MichaelBTech

Reports are that Apple is bringing a radically new design to iOS with iOS 19.

Mark Gurman, on Bloomberg’s Power Up

“The revamp — due later this year — will fundamentally change the look of the operating systems and make Apple’s various software platforms more consistent, according to people familiar with the effort. That includes updating the style of icons, menus, apps, windows and system buttons.

As part of the push, the company is working to simplify the way users navigate and control their devices, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the project hasn’t been announced. The design is loosely based on the Vision Pro’s software”

Designer Eli Johnson made a brilliant concept of what that iOS redesign could look like based off of the design of the current Apple Photos, Sports, and Invites app that was recently released. Even Jon Prosser, popular Apple leaker, on Front Page Tech leaked a vision of what he saw as the new Camera app design on iOS 19.

Personally, I welcome it and I’m looking forward to this new era of UI from Apple because it’s a long time coming.

Since I’ve been working on my own app for Android, I’ve been paying more attention to the front end app designs. I’m sure it’s not a surprise, but though I do like Apple’s new glass-like visionOS and what Apple plans to do with their OSes across the Apple space, I’ve realized how much I enjoy Google’s joyful and human Material Design.

Aside from material design not compromising form or function, it just feels more joyful and human to use compared to Apple’s more cold, yet utopian sci-fi leaning design.

Bluesky has just unveiled its 2025 roadmap for the AT Protocol, outlining some pretty significant changes aimed at making the platform smoother and more secure. Essentially, they’re fine-tuning the entire system. A key focus is on streamlining data synchronization with the Sync v1.1 update, which will make running relays more efficient and clarify the process for validating the firehose. Think of it as optimizing the backbone of the network, ensuring everything runs smoothly. As someone who’s been exploring both AT Protocol and ActivityPub clients, I’m particularly interested in seeing how these improvements will help bridge the gap towards a truly functional fediverse. Currently, ActivityPub boasts a larger ecosystem of clients and more established connectivity.

Security is also a major priority, with the introduction of Auth Scopes. This feature will give users much more granular control over app permissions. For example, you’ll be able to allow an app to read your posts without granting access to your direct messages. It’s about putting you firmly in the driver’s seat when it comes to your data. Developers are getting some love too, with a new web interface for PDS account management. This will simplify the process of building apps on the AT Protocol, making it easier for new users to sign up and manage their accounts.

Bluesky is also prioritizing the development of features for private groups and encrypted messages. They’re aiming to enable users to share content with specific audiences and keep it truly private, addressing a major demand for enhanced privacy. They’re also cleaning up the protocol by deprecating older features, ensuring everyone is using the latest and most efficient tools.

We believe that robust support for group-private data will be necessary for the long-term success of the protocol (and for apps built on the protocol). Similarly, the ability to share private content with a specific group or audience continues to be a top feature request for both the AT Protocol and the Bluesky app. Just as we’re currently doing with public conversation on the Bluesky app and the AT Protocol, we also want to co-design the protocol specification for private data in tandem with specific real-world product features: this results in better outcomes for both. Designing for privacy is pretty different from designing for global broadcast, and we think the data architecture will probably look pretty different from the MST + firehose system.

Shared data will depend on Auth Scopes, and we don’t expect to start design work until that is complete.

Looking forward, we continue to have plans to implement on-protocol DMs and E2EE group chat. However, we don’t expect to start work on this until after shared data is implemented. Meanwhile, there has been exciting progress in the broader tech world around the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) standard, and we are optimistic that we will be able to build on reusable components and design patterns when the time comes. It is also possible (and exciting!) that the atproto dev community will experiment and build E2EE chat apps off-protocol before there is an official specification.

The AT Protocol community continues to grow rapidly, and Bluesky encourages everyone to get involved through GitHub discussions and community events. It’s a collaborative effort, and the company is clearly committed to building a robust and user-friendly decentralized social network. I’m keen to see if these updates will allow the AT Protocol to catch up to ActivityPub’s current strengths in client diversity and network connectivity.