How Ios 7 Stacks Up:Smartphone OS User Experience Shootout
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
How iOS 7 Stacks Up: Smartphone OS User Experience Shootout a Pfeiffer Report Benchmark Project www.pfeifferreport.com @pfeifferreport Introduction Why is it that the arrival of iOS 7 Whether we like it or not, We do not look at features, we do not smartphones have become a compare cutting-edge options and is necessarily a momentous software game. Take any recent gadgets, we only look at aspects event for the smartphone top-of-the-line smartphone, and you that have a direct impact on the are likely to get a well-designed, fast, day-to-day user experience of an market? Simple: Unlike any other pleasant to use bit of hardware: fluid average, non-technical user. operating system out there, it will operation, responsive interaction, fast The aspects we have surveyed and be in the hands of millions or tens graphics. The difference of user rated are the following: experience, therefore, stems of millions of users within a few cognitive load, efficiency, almost exclusively from the customization, as well as user days after its launch. operating system, the user interface experience friction. Based on And that will make it a force to be design, the application integration, the the results from these benchmarks overall coherence. we have then established an overall reckoned with. This report compares the five Mobile Operating System User major mobile operating systems Experience Index presented at the * The question is, of course: in use today: iOS 7, iOS 6, Android , end of this document. Windows Phone 8, and Blackberry 10, The benchmarks are based on the How good is it really? and rates them in terms of user Pfeiffer Consulting Methodology experience. for User Experience Quantification. * We have chosen Samsung’s implementation of Android, You can find detailed information on since, given the overwhelming market share of Samsung in the the subject by following this link. smartphone market, it is clearly the most widely used version of Android currently distributed. Cognitive Load Cognitive load—the sum of elements you the number of apps/widgets as well as other need to get familiar with in order to use a device icons and user interface elements a default spontaneously and intuitively—is one of the installation of the operating system contains. key aspects of user experience for a non- Differences between operating systems are technical user. For this benchmark we counted significant.Details iOS 7 iOS 6 Android (Samsung) Windows Phone 8 Blackberry 10 Cog. Load Index: 40 Cog. Load Index: 32 Cog. Load Index: 162 Cog. Load Index: 40 Cog. Load Index: 53 iOS 6 has the lowest Samsung’s version of Windows Phone 8 has Blackberry OS 10 has In terms of overall cognitive load count Android has by far the a streamlined user relatively low cognitive cognitive load, iOS 7 of all major mobile highest cognitive interface that differs load, in a range that is operating systems - but load of all the mobile significantly from the comparable to Windows is slightly less lags behind in terms of operating systems iPhone/Android approach. Phone 8, but introduces ease of use functionality. surveyed here: no less Windows Phone 8 is the some unusual user streamlined than the than 104 apps and only mobile OS that has interface elements and previous version of widgets, more than 4 a cognitive load as low as techniques that require times more than iOS 7, iOS7 - but at the cost of some learning. iOS. This difference and a significantly higher eliminating some core user number of icons and user experience and efficiency is due to the addition interface elements. features. of the Control Center, a new user interface element with a new set of icons that were not Mobile Operating Systems Cognitive Load Comparison Lower is better present in iOS before. iOS 7 iOS 6 Android (Samsung) Windows Phone 8 Blackberry 10 Efficiency and Integration Smartphone user experience depends in large multitasking, and camera access, among part on the easy and efficient integration of others. While there is a core set of integration different key features and services. For this functionality all mobile operating systems share, benchmark we analyzed access to key there are significant differences between the five settings, integration with notifications, major players in the market. Details iOS 7 iOS 6 Android (Samsung) Windows Phone 8 Blackberry 10 Efficiency Rating: 7/10 Efficiency Rating: 6/10 Efficiency Rating: 7/10 Efficiency Rating: 4/10 Efficiency Rating: 5/10 iOS 6 has good Samsung’s Android Windows Phone 8 Integration and iOS 7 offers mature basic efficiency and implementation offers offers only basic efficiency options efficiency and integration integration features, but mature but slightly efficiency integration: of Blackberry 10 are it lags behind Android overwhelming efficiency notification management basic, reflecting the options including a and iOS 7 several areas and integration options, is limited; multitasking relative immaturity of concerning efficiency ranging