Flag

We stand with Ukraine and our team members from Ukraine. Here are ways you can help

Get exclusive access to thought-provoking articles, bonus podcast content, and cutting-edge whitepapers. Become a member of the UX Magazine community today!

Home ›› What Happened to My Radio App?

What Happened to My Radio App?

by Shay Ben-Barak
4 min read
Share this post on
Tweet
Share
Post
Share
Email
Print

Save

A review of the newest version of the live-radio listening mobile app TuneIn finds some frustrating usability issues—especially for longtime users.

I use TuneIn to listen to local radio stations on my Android smartphone when I’m on the go or exercising, scenarios I presume are typical for many other users. All I want is to open the app and choose one of my favorite local radio station—it’s as simple as that, but let me put it into a formal workflow diagram.

 

TuneIn workflow

This is, of course, the daily scenario after a user has already chosen his or her favorite stations in a longer but infrequent process, which I’ll comment on later.

Note that in this daily scenario there are two major cognitive steps:

  1. Users want to listen to the radio and so they launch the radio app
  2. They select the station they want to listen to from their favorite stations.

In the old TuneIn (I was previously running version 11.3) the app opened on the “Browse” tab, and I had to select the “Favorites” tab and then select a station; one gratuitous step, but nothing too grueling.

TuneIn screengrab

A tap on the favorite station and would start buffering and then playing, while the screen displayed the station’s information.

Opening TuneIn after updating to version 12, however, I was confused. Where the f%@& were my favorites? Let’s see: “browse” and “explore” were not reasonable choices, so I tried “home”—which took me to a constantly updating screen with a mixture of suggested radio stations and songs that are playing now in stations.

This felt nothing like home, where I expect things to feel familiar or at least predictable. Eventually, I found my old favorites under the “My Profile” screen in the “Following” section (see the screenshot). So, according to TuneIn, I’m not a radio listener anymore, but a follower of stations and shows, and guess what—I can be followed as well.

TuneIn screengrab

Finally, I could tap one of my favorite stations and get it playing.

The next time I launched the app, it remembered which of the four “main” screens I was on previously, as well as the last station played, so if you usually use, say, the “following” section, it comes right up. Still, you have to choose your station (second tap; launching the app is the first) and tap the play button (third tap), which becomes gratuitous.

TuneIn users are not followers, they are listeners, and their “real life” metaphor is radio

So what’s not working with version 12? Let’s recap:

  • My initial encounter with version 12 of TuneIn was really confusing, especially as I was accustomed to the older version—not a smooth migration!
  • The location of My Profile as the last out of four items was confusing. Also, the term “my profile” implies settings controls—like username, email address, or profile picture—and not the most frequently used screen (at least in the long run) where my favorite stations are located.
  • Using the social networks’ terminology of “following” and “followers” is not a good idea. TuneIn users are not followers, they are listeners, and their “real life” metaphor is radio or television which use (for good reasons) the term “favorites.” Also, most of the radio listeners won’t expect to have any followers. I don’t see why TuneIn should try to be a social network, when it’s obviously not one.
  • Tapping a station on the favorites (or “following”) screen means that the user wants to play it. Don’t make me tap again; it’s annoying.
  • The “home” screen is actually a kind of exploration arena, as it displays suggested stations and currently playing songs (that leads to the relevant stations) and it gets updated dynamically. In addition to that, there are two more exploration arenas: “Browse”, where stations are ordered according to subjects, locations and languages; and “Explore” with subject, yet again, but the display is more visual and the navigation is bidirectional—scroll and swipe—thus, quite complex. Having three exploration arenas is too much and I suspect it reflects design indecision rather than a robust concept that can leads the user to the right place.
  • Navigation—the fact the you treat any of the four screens (“Home,” “Browse,” “Explore,” and “My Profile”) as a main screen, leads to counterintuitive phenomenon for Android users. When the app is on any of these main screens, tapping the native <back> button of the Android systems, closes the app. The user expects that to happen only on the main screen of an app, i.e. on one screen of the app and not on four of them. In other cases the <back> button should take the user to the previous screen, of course.
  • If you want the user to use the app functionality to discover new content, don’t use the side drawer design pattern. (Here is why.)

