How tablet phones transform the mobile user experience

Remember the times when small mobile phones are popular? That's ancient history. Big screen smartphones have long been a trend, and the trend will continue. Given the shift in the way users use a new generation of mobile devices, especially the tablet, it's time to re-examine how to design for the mobile end.

　　What is a tablet phone?

As the name suggests, is mobile + tablet computer.

Which is bigger than our usual, but not as big as a tablet. Specifically, the screen size of a tablet phone can usually reach 5 to 6.9 inches (127 to 180 millimeters). By contrast, IPhone5 's screen diagonal is 4 inches.

So the key to distinguishing between a tablet phone and a smartphone is in the screen size. But its content is actually similar to that of smartphones and tablets.

Tablets are not new, but there are still a lot of people who did not really acknowledge their existence until the recent iphone 6 Plus release. But the fact is that Samsung pioneered the tablet phone market as early as the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note in 2011, and the phone was immediately a consumer interest after it was released.

　　Why?

Research shows that people now absorb more and more visual content on mobile devices, while ordinary mobile phones, which call the main function, are not up to the times. With that in mind, predicting that the average smartphone market will grow at an average annual rate of only 4% per cent, while the tablet phone sector reaches 36% per cent growth rate by 2018 (data Source: Statista), is not a surprising language.

　　User interaction with a tablet phone

Since the tablet phone is so awesome, most consumers will choose to abandon the old smartphone. But these consumers are not sure which one is more comfortable with a tablet phone or a regular smartphone. The problem is that although the screen is big, our hands are not growing up. So we need to adjust the way we operate our phones.

I don't know if you're familiar with the thumb area heat map, this picture outlines the way users get smartphones and see areas they can't reach.

The word "thumb" was first seen in Steven Hoober's 2011 book, "Mobile Interface Design," which is defined in the book as "the most comfortable touch area to use with one hand." This theory is based on the observation and analysis of 1333 cases of smartphone use, analysis shows that 49% of users use a single hand to carry the phone and use the thumb to perform various operations. The study also showed that:

36% users use the "grip" posture to hold the phone, while the thumb or another finger is placed on the screen

15% 's users use their hands to hold their phones, 90% of which will be held vertically, with only 10% horizontal grip

So what does the appearance of a tablet phone do to the outcome? Will the user spread his finger across the screen or will it change a handshake?

According to a recent study by Steven Hoober, "people use non-habitual hands to do things, and they often change hands and hold their phones." "This argument applies to different smartphones, including tablet phones.

But if we look at how the natural thumb area changes as the size of the screen changes, it's obvious that the user is not going to stick to the pain of a single hand holding the phone at the same time to the different areas of the screen. Our assumption is that the user will change the way the handshake directly, adjust accordingly. With this in mind, we can assume that the user will not be bothered by the problem of screen size, instead of constantly adjusting the handshake in order to comfortably use the tablet phone.

This may sound a relief, but given the fact that many users are doing other things while using a tablet phone, the gesture of a handheld handset is essential. So ideally, it's best to keep the main interaction points in the natural thumb area when designing the mobile interface. This makes it unnecessary for users to change the way they get their phones.

But from the realistic point of view, this method is not always effective.

　　How to design for a tablet phone

Samsung's Galaxy Note is the first tablet phone on the market, but the only thing it offers to facilitate interoperability is a stylus. It's a bit of a help, but the stylus is just a tool, not everyone likes to use it.

In this regard, Apple seems to have a slightly higher focus on user comfort. As the iphone 6 Plus was released, Apple also released the OS-level "accessibility" feature: by double-clicking the main screen button, iOS pushes the top of the screen into the user's natural thumb area. This is obviously not natural, it increases the time and the steps that users need to complete their tasks, but it is a step forward compared to other tablets that do not have this feature.

Luke Wroblewski offers another solution: Move the most critical point of interaction to the bottom of the screen, and sort all the controls down to the next level of importance. I personally think this approach can be a reference for iOS developers, but it doesn't work for Android tablets that have the bottom control bar (Google Nexus 6, for example) because it conflicts with some control operations at the application level.

　　Written in the last

The tablet phone is changing the way we absorb digital content, and the patterns that we design for the mobile end. We need more practical use of data and research as a basis for user experience design decisions and try to make the operation of a big-screen phone as comfortable as a small phone. The biggest challenge for user experience professionals is to design the most natural and uncomfortable way to extend the advantages of a tablet phone.