The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is going to be publishing a technical paper to address in-vehicle usability and distraction evaluations to better address the increasing use of touchscreen controls. That got me looking around at recent touch screen research and I came across a couple of interesting papers. There was that paper about the use of portable touchscreen devices given to velvet monkeys, with some success in their use by the primates and no puns about Gorilla glass, which is either an indication of the lack of humor in modern research or how Corning marketing isn’t making enough inroads into zoos. There was one on how touchscreens create a psychological sense of ownership for users in a specific set of tasks, a boon for marketers. Finally, and maybe most interestingly, a study of how people’s perceived value of the objects being viewed on a screen effects gesture execution.
Most of this research is happening on phones and tablets, but is also looking at the impact on consumer experiences with OOH displays in retail or restaurants. What they also show is that smartphones have changed the way we interact in any computing environment. Smartphones are a permanent presence and link between us and everything around us, one that is, for more people than may be healthy, their gateway to real world experiences. This relationship between the most persistent digital display in our lives is purely tactile. We tap it, poke it, slide across it, and it’s a weird, almost aggressive form of discourse.
In recent years, we have added voice controls and AI assistants, and gestures, to enhance the interaction, even soften the need for physically connecting with the display glass. Also, this display that we see and use more than any other is almost a bi-directional relationship because of the inordinate amount of selfies, filming, and photography we do with it. It’s an eye outward and an eye inward.
This relationship with the smartphone display has made us much more amenable and desirous of having that same connection in other spaces. Digital signage, which is a term that hasn’t aged well, doesn’t really do justice to the potential of OOH displays because it is not information that we really need, not signs, but interaction or control. We can get all the information that we need from our phones. How many places do you know that have apps that you can order from as you stand in line to get your food, product, or service?
We may be already seeing the change from input device to touch and gestures reaching their inflection point because touchscreen laptops are about to get the hype treatment because, well, we have generations of laptop users who are smartphone users first. Why take them out of their comfort zone?
But you also know that technology habits are changing. People who got used to swiping smartphones and tablets as toddlers expect to control every screen with their fingers. And in some situations, like if you’re flopped on the sofa scrolling websites, a touch-screen laptop feels natural.
Washington Post
We are giant smartphone people now. It’s interesting that a lot of retail digital displays are designed to look like they wouldn’t be out of place scrolling a TikTok feed. We tracking technology, integration between devices and OOH displays, gesture control, and the general need for relatable experiences, giant smartphone people will be happy if there are giant smartphone displays wherever they go. They like the ubiquity of the technology and understand the language of engagement. So, the big question is, when will all displays be touchscreen? When will they have gesture control as standard? It can’t be that far off before we see that happening, at least for high-end devices, because the value of displays has to extend beyond passive viewing in todays hyper interactive world.
