Effects of age, thumb length and screen size on thumb movement coverage on smartphone touchscreens

This study investigated the relationship between the movement coverage on smartphone touchscreens and the factors (age, thumb length and screen size) affecting this. By referring to the thumb movement in the adduction-abduction orientation with a right-hand phone-holding posture, the thumb-coverage area that represents how far the thumb can reach and the centre of gravity in this coverage area were determined. The assessment focused on a comparison of these indices between ages, thumb lengths and screen sizes. The results showed that elderly users and those with longer thumbs are likely to leave more unreachable space at the right side and bottom of touchscreens. Moreover, the thumb-coverage area actually increased when the touchscreen size was increased; however, increasing the size of a smartphone touchscreen does not necessarily increase the thumb-coverage area at the same ratio as the touchscreen size increases.