There is a famous picture showing the crowds at the pontification ceremony of Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and that of Pope Francis in 2013. In 2005, the crowds are head-up and looking forward. In 2013, the crowds have their hands up, with many holding smartphones or tablets for taking pictures. In eight years, mobile smart devices have conquered the world.

Since smart devices occupy much of our time, are we happy with what they offer? Touchscreens are now the main interfaces between humans and machines. They make up a large part of our user experience with machines, and are also the way we interact with the network, other users, and the environment. Can we and technology do a better job of providing better user experiences?

There are many books [1,2,3] on human-computer interfaces (HCI). In those books, the topics and devices discussed are general. But we are now in the mobile era. HCI for mobile devices is very important. This book focuses on mobile users and tries to determine a good user experience design. The authors are long-time HCI researchers. They outline six design changes to be made, including: from touch to feeling, from heads down to face on, from clinical to clutter, from private and personal to public and performance, from distanced to mindful interaction, and from some to all. Therefore, it is obvious that the authors want to change the currently used methods of HCI in the hope that something else would serve us better. The interface should provide a user experience that is more people-oriented rather than technology-oriented.

In each design change, the authors meticulously use examples from other fields to explain their thoughts. For example, in from touch to feeling, cases from food, fashion, fitness, and materials businesses are used to highlight the principles.

Overall, this is an interesting book and the concept is explained clearly. However, moving ahead from here is not that easy. The authors ask, “Can you make your apps more about real (human) touch and less about glassy stroking?” We’ll have to wait and see.

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