Analysis on device message push design of mobile terminals

A message is a reminder that you have updated content, which may include text messages, emails, friend requests, and schedules. The purpose of a message is to actively remind users that they do not need to actively refresh the program or check the updates on the webpage. For example, Sina Weibo of Android, you must manually refresh the program to update Weibo or view the friend application. This method can save traffic and is necessary for monthly subscription users of mobile devices. When you focus on the current task, you can receive messages pushed by other applications, and you can process multiple tasks in a timely manner.

Push Mechanism

The most basic method is to obtain messages from the program online in real time, but the program will occupy the memory, and the network will frequently consume power, and the program will also occupy a lot of processes by connecting to its own server. When poll is implemented, the program may ask the server whether there is any update. The advantage of push is that when there is a message, the server will notify the mobile terminal device client, mobile Terminal devices initiate updates at this time, saving power and saving traffic. Therefore, the smart mobile terminal device platform will have push services.

The message push mechanism was launched after iPhone 3.0. The principle is that messages are processed by servers in a unified manner:

◆ The application server Provider sends messages and targets to APNs.

◆ APNs searches for the target iPhone and sends messages

◆ The iPhone delivers the message to the application, and a Push notification is displayed.

APNs maintains a persistent heartbeat connection with the iPhone for 15 minutes. This ensures that the connection between the mobile device and the server is normal. Otherwise, the mobile device will initiate a connection until it is connected to the server. The program does not need to enable and actively check for updates in real time. When an APNs message is received, the Push message dialog box is displayed on the iPhone with sound. You can select "view" or "close ". Even if the user is offline, the user activates the program after receiving the message and then downloads the email or recording through the Application Server link.

WP7 also has a corresponding push service, regardless of whether the program is enabled or not, you can push Toast Notification on the top of the interface, and display 10 seconds. The Push Client of WP7 is responsible for server interaction. When a message is received, it is sent to the corresponding application, without the need for the application to maintain a process. If the app is pinned to the homepage, the server pushes the Tile Notification to change the Tile's background image, number, and title attributes. The pop-up box native push (Raw Notification) can only allow real-time update of the interface when the application is enabled.

In addition to the persistent connection heartbeat query of the iPhone, the IMAP of PushMail supports the IDLE feature. After logging on to the connection server, the mail client does not actively check for updates, but remains IDLE, when the server receives a new mail and then notifies the mail client, the client queries the received mail. You can also trigger an update by using an invisible text message, but the implementation cost of the SMS method is high. (Non-technical personnel, technical descriptions may be incorrect)

Push form

If you click view in the message pop-up box of the iPhone, the current operation will be affected, but if you click close, the message will no longer be displayed. Due to the restrictions in the pop-up box, multiple messages cannot be displayed at the same time as the Android status bar. It is difficult to manage the badge scattered across various screens. Most badge does not have practical significance. For example, it may take a long time to update and find that an application only has changed the program name.

There is a lack of unified management for iPhone messages. Although it is easier to push messages than Android, messages are not aggregated and managed in a unified manner on the terminal. Therefore, some designers have improved the Notifications App. A message is displayed on the unlock page. You can view the specific content immediately by sliding a message. The unlock interface is used based on the existing iPhone interface operations.

Double-click the Home Key to call up messages from the bottom, while the jailbreak APP Notified Pro uses the status bar like Android for global operations. Considering that many games will overwrite the status bar, the restrictions method is better, and the impact on the user's existing operating system is small. You can edit or clear all messages in the program.

Another reason for the need for unified management is that there are more and more programs and more messages. In order to attract user attention, some applications will frequently push messages, this results in message flooding and affects users' attention to important messages.

Terminal push Design

In addition to understanding the operating system's message processing mechanism and display form, many attributes of the message can be used in the design, such as the metadata, status, priority, and synchronization mode of the message.

SMS messages, Weibo private messages, and emails with high timeliness have higher priority and can be preferentially displayed on the unlock interface. Friend application, system messages, and comments have a lower priority. They are only sent with a digital reminder without sound, or even when the program is enabled. In the future, situational message push will play a role on the mobile terminal device, and the priority will increase the user's validity based on information. For example, the push of discount information will be triggered near a store.

When the server pushes messages, if more diverse processing methods can be attached, such as viewing the complete 140-word Weibo, reply, ignore, read, and reject message, operations without entering other programs (such as Facebook and short messages) can improve processing efficiency, just as MIUI can reply immediately when receiving a text message on the home page.

The program should intelligently identify the processing status. For example, if the read and processed messages are marked as badge and do not repeat the voice, the friend application can be divided into consent, rejection, and ignoring, messages that are ignored by users on various mobile devices can be set as spam messages.

Messages from multiple devices can be processed synchronously. For example, if the messages on the iPhone are not read, messages on the iPhone can be unpushed after they are viewed on the PC.

In the future, message pushing is likely to develop towards integration like WP7, and its importance will become higher and higher.