I recently celebrated my 10-year work anniversary with Agworld (yay for long service leave!) and, looking back at the original Agworld app for the first generation iPad, much has changed in the past 10 years! Where farm machinery such as tractors and harvesters tend to get superseded by a newer version every couple of years, with a new ‘model number’ and noticeable differences for the users, app updates tend to be a lot more subtle most of the time.

A lot of work goes into the ‘background workings’ of the app and the way it interacts with the rest of the Agworld platform, and so many users might not notice the difference that every app update brings them. But, every now and then it’s time for a more radical change and a complete redesign of the app; for us that time has come now.

Similar to how many farms, especially in my motherland of England, have an old homestead, a newer machinery shed and an even newer livestock barn, different parts of the Agworld app have been created and designed at different points in time and are not always as consistent as they could be. Where it is not practical for farmers to clear their block by smashing all buildings down and starting from scratch to make everything consistent, this is something we are fortunate enough to be able to do in the world of software - and we are currently doing just that at Agworld. So what does this mean for you as an Agworld user?

We are updating to the very latest UI (User Interface) technology from Apple called ‘SwiftUI’, and with that we are giving both the iPad and iPhone apps a new design. The result that we are looking to achieve with this is:

• A refreshed and modern look to our apps
• Consistent design throughout our apps - no more different generations of design in the same app
• The Agworld app will be more accessible with consistent text sizes on the different pages
• The space in which the farm map gets displayed on the phone is increasing, as this is often requested by both growers and agronomists
• A new ‘quick actions’ feature will be added, meaning that actions such as creating a field will be more easily accessible

The new UI design software will also allow us to speed-up our feature development process so we can deliver new features more frequently in the future. In the short term, you might notice some inconsistency in old and newly designed pages as we roll out our new design. Ultimately though, these changes will result in a lot more consistency in our apps, which I’m sure will be a big benefit to everyone that uses Agworld.

I’m confident that these changes will be well received and that you’ll enjoy the design upgrades. If you have any questions about the new design or if you’d like some help to make the most out of our apps, please don’t hesitate to contact your Agworld customer success representative!