A qualitative study of smartwatch usage and its usability

Abstract

This study aims to explore usability issues of watch‐type wearable devices and to suggest guidelines for improved operation of smartwatches. To do so, we conducted a series of surveys, interviews, and task performance experiments. Thirty smartwatch users from ages 20 to 43 years were recruited. Users’ experiences of smartwatches were collected via a weeklong, online‐based diary study, which consisted of various tasks to be completed while smartwatches were in use. Our study assessed usability problems associated with those tasks, concurrent tasks conducted while interacting with smartwatches, pain points/discomfort that users had while interacting with their devices, and requirements/requests of the smartwatch users. During the week of tracking, participants were asked to complete the usability evaluation three times a day using usability principles we designed for the study: information display, control, learnability, interoperability, and preference. In addition, task performance tests were conducted for the tasks most frequently conducted on touch‐based displays: number entry, swiping, and scrolling. Specific usability issues of smartwatches were identified and summarized for each usability principle by triangulating survey, interview, and task performance evaluation results. Based on the insights from the results of the study, we conclude by suggesting guidelines for further enhancing users’ experience of future smartwatches.

Design and Implementation of a Usability-Framework for Smartwatches

“…In the domain of smartwatches, initial efforts arose in the last couple of years. Chun et al [11] conducted a qualitative study to access the usage and usability of smartwatches and elaborated guidelines for future smartwatches. Park et al [33] examined different types of menu interfaces for smartwatch applications in a qualitative study.…”

(Smart)Watch Out! encouraging privacy-protective behavior through interactive games

“…Smartwatches present a challenging environment, possessing small screens and few buttons. Indeed, Chun et al (2018) found these devices suffer from several usability issues. Casano et al (2016) did develop 'Estimate It!…”

A Predictive Fingerstroke-Level Model for Smartwatch Interaction

“…There have been numerous efforts that aimed to address and alleviate the usability issues of smartwatch usage (e.g., [23,24,35,36]). Usability evaluations were conducted to assess the usability of smartwatches in an academic setting, where a cheating paradigm was used an example [36].…”

“…A design approach for wrist-worn wearables, which integrates micro-interaction and multi-dimensional graphical user interfaces, was proposed to offer guidelines to overcomes the challenges of the interaction paradigmatic shift [23]. The usability of smartwatch operations was qualitatively studied to identify issues that impact information display, control, learnability, interoperability, and subjective preference [24]. The findings highlighted several limitations of wearable devices, such as its poor display of visually rich content and its variable interoperability.…”

“…The interface design space of smartwatches has also received its share of research attention (e.g., [20][21][22]). The usability issues of smartwatches have recently been examined (e.g., [23,24]), as well as investigations of smartwatch acceptance (e.g., [25,26]). However, little effort has been made to assess smartwatch users' performance a priori to aid in the design of smartwatch applications.…”