Apple Configurator

Apple Configurator is a free Mac app (available here) for automating the development and assignment of iOS devices. Originally focused on education, it can be useful in a variety of scenarios.

Configurator knows some unique tricks:

Prepare devices

• Configure up to 30 devices at a time
• Update devices to the latest version of iOS
• Create and restore a backup of settings and app data from one device to other devices
• Import apps into Apple Configurator and sync them to new devices
• Use the built-in editor to create and install iOS configuration profiles
• Enroll devices with your Mobile Device Management solution for remote management

Supervise devices

• Organize supervised devices into custom groups
• Automatically apply common configurations to supervised devices
• Quickly reapply a configuration to a supervised device and remove the previous user's data
• Import apps into Apple Configurator and sync them to supervised devices
• Define and apply common or sequential names to all devices
• Restrict supervised devices from syncing with other computers Assign devices
• Add users and groups manually or autopopulate via Open Directory or Active Directory
• Check out a device to a user and restore the user's settings and data on that device
• Check in a device from a user and and back up the data for later use, possibly on a different device
• Apply custom text, wallpaper, or the user's picture to a device's Lock screen
• Import and export documents between your Mac and Apple Configurator
• Sync documents between assigned devices and Apple Configurator

See these articles:

• Apple Releases Apple Configurator App
• Tech Recess: First look video of Apple Configurator
• Tech Recess: Supervising devices with Apple Configurator
• Apple Configurator vs. MDM
• Update to 1.1
• Update to 1.1.1
• Update to 1.2
• Update to 1.3