The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on Wednesday, February 14, unveiled a report titled 'Reimagining Smartphone Experience — How Surfaces Can Play a Key Role in Making the Phone Smarter.’ This report delves into the evolving landscape of smartphone usage, shedding light on the pivotal role of surfaces in enhancing user interactions and addressing key challenges.
The report indicates that half of smartphone users engage with their devices without a clear purpose. BCG's research categorises these interactions into three distinct journey types: Pre-Determined, Exploratory, and Spontaneous, showcasing varying levels of intent clarity among users. While approximately 50-55% of interactions lack a defined purpose, 45-50% exhibit clear intent, with a minority falling into the category of partial clarity.
Drawing insights from the clicks and swaps data of over 1,000 users, coupled with consumer interviews conducted across India, the report highlights the proliferation of smartphone-enabled use cases over the past decade. From socialising to a diverse spectrum of activities, including streaming, shopping, searching, gaming, and more, smartphones have become integral to modern-day lifestyles.
However, amidst this multifaceted usage, the report identifies numerous friction points such as inconvenience, irrelevant information, and a lack of discovery. Even in cases where users have a pre-determined intent, challenges such as toggling across apps and navigating multiple screens for updates persist, necessitating innovative solutions.
Surfaces emerge as a transformative concept in human-device interaction, promising to get the job done without making the user get lost in the wormhole that is their smartphone. Leading innovators like Glance for the Android ecosystem and Apple for iOS are spearheading this shift, leveraging frameworks such as the 'activity kit' to offer users select functionalities directly on the lock screen — basically, using surfaces as a means to communicate with the device.
The report highlights the exponential growth of surface innovators, with over 220 million monthly active users in India, indicative of robust engagement. Kanika Sanghi, Lead of the Centre for Customer Insights India, emphasises the potential of surfaces to guide consumers based on their interests.
“In our research, we have seen about 50% of the time consumers do not have clarity on why they pick up the phone – they do it out of habit. Such occasions provide a great opportunity to guide consumers into relevant directions based on their interests by smartly using surface,” she added.
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