The silent shift: personalization in tech

As I’m speaking, there’s an intriguing but quiet revolution happening in the technology world—a trend that seems to have largely flown under the radar amidst the cacophony surrounding advancements in AI and XR (Extended Reality). While most of us, including myself, are dazzled by the breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and immersive technologies, there’s another wave of innovation subtly reshaping the tech landscape: personalization.

In this article, we’ll dive deep into the distinct layers of this growing trend. We'll explore how customization, specialization, and adaptation, all falling under the umbrella term of "personalization," profoundly impact our devices and experiences, paving the way to a more user-centered future.

Customization: taking control of your devices

Exploring the roots of customization in tech

One of the most vivid examples of personalization comes in the form of customization. Major players in the tech industry, like Apple and Google, have recently ramped up their efforts in making systems more customizable. Let’s dissect how this shift has unfolded.

Google and "Material You"

For years, Google’s Android OS has been known for its flexibility in customization, giving users the freedom to adjust icons, themes, and layouts to suit their individual tastes. Historically, this freedom led to the infamous, sometimes questionable, integrations of unattractive icon packs and chaotic interfaces. However, Google decided to formalize this creativity with Material You, introduced in Android 12.

Material You isn’t just about letting you pick themes—it integrates the user’s wallpaper colors into the system’s entire visual identity. This includes adapting widgets, icons, and UI components to a unified color palette. While some dismissed it as gimmicky, many (myself included) find its ability to maintain Google's visual identity while offering personalization fascinating.

Apple's take on customization

Apple, often perceived as tech’s "walled garden," is also embracing customization—albeit at a slower pace than Google. With incremental steps spread across several iOS versions, Apple has introduced changes such as:

• Lock screen customization in recent updates
• Tinted icons and widgets in iOS 18 (although controversial)

Unlike Google’s coordinated push, Apple’s journey toward customization feels gradual and subdued. But make no mistake: both companies recognize that the maturation of smartphones leaves little room for major hardware innovation. Customization, then, becomes a feature to differentiate and engage.

Specialization: finding your niche in a crowded market

How tools and apps are evolving for unique use cases

The second layer of personalization, specialization, impacts not just operating systems but also the applications we rely on every day. This trend is particularly evident within the Apple ecosystem, where developing apps is becoming easier than ever, empowering developers to cater to niche audiences.

Making app development easier

Apple is systematically simplifying the tools developers need to create apps for its platforms. For instance:

• UI Kit is being replaced by SwiftUI, a more approachable framework.
• Core Data is giving way to Swift Data, making handling data more fluid and user-friendly.

By lowering the barrier of entry, Apple ensures that even developers with minimal experience can bring innovative ideas to life. This abundance of creators ultimately fosters competition—resulting in better apps and more diverse offerings.

Niche products for specific audiences

With more developers entering the ecosystem, large, generic apps are no longer the only viable strategy. Instead, developers are finding success by honing in on niche products with unique features tailored to distinct user groups.

• Tools are increasingly specialized for particular professions.
• Apps embrace aesthetics and micro-optimizations for specific demographics.

The result? A flourishing app market that caters to users' individual preferences like never before.

An example from my personal journey is worth mentioning: I created Donic, a countdown app designed not just for utility but for emotional and aesthetic resonance as well. It focuses on enhancing the experience of waiting by allowing users to reflect and log their thoughts. The niche design philosophy has resonated with users sharing similar tastes, highlighting the power of specialization.

Adaptation: the AI-powered evolution

How AI can fuel adaptive solutions

The final piece in the personalization puzzle is adaptation, largely powered by artificial intelligence. While AI’s impact on areas such as coding and data retrieval is becoming clearer, the idea of a truly adaptive system—one that dynamically morphs based on user context—is profoundly transformative.

Generative UI and AI’s potential

Picture a scenario in which your operating system dynamically generates its UI based on your needs:

• You request specific data or features.
• The AI retrieves this data/input from various sources.
• It structures the information into a custom, on-the-fly user interface optimized for immediate use.

While this isn’t science fiction—it’s already being prototyped, such as with generative UI tools like Vercel V Zero—the leap to a fully adaptable consumer system is still on the horizon. However, it promises radical flexibility: no more reliance on pre-designed apps. Instead, we get systems that adapt to users in both function and aesthetic.

What adaptation looks like in practice

For a simple example: imagine a Notes app. With:

• Customization, you can modify icon styles and fonts.
• Specialization, it could offer niche functionality, say for architects planning blueprints or musicians jotting chord progressions.
• Adaptation, the app morphs in real time, showing only the tools and options unique to a specific note or workflow—creating a tailored interface per user and task.

The possibilities of this trend are immense. Beyond UIs, adaptable systems could even evolve their workflows based on individual user behaviors over time.

Where AI, XR, and personalization converge

Personalization's ties to AI and XR technologies

It’s worth noting that while personalization may feel distant from AI and XR, the interrelationships between these fields mean personalization cannot develop in isolation. For example:

• AI assistants (like ChatGPT or Bard) already show specialization capabilities by helping users tailor code, design, and interfaces.
• XR and spatial computing present fertile ground for adaptive UIs that respond to environments or gestures.

The synergy between these technologies is inevitable. As AI learns more about user behavior and spatial computing makes devices adaptable to real-world contexts, personalization trends will grow stronger, making systems smarter and truly user-centric.

A changing attitude: personalization as a "vibe shift"

How personalization is influencing user expectations

Unlike linear advancements in hardware technology, personalization represents what can be described as a "vibe shift" within the industry. There’s no clear roadmap for how things are evolving, but the signs point to an increasing openness from users and companies alike toward exploring beyond “standard” interfaces.

Ten years ago, users were largely content with stock systems, minimal customization, and rigidly designed apps. Today? There’s a growing appetite for experimentation, new aesthetics, and tools that meet hyper-specific demands. From ditching predictable stock configurations to embracing modular designs, there is unprecedented enthusiasm for self-expression in software and devices alike.

Conclusion: the road ahead for personalization

The trend of personalization, encompassing customization, specialization, and adaptation, is propelling the tech industry toward more user-tailored experiences. More importantly, it signals a changing relationship between users and technology where individuality and expression come to the forefront.

What’s truly exciting is the ripple effect of this shift. As OS systems mature and barriers to development fall, we’re poised to see a renaissance in tools, apps, and workflows tailored to the unique needs and tastes of individuals.

Eventually, as AI and XR technologies further integrate into this framework, our devices might become reflections of ourselves in ways we can only begin to imagine. This silent shift has only just begun. Are you ready to embrace it?

Follow Andrea Copellino on Instagram | View his projects on Behance