from multitasking, control is very basic, and the operating system. customizable notifications and integration: there customizable notifications does not provide any With the Blackberry area, Control Centre are no shortcuts for key and shortcuts to key way of selectively quitting Hub, Blackberry 10 settings, for instance, settings, but lacks direct running apps, and there has a potential killer and well-implemented and multitasking is access to the camera is no quick access to key feature, yet the muddled implemented in a way that from the lock-screen. settings. implementation and multitasking and makes quitting running inconsistent user interface application switching. apps to free memory makes it sometimes somewhat unintuitive. frustrating to use. Consumer-Level Efficiency and Integration ComparisonHigher is better iOS 7 iOS 6 Android (Samsung) Windows Phone 8 Blackberry 10 Customization Consumer-level customization is one ranging from the almost dizzying granularity of of the key user experience aspects of Android’s options, to the starkness of Windows connected digital devices. Nevertheless, the Phone 8, which allows hardly any user-level current crop of mobile operating systems differs customization. Details quite significantly in terms of customization, iOS 7 iOS 6 Android (Samsung) Windows Phone 8 Blackberry 10 Customization: 6/10 Customization: 5/10 Customization: 7/10 Customization: 2/10 Customization: 4/10 iOS 6 has good basic Android has the longest Windows Phone Blackberry 10 offers iOS 7 offers similar customization options, list of customization offers the poorest basic customization that customization options and offers some some options of all mobile customization options is better than Windows accessibility features operating systems of all the operating Phone 8 (it supports a as the previous release, which are still missing surveyed, but lacks some systems surveyed here: personalized home screen in competing mobile of the accessibility options No background image can as well as grouping apps but adds dynamic operating systems. present in iOS. be set of the home screen, into folders) but clearly type support, as well and even background lags behind iOS and colors are limited to black Android. as comprehensive and white. Customization of the colored tiles is accessibility options. minimal. In addition, (Users who have Windows Phone lacks the capability to group apps difficulties reading the into Folders. thin typeface of iOS 7 can switch to bold type, Consumer-Level Customization Options Comparison Higher is better for instance) iOS 7 iOS 6 Android (Samsung) Windows Phone Blackberry 10 User Experience Friction (UXF) UXF is the bad stuff, the aspects of a device that should be available. For this survey we took can annoy you in a niggling way, or, in extreme only the most obvious UXF factors into account, cases, drive you crazy. Basically, UXF occurs and rated them. For a detailed account of the whenever a device does not do what you UXF factors, as well as the rating method, expect it to do - or lacks a key feature that click on Details. iOS 7 iOS 6 Android (Samsung) Windows Phone 8 Blackberry 10 UXF Factor: 17 UXF Factor: 14 UXF Factor: 30 UXF Factor: 51 UXF Factor: 38 iOS 6 has one of the While Android has Microsoft deserves credit Blackberry 10 is a While iOS 7 has added lowest UXF ratings improved immensely since for designing a mobile textbook example how some useful efficiency in the industry, clearly earlier releases, some operating systems that is UXF can challenge linked to very low cognitive aspects can remain completely different from overall usability. While features, some of the load and a streamlined annoying even for the iPhone. Unfortunately, the idea of the “Blackberry feature set. Some of experienced users, such Windows Phone 8 Hub” is interesting, the new additions also the UXF factors in this as the unintuitive way of also has a significant implementation is such contribute to UXF. A release of iOS have deleting selected apps, or amount of UXF: that the intended benefits been eliminated in iOS 7, the inconsistent approach customization of the user are almost completely good example is the such as the confusing to interface design that environment is minimal, lost. Add the absence of multitasking manager that mixes app icons with what for instance, making the a Home or Back button, Control Center: it is made it difficult to eliminate looks like advertisements stylish interface oppressive among others, and you clearly useful, yet has running apps. for specific apps. after a while. wind up with very serious user experience friction. the annoying habit of accidentally popping up. Mobile Operating System User Experience Friction Comparison Lower is better iOS 7 iOS 6 Android (Samsung) Windows Phone 8 Blackberry 10 Overall User Experience Index The combined results of the four different benchmarks and evaluations give iOS 7 a clear advantage in terms of of overall user experience, taking into account the context defined for these benchmarks: day-to-day user experience of an average, non-technical user.