Smartwatch App Design Antipatterns

2. Edgy

“Specific and process content rather than broad and general”

Smartwatch App Design Antipattern

2. Edgy

Specific and process content rather than broad and general

A bit of intrigue or seductiveness is good in some contexts, to keep the interest. But not in wearables. As stated earlier in this paper, the more straightforward the information is, the chances for the user to be thankful about it increase. Uncertainty and frustration might not be suitable for someone who is expecting a specific job email or the answer from his or her significant other, which is displayed instead in general terms.

Key Considerations

  • Intrigue
  • Unnecessary to open cell phone
  • Incomplete
  • Desperate
  • Anxious

Apparently Positive

Nonspecific content delivered may turn the user into getting to use the app more to find what the content is really about.

Negative Side

Keeping the user at the edge makes the user finding himself in a place he might not be interested in more often then he shown. Evasion, frustration and intrigue are the main feelings that a user might experiment.

Examples

Teams collaboration app

When the users receives messages from several parties amongst the various teams in which they belong to, the app shows the general events such as "5 messages from X Team, 10 messages from Y Team and 1 message from Team Z". The message is oversimplified and is accompanied only by the action button "Open on Phone. This inhibites the users from understanding the context of each of the conversations to make an effective decision as to whether they need to reply back or if it is worth while going to the phone to see the details. The users ends up picking the phone more times that he would've needed/desired.

Social communication app

A notification arrives from the app indicating the users that their friend X has replied back on an image he commented. The notification does not provide: the commented image, detail of the user commented, nor the comments chain. Therefore, the users really don't know exactly what image the notification is talking about, what they commented on it and if it is relevant enough at the current moment to go and check it on another channel where this information is available.