Updated on 08/19/20: Added VMware KB to post

Whenever a new version of any mobile platform is released, whether it be iOS or Android just to name a few, AirWatch would release a seed script that you can run against your AirWatch database. By doing so, you can specify the new version in a wide range of setup such as generating an alert whenever users upgrade their devices to the latest version without IT’s approval.

But did you know there is already a feature on the web console that already takes care of the platform version update for you? As of this writing, the latest release of iOS is 11.1.2. As you can see from the screenshot above, iOS 11.2.0 might not be too far behind.

Before proceeding further, make sure your account role is set to System Administrator at Global. Otherwise, you will not see this feature at all.

To access this feature, go to GROUPS & SETTINGS -> All Settings ->  Admin -> Cloud Services.

Once you are there, scroll down to the bottom of the page to the section Updates.

As you can see, this feature updates the platform version regularly. You can also Check for Updates manually with a mouse click.

The last time I spoke with AirWatch support about this, I was given the details below. Perhaps this is the best-kept secret after all!

Automatic OS Updates for On-Premise EnvironmentsAutomatic OS Updates for On-Premise EnvironmentsStarting with AirWatch console version 7.1, AirWatch will be able to automatically populate new OS values as updates come out without the need to run the OS update compatibility script on the database. The AirWatch console server will check with the AirWatch Global Environment Manager automatically once a day for an update. This applies to the following on-premise environments:

1. AirWatch Console Version 7.1 and higher

2. AirWatch Console server has an outbound connection to Global Environment Manager, gem.awmdm.com, over port 443.

* SAAS customers do not need to take any action for OS updates
* Remaining on-premise environments which do not meet the aforementioned criteria will still need to run the OS update compatibility script on the database. This can be found here: Link to compatibility script 

Once the update is applied to your environment, you should then be able to select the new value in OS dropdowns when creating policies, such as profiles, SEG compliance, enrollment restrictions, and smart group criteria.

For more information, check out this latest VMware KB.