iOS7 best for user xp

We love a good bit of research! Pfeiffer Consulting have released their report on the current state of mobile operating systems with some very interesting results about the ‘average’ user.

iOS 7 landed last week and apart from the issues that many users had in actually getting the update from Apple’s servers the vast majority of user reports have been resoundingly positive. 200 Million installations were logged from the launch to the end of Sunday, as reported by Apple on Monday.  This is hugely important, as there is no other operating system in the market that spreads as quickly as iOS.

There will be a more detailed run down of iOS 7 in a post to come soon, as with this post, we’re going to be looking at the research that has shown that iOS 7 is the best mobile OS in the eyes of average users when compared to iOS 6, Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry OS 10 and Samsung’s TouchWiz Android.

The report rates each operating system on four criteria:

  • Cognitive load: The sum of elements you need to get familiar with in order to use a device spontaneously.
  • Efficiency & Integration: Access to key settings, integration with notifications, multitasking and camera access etc…
  • Customization: How many options an operating system provides to allow a user to tailor it to their personal tastes.
  • User-experience friction: The bad stuff, the aspects of a device that can annoy you in a niggling way, or, in extreme cases, drive you crazy.

When all the results were collated, iOS 7 wins by a clear margin with iOS 6 not too far behind scoring 73.25 and 70 respectively. Samsung Android and BB10 score a lowly 57.25 and 56.37 with Windows Phone 8 seeming to be not designed for humans, at 47.25.

Pfeiffer Consulting - Overall User Experience Index

Why Samsung Android you ask and not a plain build by Google? Well, as stated in the report, the majority of Android devices sold are Samsung ones, making the Samsung Android the most wide spread version (and sub versions) of Android.

I’m not the average user and I’ve used iOS 7 for a few months through the betas and I have to say it really is a revelation in Apple’s mobile OS.

The complaints about Windows Phone in this report are the ones I’ve had from the start. How can something so bold looking be so bad to use? Some users, prefer it and as with the technology market, as always, what works best for you, what fits your life is right for you. It would just seem for most users, (non techies) iOS 7 is the best of the bunch.

You can read the full PDF report here. It gives some good comparisons of the interfaces for anyone with an interest in that sort of thing!

Source [ El Reg ]