Apple Watch User Testing
Unboxing & First-Use
Somo’s UX and innovation teams recently hosted a two-day Apple Watch launch event. The showcase involved more than 40 attendees from client companies and several members of Somo staff. While the innovation team ran demonstrations and hands-on sessions, the UX team designed and moderated 1-2-1 user tests to investigate first time usability of the Apple Watch.
Throughout the course of the week, we learned a huge amount about the opportunities and limitations of Apple’s first smartwatch.
Somo’s UX and Innovation team with client-tester Maddie Debney from Fidelity
About the test…
A first look at the Apple Watch
The participants…
Volunteers from Somo client
businesses
Somo asked several participants in its two-day Apple Watch launch event in London to take part in the UX test. The final eight testers ranged in job function and sector, age, and sex. They all identified themselves as being brand loyal to Apple, however none of the participants had used the watch previously.
1
2
3
4 5
On a scale of 1-5 how tech savvy are you?
Get tech as
soon as it’s
released
Do you own or regularly work
with any Apple products?
iPhone
Macbook
iPad
TV
Wait to hear
general opinion
to decide
Jump on the
bandwagon
once it’s cool
What do you think you’d use it for?
What other ‘Internet-of-things’ connected devices are you excited about?
Connected cars
Connected home
Gaming
What do you think about the usability of Apple products
“Love it”
“Great”
“Like it"
“Love it for personal - but PC for work”
“Super-easy”
“Switched from Android”
“Outstanding”
“Good”
“Very good”
Calendar Quick admin Location
Health
Payment
Notifications
4
3
2
1
0
Pairing
The Apple Watch pairing process was completed by all participants with relative ease. Whether the user started on the watch or phone, there was a clear understanding about what needed to happen in order to get started.
During the set up stage, the only major element of confusion that we witnessed was when users clicked ‘Start Pairing’ on the phone, while the watch was still on the ‘Set Language’ screen. Subsequently, participants ended up scanning the language screen, which resulted in an unsuccessful pairing.
However, once everyone reached the correct pairing screen, the rest of the experience was seamless. In UX we speak of moments of delight, and the way the Apple Watch and iPhone pair is certainly one of these moments. All of our test participants were very impressed by how simple and interactive the process was.
Walkthrough
While the actual pairing process delivered a moment of delight, we found our users struggled once they began interacting with the device. The Apple Watch features a number of new interactions and controls that participants were not familiar with. As a result of not being guided through these new elements, testers initially found it difficult to navigate their way around the watch on first-use.
“…It could do with
a walkthrough for
the basics, like a
phone...”
Insight 1:
Initial pairing is easy, but the initial
interaction requires guidance
Users expected the same level of guidance and
information provided on the iPhone
Customisation
When asked to customise the watch face (one of the primary features in Apple’s marketing campaigns), it became clear that the new Force Touch gesture was hiding features that the user was looking for. Participants touched the screen a lot, pressed the ‘Friends’ button, and in some cases, reverted to the Apple Watch iPhone app to try and complete the task. All-bar-one participant admitted that this would be a feature they would want to use, yet they quickly became frustrated at the fact they were unable to complete the task.
Force Touch
It became apparent very quickly that Force Touch was a gesture that these brand loyal users were simply not used to. On multiple occasions, our participants failed to utilise Force Touch to complete an action or access content that was available to them. Third party app developers will need to keep this in mind when building to ensure that Force Touch doesn’t impact consumers’ initial reaction to their app.
Insight 2:
Native features are appealing but hard to find
“…Native features
are pretty tricky…”
Apple has done a wonderful job of selling features that users will struggle to
discover
We asked our users about Apple’s marketing surrounding the watch’s unique features. All participants were aware of the campaigns, and three mentioned that Digital Touch and the variety of customisable features excited them. However, when we instructed users to interact with some of the native features, it was clear they were not easy to find.
Once that lightbulb moment had o c c u r r e d , a n d o u r u s e r s remembered it was a gesture they could use, the tasks became e v i d e n t l y e a s i e r f o r t h e participants. As with any new paradigm, it will take a while to gain traction, so we’d expect some frustration while users educate and familiarise themselves.
When participants were asked to send a Digital Touch to a member of our innovation team, it raised a significant amount of issues. With the exception of one user, nobody we tested was successful in completing the task. Our testers spent a considerable amount of time navigating on both their iPhones and the Apple Watch in an attempt to find a solution. It became apparent that having to add contacts to the Friends app within the Apple Watch iPhone app was an interaction that did not occur to people. In order to send a Digital Touch, some users tried adding us to Contacts, while two even added us to their Favourites, both of which returned negative results. The one guest that was successful in sending a Digital Touch was
Insight 3:
Are you a contact, favourite or friend?
Sending a Digital Touch is a complicated process
only able to to do so with the help of Siri. Users desperate to send a Digital Touch may go to these lengths, however, the actions we witnessed (sending an emoji or giving up) are more realistic. Subsequently, Digital Touch might be a feature that struggles to gain traction due to the complexity of the setup.
One of the most interesting findings from our user testing was the level of Siri usage. Whenever participants encountered an issue, wanted to find an answer to something, or simply needed help, they were more than happy to resort to Siri.
Siri is not perfect on either the phone or watch. On both devices, questions must be asked in the correct format in order to receive the desired response. In addition to this, when asking q u e s t io n s d i re c t ly to t h e A p p le Watc h , participants were often prompted to use Handoff, and get out their phone, in order to receive the response.
Despite this, in comparison to testing on mobile devices, there was definitely a significant increase in willingness to use voice controls. Perhaps having such a physical disconnect from the iPhone, coupled with the fact there is no other input method on the Apple Watch, led to users i m m e d i a t e l y ( a n d w i t h o u t s h a m e o r embarrassment) asking Siri.
