Powershell : iOS/MacOS Notification (on new release)

When Apple release software updates for their device devices, which will include both macOS and iOS This is obviously well covered by websites that are third-party to Apple.

Apple being in Cupertino, California Will release their updates at a certain time and depending on the time zone you are in will depend on when you get the update - being in the UK that is usually 6 PM.

This will end you giving a notification as an example like this:

Apple Update Site

Apple also have a support site that lists their latest versions of both iOS and macOS, but sometimes these releases incorporations can be missed, When Apple releasing update every device whether it’s managed or not will start downloading that software update.

Software updates - Internet saturation

That update can in turn, depending on the density of your office or work environment, can cause quite a few network problems, depending on your bandwidth allocation - for example, one phone trying to download a 3 GB file is not a problem for many Wi-Fi networks, However, 1500 phones all individually downloading the same iOS upgrade can be a problem.

This is where a Mac content caching server can save the bandwidth to the Internet - but how does this work?

MacOS : The the rescue 🛟

Well, it’s quite simple you place the Mac device on the same network as your clients then when those clients request a upgrade, they will talk to the Mac device if it’s properly registered and activated, then the Mac will go to the Internet on behalf of your device and download the updates with your device until it’s successfully been cached.

This means the first download of that update will go at your native Internet speed however once successfully downloaded all future downloads will not use the Internet, but the Mac to deliver that iOS update.

Managing bandwidth with new software updates 🤨

The theory behind this is very simple, However, you need to remember that you need either an iOS or macOS device for this to work.

When the new software update is released, which I’ve mentioned is usually 6 PM in the UK, but this is not a hard and fast rule, the website that lists all the latest versions of iOS macOS will be updated.

Prepare the Mac with the software update

When the new iOS or macOS version is released you need to ensure that out of business hours the Mac with its very capable content caching successfully downloads that update, this means the update will be local to the Mac device.

If this operation is completed before business hours, when people arrive at your dens office, they will talk to the Mac instead of the Internet, saving your Internet bandwidth from becoming saturated.

macOS/iOS notification email

I would rather not rely on speculations about when these upgrades are coming out, but refer to the official Apple website, which will be updated once that new OTA update is live.

Yes, you could easily go to the official Apple website and check it yourself, but that relies on a very human element, and sometimes humans forget.

This is where I have a script that regularly monitors this website as much as required to check for updates to iOS or macOS and if an updated detected it will send you an email, I have separated the iOS emails from the macOS emails as they can independently of each other.

The script will also record the last version in a JSON file so if nothings been updated, you won’t get any emails, however, if a new version is detected, it will send you an email then update that JSON file to reflect those new values.

You can update all the options in bold, I have the option for a image with the e-mails for a Mac or iPhone that is a "png" file which you can choose to use or not.

Script : iOSChecker.ps1

# Apple OS Version Checker

# This script checks for new versions of iOS and macOS and sends email notifications

# Get the script's directory

$scriptPath = $PSScriptRoot

if (!$scriptPath) {

$scriptPath = Split-Path -Parent -Path $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition

}

# Email configuration

$emailConfig = @{

From = "Apple.Updates@croucher.cloud"

To = "lee@croucher.cloud"

SMTPServer = "smtp.bear.local"

Port = 587

UseSSL = $True

UseCredentials = $false

Username = "username"

Password = "password"

}

# File to store previous versions

$versionFile = "previous_versions.json"

# Function to get iOS version

function Get-iOSVersion {

try {

$response = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222" -UseBasicParsing

$content = $response.Content

if ($content -match "iOS\s+(\d+\.\d+\.?\d*)\s+(?!beta|RC)") {

$version = $matches[1]

if ($version -notmatch "beta|rc|dev" -and $version.Length -lt 10) {

return $version

}

Write-Warning "Could not find production iOS version"

return $null

}

catch {

Write-Error "Error getting iOS version: $_"

return $null

}

# Function to get macOS version

function Get-MacOSVersion {

try {

$response = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201260" -UseBasicParsing

$content = $response.Content

if ($content -match "macOS\s+[\w\s]+?(\d+\.\d+\.?\d*)") {

$version = $matches[1]

if ($version -notmatch "beta|rc|dev" -and $version.Length -lt 10) {

return $version

}

Write-Warning "Could not find production macOS version"

return $null

}

catch {

Write-Error "Error getting macOS version: $_"

return $null

}

# Function to convert image to Base64

function Get-Base64Image {

param (

[string]$ImagePath

)

try {

$fullPath = Join-Path -Path $scriptPath -ChildPath $ImagePath

if (Test-Path $fullPath) {

$imageBytes = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($fullPath)

$base64String = [System.Convert]::ToBase64String($imageBytes)

$imageExtension = [System.IO.Path]::GetExtension($ImagePath).TrimStart('.')

return "data:image/$imageExtension;base64,$base64String"

} else {

Write-Warning "Image file not found: $fullPath"

return $null

}

catch {

Write-Error "Error processing image: $_"

return $null

}

# Function to send email notification

function Send-VersionNotification {

param (

[string]$OS,

[string]$Version

)

Write-Host "Debug: OS=$OS, Version=$Version" -ForegroundColor Cyan

# Early validation

if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($OS) -or [string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($Version)) {

