The Verge reports on Thursday that Apple has pulled the plug on several different Google-owned iOS apps, blocking the company’s internal apps. This prevents Google from distributing these apps altogether, meaning early versions of Google Maps, Hangouts, Gmail, and other “pre-release beta apps have stopped working today”. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations captured in an electronic forum and Apple can therefore provide no guarantee as to the. Mac OS X/OS X/macOS. The internal codenames of Mac OS X 10.0 through 10.2 are big cats. In Mac OS X 10.2, the internal codename 'Jaguar' was used as a public name, and, for subsequent Mac OS X releases and for OS X 10.9, big cat names were used as public names and wine names were used as internal codenames.
Apple is a company known for its secrecy. New products are developed in design head Jony Ive's top-secret lab facility, which only a handful of Apple employees are able to gain entry to.
When a prototype iPhone 4 was carelessly left in a bar by an Apple employee, the company quickly scrambled to retrieve it, fearful that journalists and competitors could use it to find out what goes on during the making of a new product.
New Apple employees are given access to a suite of apps to help them communicate with one another, test devices, and deal with customers.
Thanks to hackers exploiting holes in the iPhone's software, and test devices accidentally sent to customers by carriers, we're able to sneak a peek behind Apple's secrecy and discover what the company's secret apps look like.
Apple Connect
AppleConnect is the secure employee-only service that lets Apple employees sign into other apps and services. Interestingly, internal Apple apps often make use of the Android-style swipe pattern system--where you slide your finger through a shape--as well as a normal password.
Daily Download
9to5Mac first discovered the Daily Download app in 2011. It's an internal newspaper for employees that updates them on what's going on in the company.
Tank is an example app built by Apple to demonstrate the capabilities of the Game Kit developer tool. The sample app's source code was uploaded to GitHub so that app developers could learn from Apple's multiplayer-only internal game.
What do you do if you want to test the inner settings of someone's iPhone? Well, if you're an Apple employee, you download Inferno. It runs through a series of checks for the phone's hardware and software, and it handily knows to shut down if the device reaches critical temperature.
An Apple 'Genius' is the name given to an expert who works in an Apple Store and helps to repair customers' iPhones. The MobileGenius app lets those experts check customer information and log tests performed on broken devices.
When an Apple employee finds a bug in iOS, they file it using MobileRadar, the company's internal bug-tracking system. Amusingly, the app's icon is an anteater, because, well, anteaters eat bugs.
This app is used to test the various components and sensors found in iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Several Easter eggs are hidden inside the app, which have been found after test devices were accidentally sent out to customers. For example, the icon for the serial number function is a box of Cheerios (cereal, get it?).
The Operator app also includes clips of four songs by the rock band INXS: 'Need You Tonight,' 'New Sensation,' 'The Gift' and 'What You Need.' It looks like someone at Apple is an INXS fan.
If an Apple employee goes for lunch with a business partner, the employee snaps a photo of the receipt on his or her iPhone and enters it into the Receipts app, a custom-made expenses solution that automatically calculates employees' business expenses.
RZM is an app used by Apple Store managers to compare their performance with other retail locations and previous years. No screenshots of this app are circulating in public, most likely because the app displays internal sales information.
This is the employee-only App Store that Apple employees use to download work apps and keep them updated. Like other internal apps, it uses Android-style gestures for additional security.
TouchFighter was an experimental game developed by Apple employees to test the iPhone accelerometer. Players guide the spaceship by tilting the phone to avoid space debris.
We already know that Apple employees often work into the early hours of the morning replying to emails from managers. Well, UniBox is probably one of the apps they use. It sends notifications from Apple to employees' phones, and also serves as a corporate voicemail client.
How Can iPhone Users Install Your Internal App Using iTunes?
Most apps are for public use and are available in the Apple and Google app stores, but some people need apps for internal use only in their businesses and those types of apps aren’t typically found in the app stores. In this article we’ll go over how your employees who have iPhones can install your app using iTunes on their computer.
First things first, if you are looking to build an internal app you will need to be on our Business Level plan. You will also need to enroll in the Apple Enterprise Developer program. If you haven’t done so already, you can follow the steps on how to enroll in the Apple Enterprise Developer program here.
Note: The Apple Enterprise Developer program is strictly for internal-use apps only so keep that in mind before you enroll.
Also, before users can install your app, you’ll need to have the .IPA (the .IPA file is the app file for iOS users) file hosted somewhere so that users can download the file to their computers. This can be on your own website, or on a service such as DropBox or Google Drive. How and where you host the file is up to you.
How Users Install the .IPA File Onto Their iPhone
Next, we’ll go over how users install the .IPA file using iTunes on their computer.
Step 1: Have Them Download the .IPA File
Users will first need to download the .IPA file onto their computer from where you’re hosting it.
Step 2: Have Them Open iTunes
Once the file has been downloaded onto their computer or laptop, they will next need to open iTunes. If they don’t already have iTunes installed on their computer or laptop, they can download it here:
Step 3: Have Them Plug-in the Phone They Want to Install the App Onto
Next the user will need to plug their phone into the computer using the USB to Lightning cable that came with their phones. This will allow the computer (or laptop) to sync their phone with iTunes.
Step 4: Have Them Drag and Drop the .IPA File Onto Their iPhone’s Listing In iTunes
Now that they have plugged in their phone it should appear in iTunes in the side menu of the “Library” tab.
Have them locate the .IPA file on their computer, then click and drag it onto their device’s information in iTunes.
This will install the file onto their iPhone, and if they unlock their phone’s home screen, they should see it installing.
Once it has installed, have them eject their phone from iTunes by clicking on the eject symbol next to their phone’s device information.
Step 5: Have Them Manually Trust Your App On Their iPhone
Now that the app has been installed on their phone, they will need to manually trust the app on their phone. If they need help with how to do this, they can follow the steps laid out in this article.
Once they’ve manually trusted your app they’ll be able to use it on their phone!
One thing we should note is even though 95% of the content of the app can be updated without a resubmission, if you make changes to the app that would typically require a resubmission such as changes to the app’s icon and loading screens, or if a new build of your app needs to be made, once the new .IPA file is created users will need to uninstall your app from their phones, and reinstall the new version following the steps above, including manually trusting the app on their iPhone, so keep that in mind.
Related Articles
In addition to this article, we recommend checking out the following related articles so that you have a better insight into how to use the system to its fullest advantage:
Apple Internal Apps Login
Still have questions? No problem! Reach out to us and we’d be happy to help :)