Element 03
Access Devices
Where the experience happens. Phone, tablet, laptop, desktop and emerging screens like AR and VR headsets.
What it is
Access devices are the platforms through which the value reaches the user. The same proposition has to hold up across very different screens and contexts, at the quality each one demands.
Its role in the loop
Access devices decide where and how delivery happens. Choosing the right ones, and meeting their standards, is what lets the experience actually reach the user the proposition was built for.
Where value gets accessed
Meet users on the device they chose, at the quality they expect there.
Mobile
The default for most users now.
Desktop
Depth and focused work.
Tablet and in-between screens
A different posture and moment.
Emerging screens
AR and VR headsets like Apple Vision.
In practice, by industry
E-commerce: mobile checkout vs desktop browsing
Social Media: short-form video on mobile
eHealth: wearable data on a smartwatch
In practice
How it looks in the real world
Spotify
The same account feels native on phone, desktop, car and watch.
Worked on low-end phones and slow networks, which is why it spread.
Netflix
One experience that follows you from TV to phone to laptop.
Common pitfalls
- 01Building desktop-first and bolting on mobile later.
- 02Ignoring the context each device is used in.
- 03Chasing the newest device before your users are on it.
Ask yourself
- Does the core value work on the smallest screen you support?
- Have you matched the quality each device's users expect?
- Are you spread across devices you cannot support well?