Nielsen/Norman Group Evaluates Apple Watch Usability
The user-experience experts at the Nielsen/Norman Group have turned their eyes to the Apple Watch. Raluca Budiu criticizes the Apple Watch’s reliance on tiny touch targets, and notes that a left-right scrolling “deck of cards” interface works better than a list view that requires users to “pogo-stick” in and out of a detail view. Budiu also comments that Handoff would work better if your iPhone was automatically unlocked when the watch was in close proximity, as is true of the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Recommendations for developers include focusing on the essential, avoiding buttons and complex navigation, and creating bits of text that stand on their own, along with realizing that the watch is not merely a smaller phone.