Insight 4:
Siri may have finally
found its home
Usage of Siri soared during our
user testing
“…Siri, how do I
send a digital touch?”
The most common point of confusion that we saw throughout our testing sessions was linked to Apple Watch’s physical buttons.
Whether participants were trying to return to the home screen, or simply take a step back in one of the apps, the action that everyone defaulted to was pressing the ‘Friend’ button.
Seemingly, the gestures provided by the Digital Crown (push and twist) are being overlooked by users that have never interacted with the Apple Watch. It became apparent that because users were so familiar with the simple touch screen scroll that is present on other Apple devices, that became the action that people reverted to, forgetting that the Digital Crown can do the same job but with added delight. Having seen users become frustrated with the small screen when having to search through a long list of contacts, you can immediately see the value that the Digital Crown could bring to Apple Watch users.
Just as with other new functionality that the Apple Watch provides, users are overlooking these controls because of their unfamiliarity with the navigation set. Like with the iPhone, once people get used to the different types of navigation, these interactions will become second nature.
Insight 5:
New buttons and
controls will take
some getting used to
Simple interactions proved difficult in
the presence of familiar-looking
buttons
“…I keep hitting the
wrong button when I’m
trying to get back!”
There has been plenty written and said about the fact that the Apple Watch is simply an extension of the iPhone. While this didn’t appear to be a problem for our participants during the initial pairing process, the fact that they couldn’t do everything on the watch caused a few problems once they were set up.
Some of these problems can be attributed to the two states of the Apple Watch iPhone app. Before the Apple Watch is paired with the app, it’s simply a promotional tool to explore functionality and features. It would be a fair assumption that anyone who is interested in buying one would have familiarised themselves with this app pre-purchase.
Once a customer becomes an Apple Watch owner, and has paired the device, the iPhone app suddenly unlocks a lot of Apple Watch management features. At this stage, we found that most of our users simply forgot about their phone, and what it could add to their Apple Watch. When tasked with syncing apps and adding contacts, our participants tended to
Insight 6:
Remember, the Apple Watch is just an extension
of your phone
“…I keep forgetting
about my phone!...”
It isn’t possible to do everything on the watch, despite what users might think
start by investigating on the watch before finally resorting to the phone for help.
Over time, navigating via the Apple Watch iPhone app will become more familiar. However, the reliance on the phone app to o p e ra t e a n d c o n t ro l t h e w a t c h w i l l undoubtedly cause issues, and removes some of the wrist-only appeal of the Apple Watch.
Maybe a little unsurprisingly, by far the most intuitive and useful features of the Apple Watch at the moment are messaging, calls, and notifications.
All of our participants found it simple to create, send, and respond to messages and calls using the standard functionality. When it came to composing and replying to messages, we saw our users utilise both the pre-determined options and Siri to send a message.
When it comes to making or receiving calls using the Apple Watch, it will be interesting to see how the interaction changes when users are in a public environment. During our testing, which took place in a controlled environment, participants were comfortable using the Apple Watch to make a call, showing no signs of intimidation. We would expect users to feel slightly more self-conscious completing this action in public, and subsequently, the feature may not be used as much as expected.
Insight 7:
Messaging and calls are right at home on your wrist
Basic functionality lends itself perfectly to the wearable
“…Really nice. I
could see myself
using the message
response a lot..”
Early developers have struggled to create
meaningful experiences for the use case
When our participants were asked to complete tasks using third party apps they were already familiar with, we saw a big change in the usability of the watch. Once our users had realised that they needed to sync some of their favourite apps using the iPhone app, no other problems seemed to get in the way of a great experience.
However, the big question that companies and developers need to ask is ‘how does this watch app add value?’ A number of market leaders have already released their first attempt at a watch app, but very few have succeeded in doing it well by capturing a unique use case for the wrist. Producing an Apple Watch app is about more than just shrinking your iPhone app down to fit a watch screen, so companies need to start thinking differently about what kind of experience would delight users on their wrists.
Now that brands and agencies have had more time to understand the device, the usefulness of apps will start to increase as more and more are developed in the coming months. Third party apps will ultimately take the Apple Watch to the next level of popularity.
Insight 8:
One of the insights that we were keen to understand was users’ preconceptions around owning an Apple Watch, and whether playing with it for an hour would convince them they needed one in their lives.
At the beginning, half of our participants were convinced they wanted one, with the remainder still undecided. Having unanimously claimed they were the type of customers who waited for general opinion before making a purchase decision, and all being moderately tech-savvy, it was surprising to hear that only one tester was convinced they still needed an Apple Watch by the end of the test.
Our user testing clearly showed that people are keen to support the Apple Watch, but as with the iPhone and iPad, it might take a couple of iterations before it truly grabs the imagination of the general public.
Insight 9:
Using the Apple Watch is not
convincing testers they need one…yet
Despite some good times, our participants
Tests conducted by:
Will Custard, Senior UX Designer Ben Magnus, Innovation Manager Toby Yakubu-Sam, Innovation Executive
Authors:
Will Custard, Senior UX Designer Ben Magnus, Innovation Manager Noreen McCaffrey, Head of Marketing
For more information, contact:
Will Custard – [email protected] Ben Magnus – [email protected]
Marketing - [email protected]
Contact
Ready to get started?
If you are interested in developing for the Apple Watch but don't have a clear picture of your requirements, Somo Sprints or Hack Days can help you determine how to incorporate the watch into your business to get something to market quickly. These collaborative formats explore how technology can solve business problems and are focused on quick solutions. To get started, please contact: [email protected].
