The iOS 14 update offers little to enterprise users

Apple's iOS 14 update also includes improvements to its messaging app, Messages, that might help business users. Several improvements provide for more flexibility with group communication: allowing users to communicate with a particular member of a group and have in-line responses; to draw someone's attention to a particular message by using their name; and the option to only be notified when another group member specifically mentions them.

"When you're talking to a group, sometimes there's so much going on, it can be hard to keep track of the conversation," said Stacey Lysik, Apple's senior director of OS program management, during the keynote. "We're going to help you bring order to the chaos."

Mueller said the upgrades -- especially the in-line message threads -- could prove to be useful for larger teams within a business.

However, Gillett said, larger enterprises will likely already have other collaboration tools in place.

"[The messaging features] might be valuable to a small business, but all the enterprises tell all their employees to stay out of Messages and use company-approved enterprise messaging, like [Microsoft] Teams," he said. "A small business that uses consumer messaging might appreciate that, but not an enterprise."

Enterprise Strategy Group senior analyst Mark Bowker said the collaboration improvements did not stand out from those offered elsewhere.

"I see very few people using Apple messaging [tools], in general, as a business collaboration tool," he said. "That doesn't mean that they aren't, but it's still Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex ... that really rule the roost in the enterprise."