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I mostly agree with you on this one. But regarding “swipe for help”: typically I avoid UI labels that reference the action to be taken (“tap”, “swipe”, etc).

I mostly agree with you on this one. But regarding “swipe for help”: typically I avoid UI labels that reference the action to be taken (“tap”, “swipe”, etc). Good UI design should render the action obvious - a button should look tappable, a slider slidable and so on. That way the label can use its minimal estate to focus on describing the action instead. “Swipe for help” might also be suitably ambiguous that some users think it means “get help” in the sense of an info page, or assistance. I’d go with something like “(SOS) Make emergency call” or regional equivalent. Combined with a more obviously swipable UI design. Ideally then usability test on 50 people to seen if it works!

kdkwsndne 4y ago
To be fair to the parent the label was: > ((SOS) swipe for help)
411111111111111 4y ago
> Good UI design should render the action obvious - a button should look tappable, a slider slidable and so on That's basically what every designer says. What these people usually forget is that these intuitive Interfaces are only intuitive for people that think like them. Nothing about that screenshot indicates that I'd have to swipe to take action. There is a very high chance I'd be unable to figure it out in a stressful situation while hurting... Unless I've already encountered the same interface in a less stressful environment. The SOS could just be a button with the label to the right.
- elondaits 4y ago
  That swipeable element is standard in the Apple Watch UI vocabulary. It only needs to be intuitive for Apple Watch users. It’s not a button to avoid an accidental press, because the false positive means emergency services are dispatched… and with enough false positives, the service stops being useful (wolf crying).
  - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
    > It’s not a button to avoid an accidental press so if I actually fell and broke my thumb, I won't be able to easily activate it. Swiping is a terrible gesture, nothing related to "emergency" should be linked to swiping. It's much better to put there a "DID NOT FALL" button than a swipable element to avoid false positives. False positives are still better than false negatives, in these circumstances.
    - nicky0 4y ago
      Actually, the emergency services are called automatically after a timer countdown. Purpose of the dialog is to check if you are okay and NOT call the emergency services. The slider skips the countdown and calls immediately.
    - fingerlocks 4y ago
      I suspect you don’t actually own an apple watch, because you’re really reaching here. First of all, SOS is dispatched after a period of inactivity. Otherwise, you can use your remaining four fingers to swipe. Or your nose. Or Siri. Or remove the watch with your teeth and use the other hand. But more obviously, broken thumbs still swipe too.
      - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
        not contesting the Apple watch, but the claim that swiping should be used to avoid false positives. Swiping should be used for low priority confirmations, like confirming you want to buy a subscription or pay for some in-game addon. In my opinion it shouldn't be used to answer phone calls either.
        b112 4y ago
        Please never design any interface I have to use. A button would mean I'd answer endless calls by accident, in my pocket. No, sensors don't prevent this. Yes, my leg, through my pocket fabric, can push buttons. Did you test all of this, before deciding a button is better?
- kbf 4y ago
