Although not a new concept, microinteractions are increasingly present in our daily lives. With technological evolution, we have devices that are better designed for the user, whether to increase pleasure, engagement or simply to facilitate their use.

A small sound alert, a cell phone vibration when deleting a file and even visual indicators that a refrigerator is working are important to improve the experience, albeit unconsciously.

But if you still don’t understand the purpose of this theme, keep reading to find out what microinteractions are, what their impact is on everyday life, how they work on mobile devices, in addition to 5 real-world examples that you never noticed.

Good reading!

What are microinteractions?

In a very simple and direct way, microinteractions are usability resources aimed at helping the user during the use of a product or service. And this happens through small interactions that provide feedback for certain actions.

These interactions, almost always imperceptible, are present in the most modern systems and devices, but also in traditional items of our daily lives. In fact, the concept of micro-interaction is much older than current smartphones, or even the internet itself.

What is the impact of micro-interactions on the user experience?

Although it goes unnoticed, micro-interaction is essential to provide a good experience of using a product or service. With small punctual feedbacks, the user can engage and even have more pleasure during an interaction.

And the most interesting thing about this is that, many times, the microinteractions are not even remembered by the user, since everything happens naturally for the parties.

An example is the Speedtest website, created to measure the speed of an internet connection. The small speedometer displayed during the speed measurement is a micro-interaction that visually shows whether the connection is fast or not.

So, when the pointer is on the right side (near the limit) we know that the internet speed is high. Likewise, we were happy to have this visual result, the result of a simple but extremely functional micro-interaction.

And if this classic tool has been using the concept of microinteractions for years, how about getting to know the microinteractions on mobile that are possibly present in your daily life? Come on.

What is the difference between micro-interactions on mobile?

Mobile devices rely on a series of micro-interactions to make the user’s life easier, not only because of the intensity of use of these devices, but also because of the limitations that a reduced screen — or the absence of a keyboard — bring.

Tactile (or haptic) feedback is present in most devices and is currently one of the best examples of micro-interaction. By vibrating the device punctually when we want to drag an item, or even delete it, we have a physical warning that something important is about to happen.

Another example is the gesture to update a web page, where we drag the screen down to achieve this goal, since there is no F5 key for this purpose:

Exemplo de microinteração mobile

We still have some vibration features when we plug a charger into the device jack. When this happens, we know that the device is receiving a charge and we automatically stop worrying about the low battery.

Still, we have a micro-interaction present in messaging applications. When typing on WhatsApp, for example, each key pressed emits a small sound, which shows the user that their typing is being successful. Another positive point for micro-interaction on mobile.

Therefore, with some examples that we have seen here, we can see that micro-interactions on mobile are extremely relevant in the current context, where smartphones have become the first screen of many users.

5 examples of micro-interactions we experience daily

And not just to stay in the field of mobile devices, let’s get to know 5 examples of micro-interactions that we experience daily — and practically don’t pay attention to:

1. Google or YouTube search suggestion

Do you know when you are going to do a search on Google or YouTube and the search engine already suggests some possibilities that may be of interest to you?

Despite seeming magical, as the success rate of the suggestions is extremely high, the feature of completing a sentence is a micro-interaction process that seeks, precisely, to make the user’s life easier.

Thus, it is possible to do a much faster search to solve a problem or question of the moment. Point for the experience and satisfaction of the internet user at that time.

2. Loading animation

Another micro-interaction that is very present in our daily lives is the loading animation during a download, upload, or during installation and even opening of some software.

By showing a progress bar — or the classic Windows hourglass — we know that something important and time-consuming is happening, so we are more patient to wait.

This is an example of micro-interaction designed to improve the experience in operating systems, and that we don’t even notice on a daily basis.

3. Audible warning of not using the seat belt

Some modern vehicles have an interesting audible alert feature when the seat belt is not fastened. In addition to preserving the safety of vehicle members, we also have a considerable improvement in the usability of the vehicle.

And here we have even greater importance of micro-interaction, since a small alert is capable of saving the lives of passengers in an eventual accident. Therefore, we can see that micro-interaction not only serves to improve usability, but also to raise the standard of quality and safety of a product.

4. Bus descent warning light

Anyone who has ridden a bus knows that getting off the vehicle can be tricky. If the driver does not pay attention to the audible signal of any passenger who has signaled their intention to exit, the descent point can be completely ignored.

However, in addition to the audible feature, we also have a warning light present in the driver’s view. So even if he hasn’t heard the stop request bell, he can keep an eye out for that light to know that someone wants to get off at the next stop.

5. Warning whistle in kettles

Finally, we have a very important and functional micro-interaction inside our home: kettles with sound alert.

If you’ve never seen a kettle like this in operation, the concept is quite simple: when the liquid that is boiling comes to a boil, the steam generated comes out of the kettle’s spout and makes the whistle sound.

So, with this simple feedback, you can know it’s time to turn off the heat and prepare your delicious coffee or tea. In addition, this micro-interaction also prevents domestic accidents from happening due to forgetting to turn off the stove flame.

So, as we have seen throughout this content, micro-interactions are present in our daily lives and, whether in a car, home appliance, computer or mobile device, they help us to have better experiences of using these items.

From now on, our recommendation is that you pay attention to the small details when interacting with products in search of these micro-interactions. Take the test, because it’s amazing what you’ll find out about the topic.