A couple of years ago, a report suggested Apple was developing an innovative technology that would let it update iPhones in sealed boxes before they’re sold. Then, last year, the company rolled out that feature to US Apple Store locations.
According to Bloomberg, here’s how it works: “The system looks a bit like a metal cubby for shoes. It can use MagSafe and other wireless technologies to power up the iPhone without ever cracking open the packaging. It downloads and installs new software, and then powers the phone back down.”
Now, 9to5Mac suggests that Apple wants to expand that technology to Macs. The publication says macOS Tahoe beta 3 lays the groundwork for this sealed-device update system on the Mac system.
However, it’s worth noting that Apple currently uses NFC technology to update iPhones in the box. Macs don’t have NFC, but Apple could potentially add the technology in future Macs or use a different method entirely to update sealed Mac computers.
Here’s why being able to update Macs inside the box is such a great deal
With the iPhone 15 launch, Apple had an issue with iOS 17.0 that required iPhone users to update to version 17.0.1 due to activation issues and data transfer bugs during the setup. Since Apple wants the experience to be fast and painless, making users immediately update their devices, especially due to a bug, is a major problem.
That said, it’s unclear when the ability to update Macs inside their box will be available. Most likely, we could see official news about it around the release of the M6 MacBook models next year. Bringing this feature to the Mac would be a huge boon, but Apple sells far more iPhones than Macs, so there’s not going to be as much of a rush for the Mac.
