✨ New

App Catalog 1.9.0

• All-new user interaction: We are introducing a completely new way how users interact with apps requiring a restart to update, designed to strike the right balance between informing users while still respecting the user’s productivity. Previously, a large popup in the center of the screen would ask the user to close the app and update. Now, App Catalog fully relies on the macOS Notification Center for the best possible Apple experience, similarly to what users already know from macOS updates. When App Catalog requires user interaction, the update is automatically deferred and a notification will be sent informing the user and ask to update at a more convenient time. Ultimately, the update will be enforced to make sure your organization stays up to date and compliant. Here are some highlights:

  • Increasing notification frequency: If the user doesn’t update, reminder notifications will be sent and get more frequent leading up to the enforcement date

  • Notification actions: Clicking on the notification brings the user directly to the Updates section in the Catalog App, allowing them to update immediately and granularly at the most convenient time.

  • Notification grouping: To limit the number of notifications and avoid clutter, App Catalog groups updates logically in one notification.

  • Respect Do Not Disturb and Focus: Apps requiring user interaction respect the user’s Focus state, such as Do Not Disturb.

  • Automatic dismissal of notifications: When reminders are no longer relevant, App Catalog automatically dismisses them without requiring users to dismiss notifications that are no longer relevant.

  • Custom deferral time: Use AllowedDeferralsInDays to configure a different number of days the user gets to update manually before enforcing the update.

  • More information:

    • Action Required: Update MDM Configuration for App Catalog: We previously informed you about the upcoming update, allowing you to make the necessary changes in your Device Management Service. Please review if you haven’t yet implemented it.

    • Granting User Notifications: Technical specification about configuring notifications for App Catalog for the best possible experience.

    • User deferrals & interaction: Learn more about the user experience, expected behavior and screenshots.

• Hourly updates: App Catalog now checks every hour for updates instead of once every day or less often. This makes sure updates are timely installed. You can use

  deferrals and delays to control when updates can be applied or must be enforced.

• UI improvements: Catalog App has some UI updates such as simplified buttons (avoid glass on glass), enhanced animation with the app icon and more.

👀 Changed

App Catalog 1.9.0

• Key UpdateDeferrals is removed. A new key AllowedDeferralsInDays allows organizations to set a different time-based deferral.

  • More information: Preference Keys - Catalog Agent

• Key DisableAppInstalls is deprecated. When still applied, the same behavior as UpdatesOnly is applied and Catalog App only shows available updates. This means Catalog App can no longer be completely disabled, as the app is now the central place for users to update apps manually.

  • More information: Preference Keys - Catalog App

General

• Version reliability improvements: We have improved the way App Catalog is informed about the latest version of an app.

🛠 Fixed

General

• Fixed code signature errors after force-installing app updates or when updating apps using Support App: In some cases, force-installing an app update or updating an app through Support App could leave behind files from the previous version inside the app bundle. When this happened, macOS reported the app's code signature as invalid (for example, with the message "File added after outer app bundle was codesigned"), which could prevent the app from launching or passing Gatekeeper checks. Users may have experienced this as the app unexpectedly quitting right after opening, or as a macOS warning that the app is "damaged" and can't be opened. Updates now fully replace the app bundle, ensuring the code signature remains intact after every update. We apologize for any inconvenience you and your users may have experienced.

  • Workaround for affected installs: Run the following command through your Device Management Solution to remotely repair the app without asking the user to reinstall it manually:

    catalog -i BUNDLE_ID --force 

    If you've made the app available in the Catalog App, users can also resolve it themselves by uninstalling and reinstalling the app from there.

App Catalog 1.9.0

• Bug fixes and performance improvements