Android vs. iOS Interaction Design Study for a Student Multiplatform App

When aiming to develop a multiplatform mobile application or app there is a dichotomy between following each platform interaction philosophy and creating a common cross-platform interaction design. iOS and Android are the two most common mobile platforms used by university students, and they are the obvious choice when planning to develop a mobile app for students in just two platforms.

We have compared the particularities of the interaction philosophy of both, and we have studied how four popular apps have addressed the contradiction between following each platform interaction philosophy and having a common interaction design between iOS and Android versions. The results show that there are three possible approaches for multiplatform interaction design, with different pros and cons.

Marco de diseño de la interacción para aplicaciones móviles App

The mobile app development field has become a very complex task due to the increase of mobile devices and the diversity of the market existing platforms. After identifying that the most used platforms by the users are iOS and Android, and observing the evolution of both from the point of view of the interaction design, the basis for an interaction design frame are established.

The design presents the basic structure of a mobile application in both platforms, identifying the existing similarities and differences among them. Moreover, the elements present in the design of the interaction are analysed, in order to establish similarities and equivalences among those elements.

In addition, a case study was carried out in which the design frame was applied in a real application. Finally, a web tool which allow users to access the proposed information was developed, in order to have an easier access to the information.