Designing age-friendly mobile apps: insights from a mobility app study

Mobile apps are omnipresent due to the proliferation in the adoption of smart mobile devices and the widespread availability of the Internet, which represent two key enablers for the acceptability of mobile apps. Although there are many mobile apps available that cater to diverse needs, including those of older adults, there is a lack of understanding on the usability aspects that affect the acceptability of mobile apps among older adults. Even though many studies have evaluated older adults’ perceptions toward mobile apps, they are predominantly conducted in developed countries using factors deductively derived from existing theories and hypothetical scenarios without an actual prototype for evaluation. To address these noteworthy gaps, this study adopts a qualitative case study approach (i.e. inductive) to explore the usability aspects of a mobile application (or app) that supports the mobility of older adults (i.e. mobility app) using the TakeMe app (i.e. prototype) and a sample of Malaysian older adults over the age of 60 (i.e. developing country) as a case. Through this study, the findings suggest that including older adult-friendly usability features can boost the adoption of mobility apps among older adults, and that these features span across the domains of learning (e.g. guided in-person by close ones such as children, partner, relatives), usefulness (e.g. variety of services), ease of use (e.g. simplicity), and security (e.g. authenticity of services, privacy protected).