Mobile & Tablet Articles & Videos

  • How Screen-Reader Users Type on and Control Mobile Devices

    Users who are blind or have low vision prefer dictation over typing with a keyboard whenever possible. Screen readers on touchscreen devices are restricted to a well-defined set of gestures which makes interaction more challenging than on computers.

  • Conducting Mobile Accessibility Research with Screen-Reader Users

    Use word of mouth to recruit research participants who rely on screen readers. Conduct the study in person to help participants feel comfortable, and plan to record the screen-reader output.

  • Challenges for Screen-Reader Users on Mobile

    Using a screen reader on mobile is challenging because users must access information sequentially and they cannot easily scan page content. Screen-reader users do not consider accessibility menus helpful.

  • The User Experience of Unmanned Restaurants in China

    Our Beijing-based user research team conducted a field study in automated restaurants that serve diners with no staff. Current designs have some advantages, but the UI is too complicated for customized ordering.

  • Mobile UX: Study Guide

    Unsure where to start? Use this collection of links to our articles and videos to learn how to write and present information that aligns with users’ needs and online behaviors.

  • Infinite Scrolling: When to Use It, When to Avoid It

    Infinite scrolling through long lists of homogeneous items can lower interaction costs, but is less suited to support specific tasks such as finding a particular item.

  • The State of Mobile User Experience

    Fifteen years from the original iPhone, the quality of mobile user experience has stabilized. Mobile standards have emerged and the lines between the mobile web and native apps are becoming blurrier.

  • 5 Tips for Augmented Reality Calibration

    Before users can use an AR app, they must often calibrate it first. Usability studies find many big problems in calibration designs that can prevent people from ever getting into the actual AR experience.

  • The Usability of Augmented Reality

    AR features in mobile apps are plagued by usability issues such as poor discoverability and findability of items with AR, low-visibility instructions, or vague icons and signifiers.

  • Augmented-Reality Calibration in Mobile Apps: 10 Guidelines

    Instructions for calibration should be clear, high-contrast, descriptive, and augmented with unambiguous visual examples. Users should be given explicit feedback about the results of their actions and about the progress of the calibration.

  • AR-Onboarding Walkthroughs in Mobile Apps

    Mobile apps using augmented reality benefit from interactive walkthroughs that guide users through a simple AR experience. These walkthroughs should include information about what to expect, how to handle the device, and how to prepare the environment.

  • Accidental Dismissal of Overlays: A Common Mobile Usability Problem

    Overlays often need to be dismissed in a manner that goes against users’ expectations.

  • Guidelines for Testing Mobile Augmented-Reality Apps

    Whether you’re running in-person or remote research on AR apps, ensure that the test is safe for study participants, the task wording is easy to understand, participants know what to expect in advance of the session, and your recording equipment can capture the participant’s screen and their movements.

  • Exploring the Boundaries of Unmanned Restaurant Services: Irreplaceable Human Services Are Still Needed

    Unmanned restaurant services are gaining varying degrees of adoption in China. Still, there are glitches in the whole self-service flow and areas where human services cannot be replaced.

  • How to Fit Big Tables on Small Screens

    No matter your screen size, some data tables will be too big for the screen. This problem is particularly common on mobile devices. Simple interaction techniques can help, but you may need to offer users more advanced features for information hiding and column reordering.

  • 3 Ways to Onboard New Users

    How to familiarize users with new user interfaces? Onboarding techniques include feature promotion, customization, and instructions. All must be kept simple.

  • Multitasking on Microsoft’s Surface Duo

    The Duo is a two-screen foldable mobile device that enables users to use two applications side by side, but most apps do not take advantage of the two screens. Support for information transfer from one app to the other is limited and multitasking within the same app is at times confusing.

  • Onboarding: Skip it When Possible

    Onboarding instructions that users must digest before they start using an app or other product require attention and effort and thus reduce usability. They should be avoided as much as possible.

  • Easier Input on Mobile Devices

    Form filling and other user input on mobile devices such as smartphones can be awkward and error prone, but by taking advantage of the strengths of the phone, designers can improve the usability of these tasks substantially.

  • UX Guidelines for Augmented-Reality Shopping Tools

    Ecommerce AR tools are relatively new, so must be highly discoverable and easy to learn. Calibration issues run rampant, and users must dedicate focused attention to interact with this unfamiliar feature.