Have you tried to new version of TuneIn? Please share your thoughts and experiences below.

post authorShay Ben-Barak

Shay Ben-Barak
Shay Ben-Barak (@ShayUXD) is a freelance experience strategist and senior usability expert. For the last 15 years he is leading projects from the early inventive stages of understanding the users' needs, throughout the process of concept design, to the detailed interaction design and visual design. He is experienced with mobile devices, legacy applications and web applications, and he was involved with development of consumers apps as well as complex systems (e.g. financial, medical, ERP and C4I systems) for professionals. Shay is also a UX mentor at the Google Campus TLV which is a pro bono publico activity of mentoring startups and entrepreneurs in their initial steps towards their very first UX prototype. Shay owns a master's degree (M.Sc.) in cognitive science from the Technion and his master thesis about Mental Models was published in chapter 5 in this book.

Tweet
Share
Post
Share
Email
Print

Related Articles

Why do designers grumble at the mere mention of PowerPoint? Discover smart strategies that turn frustration into creative solutions.

Article by Jim Gulsen
Why Designers Hate PowerPoint (and How to Fix It)
  • The article examines why PowerPoint often frustrates designers, from its limited design capabilities to inefficient workflows, and explores opportunities to bridge those gaps.
  • It highlights strategies like building systematic design elements, creating templates, and augmenting slides with other design tools.
  • The piece underscores the importance of collaboration, simplicity, and proactive planning to elevate design and streamline workflows.
  • It highlights practical methods to help designers balance quality and speed for presentations that are both functional and visually engaging.
Share:Why Designers Hate PowerPoint (and How to Fix It)
4 min read

Struggling with PowerPoint’s design limitations? This step-by-step guide shows you how to build systematic design solutions, from mastering slide layouts to using sticker sheets for patterns. Learn to create polished, professional presentations with smart workarounds and helpful tips.

Article by Jim Gulsen
A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a “Design System” in PowerPoint
  • The article gives a step-by-step guide to building systematic patterns in PowerPoint. It talks about the program’s limitations and gives essential tips like mastering slide layouts and customizing text settings.
  • It suggests using PowerPoint’s automated features carefully and advocating for manual workarounds to elevate quality.
  • The piece introduces creating sticker sheets for reusable design components and highlights strategies for successful workflows.
Share:A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a “Design System” in PowerPoint
5 min read

Publishing in HCI and design research can feel overwhelming, especially for newcomers. This guide breaks down the process — from choosing the right venue to writing, submitting, and handling revisions. Whether you’re aiming for conferences or journals, learn key strategies to navigate academic publishing with confidence.

Article by Malak Sadek
A Guide to Publishing Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Design Research Papers
  • The article provides a guide to publishing in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and design research, sharing insights from the author’s PhD experience.
  • It explains the significance of publishing in academia and industry, offering an overview of peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
  • It breaks down the two main types of papers — review and empirical — detailing their structures and acceptance criteria.
  • The piece emphasizes strategic research planning, collaboration, and selecting the right venue for submission.
  • The piece also outlines practical steps for writing, revising, and handling rejections, encouraging persistence and learning from reviewer feedback to improve publication success.
Share:A Guide to Publishing Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Design Research Papers
8 min read

Join the UX Magazine community!

Stay informed with exclusive content on the intersection of UX, AI agents, and agentic automation—essential reading for future-focused professionals.

Hello!

You're officially a member of the UX Magazine Community.
We're excited to have you with us!

Thank you!

To begin viewing member content, please verify your email.

Tell us about you. Enroll in the course.

    This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Check our privacy policy and