  >Nothing about that screenshot indicates that I'd have to swipe to take action. Users are not interacting with a screenshot. If you try to tap the slider it will slide a little to the right and fall back to indicate it’s a slider. There are also other actions on the watch that use this kind of interaction. And if you fail to either call ems or confirm you’re OK, it will call them for you.
  - marcosdumay 4y ago
    > Users are not interacting with a screenshot. Yes, they are. You seem want a distressed user to aimlessly wonder though the UI trying to learn how every object behaves. That's not only unreasonable, on this case it's mean. You would be correct if it was a game.
    - ricardobeat 4y ago
      Only if you assume a fall would be the first encounter with this UI element on an Apple device, that is extremely unlikely. Though a return to a little bit of depth in interface design would help. Even plain tappable buttons often have zero affordance these days.
    - DiggyJohnson 4y ago
      > You seem want ... I agree with you more than the GP, but this isn't a good way to structure a rebuttal.
  - numpad0 4y ago
    > If you try to tap the slider it will slide a little to the right and fall back to indicate it’s a slider. People can’t interpret that kind of nonverbal/abstract cues. It’s quite an inner circle thing of nerds that those seem ultra obvious.
    - gowld 4y ago
      Apple's whole thing is "computers for non nerds". Nerds would type SOS at a command prompt.
- nkrisc 4y ago
  > What these people usually forget is that these intuitive Interfaces are only intuitive for people that think like them. Which is why a successful interface designer understands who will be using the interface. There's nothing natural about any touch interface. It's all learned. When designers say "a button should look tappable", that's a design requirement, not a design solution. What solution achieves that requirement will depend on the audience the interface is intended for.
layer8 4y ago
The original iPhone UI had “slide to unlock” written on the lock screen slider, because it’s not obvious until you learn it. On the emergency/power-off screen, there’s still “slide to power off” written on the slider. Recently I tried to explain to my father remotely how to restart his iPad. However, in his local language, there is only the equivalent of “power off” written on the slider (possibly due to space constraints, as the language is more verbose than English), and so he was at a loss of what to do, since he didn’t recognize that it was a slider. Looking at the screenshot of the SOS slider, I would have a hard time recognizing it as a slider myself, when seeing it for the first time.
CamperBob2 4y ago
Ideally then usability test on 50 people to seen if it works! Might want to run it by the ethics board, though, before subjecting 50 people to traumatic events.
aa-jv 4y ago
I wrote a Fall Detector app once. When the user is wearing the device (dedicated Android phone), a 'chain' of protection is rendered (3D) which indicates the state of the Fall Detection algorithm. When the algorithm detects a fall, the chain is broken. During the fall, the app indicates whats happening with audio prompts - caretaker alerted, acknolwedged, etc. - and then in order for the app to be changed from "Alert all caretaker" state back to 'ring of safety' mode, the user has to swipe the alert icon. The purpose for this is to ensure that in the case of fall, the app persists until the caretaker acks the app, physically. This proved to be quite workable and fit with multiple users - the 3D "chains" were easy for the frail user to see, while wearing the device - then in case of falls, audio and vibration was used to let the user know help is on its way - and then, to acknowledge, the alert caretaker gets a separate UI that makes accidental de-activation (during an actual fall) impossible.

