Timing is everything for enterprise IT teams that support large fleets or distributed teams. Even a minor release with a major feature can create unexpected work. On this point, Snell emphasized the need for flexibility: “admins want to test OS versions on their timeline, not when a feature quietly ships.”

Documentation changes can be especially time-consuming when they require large-scope changes in language, references to UI elements, etc. With redesigns rumored for WWDC 2025, some teams are already bracing for the downstream impact. “All the screenshots will need to be retaken. All of the descriptions of what you click on and what it looks like will be different,” Snell said.

In Kandji, admins can mandate specific versions to be a minimum allowable version, defer upgrades by a set number of days, and target policies by device group, platform, or enrollment type. This makes it easier to confidently roll out macOS updates, document changes thoroughly, and train users without rushing to catch up with the latest release.

Predictability is Crucial for Compliance

For teams in healthcare, education, government, and other highly-regulated sectors, macOS upgrades aren’t just a technical decision. Upgrades are a compliance risk, and every update requires testing, risk assessments, approvals, and a clear documentation trail for audits.

Admins want clear documentation, time to prepare, and confidence that controls will be available when they’re needed. Predictability supports peace of mind, compliance and accountability.

“There’s always the hope that maybe next year will be easier than this one,” Snell said. “But when things move too quickly or feel incomplete, that introduces stress into the system.”

Kandji lets teams pause, stage, and enforce policies with precision. Our update management capabilities allow IT to align upgrade timelines with internal risk reviews, user communication, and training cycles. Combined with detailed device reporting and audit trails, Kandji provides compliance teams the visibility they need without slowing down IT operations.

What Can Mac Admins Expect?

Looking ahead to WWDC 2025, Snell summarized that Apple admins are looking for clarity, better communication, and tools that recognize their need for stability (not just new features).

Other key takeaways from Arek and Jason’s conversation include:

  • Admins are cautiously optimistic about Apple Intelligence, but want more control and clearer timelines.
  • Nearly half of respondents said they trust Apple’s Private Cloud Compute for running AI tasks.
  • Anticipated design changes could increase the documentation burden on IT teams.
  • The pace of updates this year felt slower and more fragmented than in previous cycles.
  • Dialog fatigue remains an issue, with one admin calling it a “first-party feature” of macOS.
  • Admins want faster adoption of and broader support for DDM.

In a year full of unknowns, one thing is clear: enterprise IT teams need tools that let them plan, test, and deploy updates on their terms. Whether the next version of macOS brings major design changes, new intelligence features, or subtle workflow shifts, Kandji will help organizations navigate the upgrade with confidence.

If you want more expert analysis on WWDC 2025, potential macOS developments, or the 2025 report card survey results, you can dive deeper with these resources: