What is the difference between these Device Settings deployment paths?
Starting with macOS, iOS, and iPadOS 26, Addigy supports the deployment of MDM Profiles or Declarations for Device Settings. Devices on Apple OSes prior to OS 26 will continue getting MDM Profiles just as they always have, and if a device is on OS 26 and up, you have the option of deploying a Declaration for a given Device Setting (eg, Passcode, Extensible SSO, Platform SSO, and more).
There is no functional difference to your users in how these newer Declarations are deployed vs. the older MDM Profile. Some variations do exist between the key values available from an MDM Profile key value and a Declaration Configuration Object key. Newer Apple OSes 26+ may have new features that can only be enterprise-managed via the newer Declaration Configuration Object.
How can you tell if my devices in Addigy will get this Device Setting?
Both MDM Profiles or Declarations in Device Settings will have a required minimum OS listed at the top of the key values if the feature supports only a subset of the OSes that Addigy as a whole supports.
If a device is on an OS that is older than the minimum supported OS, the Profile will be skipped, and in the case of Declarations, it will not be activated on the device until it reaches a supported OS.
What if you deploy both a Declaration Payload and an MDM Profile to a device for the same Device Setting?
Per Apple OS guidelines, a Declaration should take precedence on the device if that is present over the older MDM Profile. For example, if you have an MDM Profile that is managing Passcode requirements, but you also have a Declaration for that feature, those newer Declaration values would take precedence on the device.
Deploying User-Channel Declarations via Policy
Historically, with MDM Profiles, user-channel profiles could only have been deployed via GoLive > Device Settings. With declarative payloads, Addigy will automatically send settings through the supported channel.