kdkwsndne 4y ago

To be fair to the parent the label was: > ((SOS) swipe for help)

411111111111111 4y ago

> Good UI design should render the action obvious - a button should look tappable, a slider slidable and so on That's basically what every designer says. What these people usually forget is that these intuitive Interfaces are only intuitive for people that think like them. Nothing about that screenshot indicates that I'd have to swipe to take action. There is a very high chance I'd be unable to figure it out in a stressful situation while hurting... Unless I've already encountered the same interface in a less stressful environment. The SOS could just be a button with the label to the right.

elondaits 4y ago
That swipeable element is standard in the Apple Watch UI vocabulary. It only needs to be intuitive for Apple Watch users. It’s not a button to avoid an accidental press, because the false positive means emergency services are dispatched… and with enough false positives, the service stops being useful (wolf crying).
- peoplefromibiza 4y ago
  > It’s not a button to avoid an accidental press so if I actually fell and broke my thumb, I won't be able to easily activate it. Swiping is a terrible gesture, nothing related to "emergency" should be linked to swiping. It's much better to put there a "DID NOT FALL" button than a swipable element to avoid false positives. False positives are still better than false negatives, in these circumstances.
  - nicky0 4y ago
    Actually, the emergency services are called automatically after a timer countdown. Purpose of the dialog is to check if you are okay and NOT call the emergency services. The slider skips the countdown and calls immediately.
  - fingerlocks 4y ago
    I suspect you don’t actually own an apple watch, because you’re really reaching here. First of all, SOS is dispatched after a period of inactivity. Otherwise, you can use your remaining four fingers to swipe. Or your nose. Or Siri. Or remove the watch with your teeth and use the other hand. But more obviously, broken thumbs still swipe too.
    - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
      not contesting the Apple watch, but the claim that swiping should be used to avoid false positives. Swiping should be used for low priority confirmations, like confirming you want to buy a subscription or pay for some in-game addon. In my opinion it shouldn't be used to answer phone calls either.
      - b112 4y ago
        Please never design any interface I have to use. A button would mean I'd answer endless calls by accident, in my pocket. No, sensors don't prevent this. Yes, my leg, through my pocket fabric, can push buttons. Did you test all of this, before deciding a button is better?
kbf 4y ago
>Nothing about that screenshot indicates that I'd have to swipe to take action. Users are not interacting with a screenshot. If you try to tap the slider it will slide a little to the right and fall back to indicate it’s a slider. There are also other actions on the watch that use this kind of interaction. And if you fail to either call ems or confirm you’re OK, it will call them for you.
- marcosdumay 4y ago
  > Users are not interacting with a screenshot. Yes, they are. You seem want a distressed user to aimlessly wonder though the UI trying to learn how every object behaves. That's not only unreasonable, on this case it's mean. You would be correct if it was a game.
  - ricardobeat 4y ago
    Only if you assume a fall would be the first encounter with this UI element on an Apple device, that is extremely unlikely. Though a return to a little bit of depth in interface design would help. Even plain tappable buttons often have zero affordance these days.
  - DiggyJohnson 4y ago
    > You seem want ... I agree with you more than the GP, but this isn't a good way to structure a rebuttal.
- numpad0 4y ago
  > If you try to tap the slider it will slide a little to the right and fall back to indicate it’s a slider. People can’t interpret that kind of nonverbal/abstract cues. It’s quite an inner circle thing of nerds that those seem ultra obvious.
  - gowld 4y ago
    Apple's whole thing is "computers for non nerds". Nerds would type SOS at a command prompt.
nkrisc 4y ago
> What these people usually forget is that these intuitive Interfaces are only intuitive for people that think like them. Which is why a successful interface designer understands who will be using the interface. There's nothing natural about any touch interface. It's all learned. When designers say "a button should look tappable", that's a design requirement, not a design solution. What solution achieves that requirement will depend on the audience the interface is intended for.

layer8 4y ago

The original iPhone UI had “slide to unlock” written on the lock screen slider, because it’s not obvious until you learn it. On the emergency/power-off screen, there’s still “slide to power off” written on the slider. Recently I tried to explain to my father remotely how to restart his iPad. However, in his local language, there is only the equivalent of “power off” written on the slider (possibly due to space constraints, as the language is more verbose than English), and so he was at a loss of what to do, since he didn’t recognize that it was a slider. Looking at the screenshot of the SOS slider, I would have a hard time recognizing it as a slider myself, when seeing it for the first time.

CamperBob2 4y ago

Ideally then usability test on 50 people to seen if it works! Might want to run it by the ethics board, though, before subjecting 50 people to traumatic events.

aa-jv 4y ago

I wrote a Fall Detector app once. When the user is wearing the device (dedicated Android phone), a 'chain' of protection is rendered (3D) which indicates the state of the Fall Detection algorithm. When the algorithm detects a fall, the chain is broken. During the fall, the app indicates whats happening with audio prompts - caretaker alerted, acknolwedged, etc. - and then in order for the app to be changed from "Alert all caretaker" state back to 'ring of safety' mode, the user has to swipe the alert icon. The purpose for this is to ensure that in the case of fall, the app persists until the caretaker acks the app, physically. This proved to be quite workable and fit with multiple users - the 3D "chains" were easy for the frail user to see, while wearing the device - then in case of falls, audio and vibration was used to let the user know help is on its way - and then, to acknowledge, the alert caretaker gets a separate UI that makes accidental de-activation (during an actual fall) impossible.