7 examples of awesome mobile app UX

The development of technology and the accelerating growth of mobile phone usage has heightened the demand for app developers to extend beyond meeting customers’ needs more than ever before. One of the most engaging facets of mobile applications is the ability to incorporate high quality mobile user experience (UX) designs to create positive experiences for customers. Here 7 examples of awesome mobile app UX and the apps that execute the experience successfully.

1. Hassle-free payments

With society shifting away from physical payment forms such as cash and bank cards, app developers are creating ways to integrate and process payments into a single digital system. A great example of an app that eliminates the use of physical payments is Hey You. The platform allows users to order and pay for their meal before entering a café or restaurant, skipping the wait queue. Users of Hey You can enjoy the ease of payment through connecting their preferred payment account through the app. You no longer will have to deal with the hassle and stress of adjusting to the form of payment available at your next food outlet.

2. Minimized need for typing

Another way mobile apps have evolved to better engage the user is through minimizing unnecessary typing. Drops demonstrates this UX effectively by providing a platform for users to learn a language without typing. The app allows users to retain knowledge through gamification using a range of interactions such as swiping, tapping and drag and dropping. This eliminates the hassle of mistyping words and minimizes potential eyestrain by replacing words with symbols and images.

3. Use of chatbots

The rise of the chatbot has been a widely talked about topic of artificial intelligence that uses machine learning to engage in conversations with users. Chatbots are especially utilized as an efficient replacement of a customer service team or an effective extension to FAQ pages. Nike StyleBot which is integrated into Facebook Messenger allows customers to converse with a ‘personal stylist’. The AI eCommerce chatbot offers shopping advice, assisting the user to design and style their outfit, making adjustments according to their own preferences. The reply choices made available to the customer allows the chatbot to learn the customer’s personal taste and recommend outfits that meet their needs.

4. Larger icons

App designers will also need to consider the increasing diversity of mobile users, with an increase of elderly and infants using the apps. Users with larger thumbs, low fine motor skills and poor eyesight can often struggle with tapping on icons within an app. The Apple Health app available on iOS categorizes its functions in large square planes, labelling each with distinct colors and images to differentiate the icons. This allows users to easily navigate through the app and select the intended category.

5. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is an emerging technology that is most evidently incorporated in the social media platform Snapchat. The app’s ‘filters’ augment the face of the user, adding effects to the live image or video that can be recorded. Users also have the ability to create their own filters and share their designs with other Snapchat users, offering creativity and innovation to interact with the platform. The app also allows users to augment their voice to various sound options such as a chipmunk, robot or an alien-like voice, altering pitch and distorting words and phrases. Augmented reality is a UX feature that fosters entertainment and allows users to further engage in the app rather than being used as a simple instant media sharing platform.

6. Personalized push notifications

Push notifications are an effective way to remind a user to use an app. However, personalizing the notifications to the user can increase urgency and need to use the app. Waze is a community platform that allows car drivers to skip traffic by alerting road accidents, road work and highway patrols to optimize routes. The app now offers personalized push notifications which signals drivers the optimal time to drive to their preferred destination. The push notifications also signals you on updates on routes near your area including road closures.

7. Adjusting to screen orientation

Although most smartphones enable the ability for screen rotation to adjust to an application’s screen orientation, some apps fail to adapt to the adjustment during photo and video content viewing. Most apps display content solely on portrait mode, however, an example of effective user experience is the YouTube app which adjusts their videos to landscape. This enables the video to fill the screen and create an enhanced experience for the viewer.

Take a deeper analysis into the development of smartphone apps and how they are enhanced to improve your own user experience. Which apps will you like to test out to discover the ultimate UX design?

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