Pixel contextual interview Research objective Baby Boomers are a growing population with a large disposable income. They are in the later years of their employment or early retirement and are used to using technologies such as cellphones. The purpose of this inquiry is to start gathering information about this demographic’s mobile phone use. The goal is to gain an understanding of the specific cellphone needs of this population and their impressions of the Pixel. Research questions Which factors are the most important for people over the age of 50, when selecting a new phone? What makes them pick the Pixel over other phones? What is their first impression of the phone when they unpack it? What do they like/dislike about the Pixel after they have used it? Methodology Contextual interview with a 61 year old man in his house while he was unpacking and setting up his new Pixel, which he had never used before. Follow up interview at 1 week to discuss what he likes/dislikes so far about his phone. Key findings When picking a phone, the participant used criteria that a younger user might not have: Phones of a darker color and brighter screens are easier on the eyes A good voice operation system is essential because it might be hard to type and read on the small screen of a phone The packaging was somewhat difficult to open. Box slides out to the left, which feels wrong to right handed participant Participant didn’t know why the charger for the Pixel is different compared to other Android devices and he expected headphones to come with the phone He expected Google voice command to help him with the setup, which was not the case Data transfer from his previous device was easy and the setup instructions straight forward The participant was able to find his apps by pulling up the bottom tab but also repeatedly pressed the home button expecting all his apps to show Recommendations based on this interview Re-think the packaging. Let it slide easier and out to the right or add a tab the user can pull on Add an explanation to the setup leaflet explaining the type of charger the phone uses and why As a last part of the set-up process show what the controls on the bottom do and where the settings can be found to customize the phone Add an indicator to the brightness level (icon or use blue color) that makes it clear that the brightness can be adjusted here Test the screen under different brightness levels and compare it with other phones on the market This contextual inquiry is meant to inspire further research focusing on the specific cellphone needs of Baby Boomers

General questions Q: What is the main purpose of your cellphone? Communication: Call, text and maybe email Everything else is a nice to have Q: What are you looking for in a phone? Ease of use Durability / not fragile Ability to listen to music anywhere Q: Which phone did you have before your Pixel and for what reasons did you switch away from the it? Used iPhone 5S for the past 3 years Switched away from it for the following reasons: Never liked interaction with iStore: Too difficult to download anything because it requires a password Holding the new iPhone 7 in the store- it felt too large in the hand as if you would need two hands to use it At the same time it felt too light as if it would break easily The missing headphone jack on the iPhone 7 was another issue. It would be difficult to use in a docking station. Doesn’t like that Apple always needs to be different like the wireless headphones and different chargers compared to Android Q: What made you switch to Pixel? It felt good in the hand: It felt heavier than other phones, more durable and the size was just right. It was the most “holdable” phone in the store. In the store the iPhone 7 and the Samsung S7 were silver, the Pixel black. The black design was easier on the eyes Good experience with Google.com in the past: Provided better search results in the past than Seri The voice activation was a big factor for him. His eyes are getting worse and it’s easier to use voice commands than typing in questions, especially outside without glasses The fingerprint scanner in the back of the phone was another major selling point: It’s much easier to use than the scanner on the front Q: For what reasons did you pick the Pixel over the Samsung S7? It felt too light – feared he would drop it easier Doesn't need a phone that’s waterproof, doesn’t fear to loose the phone to water (uses Otter case)

First Impressions – Unpacking the Pixel The packaging Unpacking the Pixel was somewhat challenging for this participant. The packaging needed to be pulled towards the left, which felt backwards to the participant and was hard to pull out The image on the front of the package might have added to his feeling that he was holding the box upside down The packaging seemed unnecessarily complex - too much packaging Recommendation: Re-think the packaging: Let it slide easier in and out/ change it to open to the right or add a tab the user can pull on The instructions The participant was looking for instructions on how to start using the Pixel. He found a very brief outline on how to start the device but kept looking for more. The only thing he found was the safety instructions, which he was not going to read He started with the brief instructions on how to turn on the phone and followed the following instructions on the phone without a problem

First Impressions – Unpacking the Pixel The accessories The participant expected to find headphones included in the box and was disappointed not to find any The participant looked at the cables closely and noticed that the charger is USB-C rather than micro USB charger. He didn’t like this, because he would have liked to use the micro USB chargers that he already has. He also mentioned that this might be an issue if he ever forgets his charger because others are much more likely to have a micro USB charger than a USB-C charger Doesn’t like it if companies make changes just to be different like Apple Recommendation: Mention in setup leaflet that the charger is different and explain why Other feedback on the accessories + Clips to keep cable together + Easy data transfer - AC power supply is too long + cable top seems durable (more durable than iPhone charging cables) - USB-C instead of micro USB

First Impressions – Setting up the Pixel Activating the phone The major challenge during the setup process was that it seemed like the phone didn’t have good enough reception in the house to activate the phone. This turned out not to be related to the phone, however, as it had not been correctly activated by the store. Transferring the data The participant followed the step by step instructions on the Pixel and had no problems transferring data from his old phone to the Pixel

First usage impressions Instantly likes the arrangement of the home screen: Likes that all the apps that he regularly uses, like maps and email, are already on the bottom of his screen He knows intuitively that the G in the upper left hand corner stands for Google search and knows to click on it to search. He prefers this to a widget The apps that are automatically on the home screen are all that he usually needs Google responds well to easy voice commands but failed to help him set the brightness level He knows intuitively that he can pull up the lower part of the screen to see his apps but he keeps thinking the home button would serve the same purpose Settings, including brightness level, are easily found under apps. The automatic setting is too dim for the participant so he turned it off, which increased the brightness. It took him a while to realize that he could adjust the brightness by clicking on “Brightness level”. He didn’t realize at first that the text was clickable Recommendations: As the last part of the setup process show what the controls on the bottom of the screen do and show where the phone customization settings can be found Add an indicator to the brightness level (icon or use blue color) that makes it clear that the brightness can be adjusted there Follow up interview after one week of using the phone Q: So far, what do you like about the Pixel? Loves the phone, especially the finger print scanner on the back. Can turn on the phone while he pulls it out of his pocket The screen is bigger than on the iPhone 5S The speakers are louder than on the iPhone 5S Really likes Google assistant Q: What don’t you like about the Pixel? Turned off auto brightness because he needed a brighter screen, but it’s more difficult to read off the screen out in sunlight compared to iPhone 5S