Earlier this 12 months, YouTuber Jon Prosser shared a number of movies displaying off what he claimed to be re-created renderings of what was then presumed to be known as iOS 19 and which was finally unveiled by Apple as iOS 26 at WWDC in June.
In his first video again in January, Prosser confirmed off a Digicam app redesign with a less complicated set of buttons for transferring between photograph and video modes, and he adopted that up with a March episode of his Genius Bar podcast the place he confirmed off the Messages app, full with spherical navigation buttons on the high and rounded corners across the keyboard.
And he wrapped issues up with an April video that gave a extra full take a look at the Liquid Glass redesign that in the end debuted in iOS 26, with rounder, glass-like interface components, pill-shaped tab bars on the backside of sure Apple apps, and extra.
Whereas the Digicam app redesign did not precisely match what Apple unveiled for iOS 26, the overall concept was appropriate and far of what else Prosser confirmed was fairly shut to identify on, and Apple clearly took discover as the corporate filed a lawsuit at this time (Scribd hyperlink) towards Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti for misappropriation of commerce secrets and techniques.
Apple’s grievance outlines what it claims is the sequence of occasions that led to the leaks, which centered round a improvement iPhone within the possession of Ramacciotti’s pal and Apple worker Ethan Lipnik. In response to Apple, Prosser and Ramacciotti plotted to entry Lipnik’s telephone, buying his passcode after which utilizing location-tracking to find out when he “could be gone for an prolonged interval.” Prosser reportedly supplied monetary compensation to Ramacciotti in return for helping with accessing the event iPhone.
Apple says Ramacciotti accessed Lipnik’s improvement iPhone and made a FaceTime name to Prosser, displaying off iOS 26 working on the event iPhone, and that Prosser recorded the decision with display seize instruments. Prosser then shared these movies with others and used them to make re-created renders of iOS 26 for his movies.
Lipnik’s telephone contained a “vital quantity of extra Apple commerce secret data that has not but been publicly disclosed,” and Apple says it doesn’t know the way a lot of that data is within the possession of Prosser and Ramacciotti.
As a way to shield its commerce secrets and techniques, Apple has filed the lawsuit to request an injunction towards additional disclosure of Apple’s confidential commerce secret data and is searching for damages over the misappropriation of them.
Lipnik’s employment with Apple has already been terminated over his failure to observe the corporate’s insurance policies to guard improvement and unreleased units and software program. Lipnik additionally didn’t disclose the breach to Apple as soon as he discovered of it via others who acknowledged his condo within the recorded FaceTime name, with Apple studying of the small print from an nameless electronic mail.
Replace 8:55 pm: In replies to our tweet about this story, Prosser takes difficulty with Apple’s presentation of the occasions, claiming he was “unaware of the state of affairs taking part in out” and saying he’s “wanting ahead to with the ability to communicate to Apple about it.”
For the document: I actually didn’t “plot” to entry anybody’s telephone and was unaware of the state of affairs taking part in out.
— jon prosser (@jon_prosser) July 18, 2025
