Usability Issues With Mobile Applications: Insights From Practitioners and Future Research Directions

TL;DR

This paper identifies key usability challenges in mobile apps through expert interviews and proposes future research directions including AI, AR/VR, multimodal interactions, personalization, and accessibility.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into common usability issues and outlines new research avenues in mobile human-computer interaction.

Findings

Top usability concerns: information architecture, UI design, performance, interaction, aesthetics.

Identified future research directions: AI, AR/VR, multimodal interactions, personalization, accessibility.

Highlights emerging usability challenges and trends in mobile apps.

Abstract

This study is motivated by two key considerations: the significant benefits mobile applications offer individuals and businesses, and the limited empirical research on usability challenges. To address this gap, we conducted structured interviews with twelve experts to identify common usability issues. Our findings highlight the top five concerns related to: information architecture, user interface design, performance, interaction patterns, and aesthetics. In addition, we identify five key directions for future research: usability in AI-powered mobile applications, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), multimodal interactions, personalized mobile ecosystems, and accessibility. Our study provides insights into emerging usability challenges and trends, contributing to both the theory and practice of mobile human-computer interaction.