Enhancing User Experience Through Smart Surfaces
In today's fast-paced world, Glance is dedicated to staying at the forefront of technological innovation by seamlessly integrating innovative tech into our daily lives. We are proud to be among the pioneers of smart screens, which are designed to enhance users’ experience by anticipating their needs across multiple touchpoints during their daily smartphone and smart device usage. Before we dive into how Glance’s smart screens have been powering the smart surface revolution in India, let’s first set some context and understand a few key terms.
What are Smart Surfaces?
Smart surfaces represent an evolution in how we interact with technology, particularly on smart devices. These surfaces, enhanced with cutting-edge technology, redefine user experiences by seamlessly integrating with our digital devices. From interactive displays and touchscreens to augmented reality-enabled surfaces and sensor-equipped objects, smart surfaces encompass a wide range of applications. What sets them apart is their ability to sense, process, and respond to user inputs, creating personalized and contextually relevant interactions.
As per a 2024 report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) titled ‘Reimagining Smartphone Experience’, the phenomenon of smart surfaces, while still nascent, boasts a user base of ~220 Mn Monthly Active Users (MAUs) in India, with 16 minutes average time spent per user.
The Benefits of Smart Surfaces
The use of smart surfaces has numerous benefits, both for businesses and consumers. For businesses, smart surfaces offer a new way to engage with customers and provide a unique and memorable experience. They also have the potential to increase efficiency and productivity in the workplace. For consumers, smart surfaces offer convenience and ease of use, making everyday tasks more efficient and enjoyable.
The previously mentioned BCG report highlights the vast potential for improving users’ experience via ‘Surfaces’, emphasizing the three 'S' solutions––Seamless, Smart, and Serendipitous—made possible through these innovative interfaces.
Smartphones and Smart Surfaces
The integration of smartphones and smart surfaces holds immense potential to transform various aspects of organizations’ and consumers’ lives. In retail environments, for example, such dynamic surfaces can enable interactive displays that provide real-time product information and personalized recommendations, enhancing the shopping experience for customers. In public spaces, smart screens can serve as dynamic information hubs, delivering timely updates and alerts to users based on their location and preferences.
BCG’s report elucidates a future where 'Surfaces' on smartphones––powered by smart screens––become central to the digital interaction ecosystem. For brands, advertisers, publishers and app developers, this represents a shift towards more organic, integrated, and frequent user engagements, heralding a new era of digital marketing and app development strategy. The report states, “All custodians of the smartphone experience can realize the ‘Surface’ vision through three strategic moves- Experiment, Co-Create, Share to Grow.”
Glance: Pioneering Smart Surface-Driven Experiences
Glance is proud to be a pioneer in the smart surface industry. Our smart lock screen, for instance, delivers AI-powered content directly to the lock screen of users' phones, offering a seamless and serendipitous experience. That’s all three of the ‘S’s right there! Users are presented with relevant and engaging content without the need to unlock their phones.
Through strategic partnerships with leading smartphone manufacturers or Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) as the official term goes, we have successfully integrated our smart screen offering into the lock screens of millions of devices. Our smart screens aren’t just limited to the lock screen, though. Glance, in different geographies, offers consumers a range of smart screen products built into their smart device experience. This includes the lock screen, the home screen, smart folders, and even smart TVs. This has established us as the leader in smart surface-driven content, enabling us to reach a wide audience and provide a unique and personalized experience for each user.
With our innovative approach to content delivery, we have been at the forefront of leveraging otherwise static surfaces to enhance user experiences. The BCG report we’ve called out earlier, recognizes that Glance uses AI-powered content delivery on the lock screen of smartphones, and acknowledges our pedigree as one of the pioneers of smart screen technology that powers smart surfaces. By curating relevant and engaging content tailored to users' preferences and interests, we have successfully redefined how smart devices’ users engage with our products, daily.
Shaping the Future of Interactive Surfaces
The rise of smart surfaces marks a significant shift in how we interact with our surroundings and digital devices. With the continuous advancement of technology and the unwavering support of innovation-focused players, even greater strides are anticipated in coming years, in this exciting field.
As smart surfaces reshape our environment and offer enhanced user experiences, we are witnessing the blurring of boundaries between the digital and physical realms. This convergence presents incredible opportunities for innovation and has the potential to enrich lives on a global scale. What’s the next innovative transformation in user experience and consequent behavior that smart surfaces will drive? We’ll have to wait and watch, but our guess is, the wait won’t be too long.
Challenges and Opportunities
Of course, with great innovation comes challenges. To fully realize the potential of this phenomenon, we must tackle issues such as compatibility, privacy, and technical constraints. However, these challenges also present opportunities for collaboration and innovation. By bringing together stakeholders from across industries, we can overcome these obstacles and create ecosystems that deliver truly revolutionary experiences for users.
