UI
(User Interface)
The technical features of a device that the user interacts with directly.
Broadly, this can include hardware such as the display, buttons, other controls, and mechanical features.
More commonly, the UI refers to the software-controlled visual elements displayed on the screen that allow the user to interact with the device. This includes on-screen buttons, menus, icons, text entry boxes, etc. It's everything you see on the screen, and everything that you interact with on a device.
Some UIs are easier to use than others (more user-friendly), and some are more customizable than others.
A standardized, consistent UI is a key component of major smartphone platforms such as Android and iOS.
Last updated Jan 26, 2024 by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
