iOS 16
Apple
A redesigned onboarding experience for iOS 16 making iPhone setup faster and more user friendly.
Conducted user research and usability testing to identify pain points in the iPhone setup process and presented tested improvement recommendations to the iOS team.
User Experience Research + User Experience Design + User Interface Design + Interaction Design + Prototyping + Presentation
Context
Every year, millions of people unbox a brand new iPhone.
Before they can fully enjoy the benefits of an iPhone, they must first set it up.
For some, it’s a smooth process; for others, it’s filled with technical hurdles.
Problem
There was a lot to improve. Many problems existed within the then current, iOS 15 setup experience.
It was clear we needed to take a step back, evaluate what wasn’t working and build a better experience forward.
The goal was simple: identify the problems, back them up with research and work on solutions.
Research
To start, I worked with a control group to uncover pain points in the current setup flow.
What I found was a mix of technical, contextual and user-related issues all leading to a disjointed experience.
I analyzed system metrics, observed users firsthand and identified recurring problems on key screens. Here are a few examples:
Each issue showed where the experience was falling short and what we needed to address.
Inconsistency
While auditing the iOS 16 setup experience, I noticed something ironic.
Apple provides Human Interface Guidelines to help developers build consistent experiences, yet our own setup flow often strayed from those same principles.
Typography weights, spacing and interaction patterns varied across screens and created small breaks that collectively weakened clarity and rhythm.
For example, some loading screens and interactions were breaking the very guidelines we ask others to follow.
Highlighting these inconsistencies was a crucial part of the research as it showed where we could hold ourselves accountable and improve the experience.
Final Designs
With this research, I developed new designs to address the issues.
and more.
Impact
The improvements were backed with prototypes and testing which resulted in a 34% improvement in the overall iPhone setup user experience.
The solutions were submitted to the development team for the launch of iOS 16.