Usability Issues With Mobile Applications: Insights From Practitioners and Future Research Directions

Abstract: This study is motivated by two key considerations: the significant benefits mobile applications offer individuals and businesses, and the limited empirical research on usability challenges. To address this gap, we conducted structured interviews with twelve experts to identify common usability issues. Our findings highlight the top five concerns related to: information architecture, user interface design, performance, interaction patterns, and aesthetics. In addition, we identify five key directions for future research: usability in AI-powered mobile applications, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), multimodal interactions, personalized mobile ecosystems, and accessibility. Our study provides insights into emerging usability challenges and trends, contributing to both the theory and practice of mobile human-computer interaction.