Left to Their Own Devices: The Real Mobile Experience

Credit: Luca Napoli

Left To Their Own Devices The real mobile experience

September 2014

Pamela Pavliscak (not meant to be spoken) @paminthelab

Change Sciences

I love

experiments

data

despair

reality

WTF

experiments

hope

Outline of today’s talk

7 billion mobile phones 55% of those are smartphones

Source: ITU & Pew Internet

1 baby born 5 mobile phones activated

Source: ITU & US Census

Babies love phones actually

flickr.com/photos/iangrieveson/

Source: NY Times

And then there’s this…

Let’s Talk About

RELATIONSHIPS (with our phones)

It is a bit OBSESSIVE

Typical mobiles users check their phones 150 times a day

Source: Kleiner Perkins

Smartphone owners spend an over 2 hours on their phone each day.

Source: eMarketer flickr.com/photos/jacksw/

55% while driving

39% while in the bathroom

36% at school or kid’s events

77% while

watching TV

72% while

shopping

33% at social events

Sources: Google Insights, Harris Interactive & Pew Internet

Source: Grunwald flickr.com/photos/lkbphotographic/

51% of high school and 28% of middle school students take a smartphone to school every day.

21% of all US mobile phone mostly go online using their phones, globally it’s even higher.

Source: Pew Internet flickr.com/photos/yellowmo/

50% of smartphone owners under 30 use the Internet mostly on their phone 55% of Americans who make less than $30K/yr have no other access at home 34% just use the device that’s closest

For Many Reasons

Source: Pew Internet and Google Insights

flickr.com/photos/lestaylorphoto

If it is not on mobile, does it really exist?

Phone Deprivation EXPERIMENT

ONE

“ I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, my phone is my addiction.

-M, GenX, Wired

Source: Change Sciences

100 people, interviews & diaries

Less than 2 hours

How long did you last?

More than 8 hours

2-8 hours

anxious missing out

sad

empty

distracted

free

lost disoriented lonely

How did you feel?

focused

“ It’s a part of me, actually I wish it was, then I wouldn’t always be reaching for it.

-F, Millennial, Pragmatist


It is intensely PERSONAL

We are always

TOGETHER

flickr.com/photos/notionscapital

“ It knows all my secrets, I don’t let my anyone touch it especially my parents.

-F, Teen, Influencer


80% say that their phone is the first and last thing they look at every day.

Source: IDC flickr.com/photos/hirngespinste/

44% sleep with their phones (no not like that, except for ahem 9%)

Source: Pew Internet & Harris Interactive

48% give up sex for 1 month

52% give up phone

for 1 month

Source: Huffington Post

And then again…

Women who would rather

Can I See Your Phone? EXPERIMENT

TWO

250 people, not totally random

American HealthCare.gov Kayak Amazon Express

57! 70! 77!53!

Hands Makes an Puts Phone Holds It Over Excuse Away & Shows

Why no, no you can’t


Well, if you pay me

Study Participants

Friends

Acquaintances

Strangers


Plus, we are always TOUCHING it

It’s kind of like an awesome pet instagram.com/paminthelab

Smartphone!

That also gives us superpowers

kerpa100.deviantart.com

86% solve problems, even troubleshoot emergencies, with their smartphones.

Source: Pew Internet flickr.com/photos/felipe_i/

It acts as a

CO-PARENT

instagram.com/paminthelab

Only 20% of parents don’t use tablets or phones to keep kids occupied

(and they are kind of annoying)

Source: Harris Interactive

It makes us feel connected

instagram.com/paminthelab

Privacy What do we really DO on mobile?

Aggregate 40 Studies EXPERIMENT

THREE

N=745

We touch it a lot but mostly 3 WAYS

Tap / 82%

Swipe / 80%

Scroll / 94%


Omit needless

Gestures

No guesswork

Obvious Cues

Design for

Fingers

TAKEAWAY We explore quickly, without using a

lot of gestures.

Kids are 3x more likely than adults to learn by watching friends use their phones.


Minimal

Animated Cues

Simple for the

First Time

First impressions

The Flick

Wait, what?

The Washing Machine

TAKEAWAY We make up our own gestures out of

the few we really know.

We go to great lengths to AVOID typing


SKIP IT

WORKAROUND

This Sucks!

Fat Fingers

Unfavorable Comparison

COMPLAIN

Another Path

Cut & Paste

Close & Open

“ Oh shit, did I just overdraw my account with that typo?

-M, GenX, Minimizer


90% portrait

10% landscape

Source: UX Matters, Steve Hoober

People don’t make it easy on themselves

If it requires typing

Remember

Mixed feelings

Social Login

Maybe?

Mobile Wallet

Getting better

Voice to Text

TAKEAWAY Design for typing ZERO.

ICONS are mostly confusing

Play / 92%

Close / 88%

Search / 80%


Favorite / 65%

Settings / 58%

Locate / 37%


Don’t go rogue

Standard Icons

Crystal clear

Use Your Words

People pass by

Hamburger

“ I’ve been noticing that little doodad on sites but thought it was just the design.

-M, Millennial, Wired


Q1 2013


Hamburger awareness is on the rise

Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014

We suffer from bottom menu AVERSION

“ I know there is stuff on the bottom but if I have to look there it is probably too late.

-M, GenX, Minimizer


74% overlook or just ignore bottom nav options


Keep it at the

TOP

Avoid

NAV OVERLOAD

We leave our SOUND on

80% of people leave their ringer on and sound turned up


Look to the

Kids

TAKEAWAY Sound cues are mostly a missed

opportunity.

We don’t MULTI-TASK very well

53% of mobile phone users have had a distracted walking encounter.

Source: Pew Internet

“ If I get distracted by a notification, I just forget about that first thing.

-M, GenX, Wired


Focus on

The ONE Thing (per screen)

Streamline

STEPS

TAKEAWAY Make each screen a self-contained

unit.

The LACK OF BACK

78% use the home button to start over in an app or on a site

(no matter that it doesn’t work that way)


“ Well, that didn’t work. I hoped it would just clear it out.

-F, Millennial, Pragmatist

54% try swiping to go back, 45% use a back arrow at the bottom

(remember bottom nav aversion)


TAKEAWAY Back is a carry over from desktop

that maybe should carry over.

We don’t MULTI-SCREEN very well

Big Screen, Little Screen NEW-ISH

EXPERIMENT

Hypothesis The small screen is primary

TAKEAWAY Attention is focused on the device in

your hands about 60% of the time.


Maybe real life is the second screen?

We expect a little MAGIC

Historical Flashback

A few

Surprises

I’ll leave it to you

Omakase

Show

Awareness

Without being

Creepy

It’s OK to

Innovate

But without

Demands

TAKEAWAY That one unexpected surprise is

what often converts.

We expect it to be BETTER THAN DESKTOP

“ Mobile is better – less hype, less ads, less junk to get in the way.

-M, Millennial, Influencer


68% of college-bound high school students have viewed college websites on mobile.

Source: Noel-Levitz flickr.com/photos/daisy_VCM/

52% will go to a competitor mobile site/app after a bad experience


Your mission: Try your own experiments

It bends time and space

And there is no excuse not to test

More Better Mobile deck, stats, testing tips, experiments

http://ow.ly/B8ogn

changesciences.com @paminthelab