Write-Error "OS or Version is empty. OS='$OS', Version='$Version'"

return

}

# Get icon based on OS type

$iconPath = if ($OS -eq "iOS") { "iPhone-Icon.png" } else { "Macbook-icon.png" }

$iconBase64 = Get-Base64Image -ImagePath $iconPath

$iconHtml = if ($iconBase64) {

"<img src='$iconBase64' alt='$OS Icon' style='width: 64px; height: 64px; margin-bottom: 15px;'>"

} else {

}

try {

$mailParams = @{

From = $emailConfig.From

To = $emailConfig.To

Subject = "$OS Version $Version Now Available"

SmtpServer = $emailConfig.SMTPServer

Port = $emailConfig.Port

BodyAsHtml = $true

}

# HTML Email Template

$mailParams.Body = @"

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>

<title>Apple OS Update Notification</title>

</head>

<tr>

<tr>

$iconHtml

<h1 style="color: #1d1d1f; font-size: 24px; margin: 0; font-weight: 600;">New Update Available</h1>

<p style="color: #86868b; margin-top: 8px; font-size: 14px;">$(Get-Date -Format "MMMM dd, yyyy")</p>

</td>

</tr>

</table>

<tr>

<tr>

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

<p style="color: #1d1d1f; font-size: 42px; margin: 0; font-weight: 700;">Version $Version</p>

</td>

</tr>

</table>

</td>

</tr>

</table>

<tr>

<tr>

<span style="background-color: #ff4d4f; color: white; padding: 4px 12px; border-radius: 4px; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 500;">WARNING</span>

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

<p style="color: #434343; margin: 0; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5;">If you have a Mac caching server remember you have to download this update on the same network as this device before it can cache it so it can serve it to other clients on your network to save your bandwidth.</p>

</td>

</tr>

</table>

</td>

</tr>

</table>

<tr>

<p style="color: #86868b; font-size: 12px; margin: 0;">This is an automated notification from your Apple Version Checker</p>

</td>

</tr>

</table>

</td>

</tr>

</table>

</body>

</html>

# Add SSL if configured

if ($emailConfig.UseSSL) {

$mailParams.Add("UseSsl", $true)

}

# Add credentials if configured

if ($emailConfig.UseCredentials) {

$securePassword = ConvertTo-SecureString $emailConfig.Password -AsPlainText -Force

$credentials = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($emailConfig.Username, $securePassword)

$mailParams.Add("Credential", $credentials)

}

Write-Host "Sending email notification for $OS version $Version..." -NoNewline

Send-MailMessage @mailParams

Write-Host "Done!" -ForegroundColor Green

}

catch {

Write-Error "Error sending email notification: $_"

}

# Function to load previous versions

function Get-PreviousVersions {

if (Test-Path $versionFile) {

try {

return Get-Content $versionFile | ConvertFrom-Json

}

catch {

Write-Warning "Error reading previous versions file. Creating new one."

return @{

iOS = ""

macOS = ""

}

else {

return @{

iOS = ""

macOS = ""

}

# Function to save versions

function Save-Versions {

param (

[string]$iOSVersion,

[string]$macOSVersion

)

$versions = @{

iOS = $iOSVersion

macOS = $macOSVersion

}

$versions | ConvertTo-Json | Set-Content $versionFile

}

# Main script

try {

Write-Host "`n=== Apple Version Checker ===`n" -ForegroundColor Cyan

# Get previous versions

$previousVersions = Get-PreviousVersions

# Get current versions

Write-Host "Checking for iOS version..." -NoNewline

$currentiOS = Get-iOSVersion

if ($currentiOS) {

Write-Host " Found: $currentiOS" -ForegroundColor Green

} else {

Write-Host " Not found" -ForegroundColor Red

}

Write-Host "Checking for macOS version..." -NoNewline

$currentMacOS = Get-MacOSVersion

if ($currentMacOS) {

Write-Host " Found: $currentMacOS" -ForegroundColor Green

} else {

Write-Host " Not found" -ForegroundColor Red

}

# Debug output

Write-Host "`nPrevious versions:" -ForegroundColor Cyan

Write-Host "iOS: $($previousVersions.iOS)"

Write-Host "macOS: $($previousVersions.macOS)"

# Check for new iOS version

if ($currentiOS -and ($currentiOS -ne $previousVersions.iOS)) {

Write-Host "`nNew iOS version detected: $currentiOS" -ForegroundColor Yellow

Send-VersionNotification -OS "iOS" -Version $currentiOS

}

# Check for new macOS version

if ($currentMacOS -and ($currentMacOS -ne $previousVersions.macOS)) {

Write-Host "`nNew macOS version detected: $currentMacOS" -ForegroundColor Yellow

Send-VersionNotification -OS "macOS" -Version $currentMacOS

}

# Save current versions

if ($currentiOS -or $currentMacOS) {

Save-Versions -iOSVersion $currentiOS -macOSVersion $currentMacOS

}

Write-Host "`nScript completed successfully" -ForegroundColor Green

}

catch {

Write-Error "Error in main script execution: $_"

}

The folder should look like this after the script is run:

The previous_versions.json will track the current releases for iOS and MacOS as below, this will be dynamically updated on the next run of the script:

{

"macOS": "10.15",

"iOS": "18.2.1"

}

When run if not changes are detected as below then you will see the version and the script will terminate without an email, an email is only sent when changes are detected.

When updates are detected they look like this (with the option to remind you about preloading files on the Mac caching server) this is for iOS:

Then this is for MacOS when version change:

Now you have no reason not to know about iOS and MacOS updates when officially released.

Powershell : iOS/MacOS Notification (on new release)

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