Overview

In recent years the digital landscape has changed, and companies have realized that consumers are now accessing more content on their mobile devices than anywhere else. That means more and more users are surfing the Internet with their smartphone or tablet, instead of with their desktop. Needles to say, a mobile first concept requires a new approach to planning, UX design, and development that puts handheld devices at the forefront of both strategy and implementation. Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches released on April 24, 2015 and quickly became the best-selling wearable mobile device with 4.2 million sold in the second quarter of 2015. Most of the major app developing companies moved over to create simplified versions of their products for such devices.

The Challenge

The demand in the full version of the Uber app is high. Industry analysts calculated that 20 million Apple Watch devices were sold in 2018. The task of implementing the Uber app for the Apple Watch is complicated as the size of the device is only 42 millimeters. It’s important to keep in mind that it is very difficult for an average person’s fingers to use the app as the device is very small. Simplification of the existing user interface and replacing some of the buttons with voice commands can partially solve the problem. This section showcases user interaction while requesting an Uber via Apple Watch.

Takeaways

One of the most challenging parts in this project was to create a design for a very small screen, yet keep the app user-friendly. In order to achieve the goal, a new approach to UX design, and a new development strategy had to be implemented in the project. For example, replacing some of the buttons with speech recognition commands and simplifying the user interface of the app.