In an era where digital consumption of music has become ubiquitous, the usability of online music applications stands as a paramount consideration in human-computer interaction research. The rapid advancement of computer technologies over the past decades has reshaped how individuals discover, engage with, and enjoy music, spurring the evolution of increasingly sophisticated digital platforms. As a result, the design principles underpinning these interfaces have grown in both complexity and importance, particularly regarding their ability to offer seamless, efficient, and intuitive user experiences. Recent research spearheaded by Zhou and Zhao (2025) offers critical insights into the current state of music app usability, focusing specifically on the Chinese popular music application, QQ Music, using heuristic evaluation methodologies to dissect the interface’s strengths and failings.
Central to this research is the recognition that effective human-computer interaction hinges upon system designs that prioritize safety, efficiency, accessibility, and comprehensive functionality. QQ Music, as a dominant player in China’s thriving online music ecosystem, represents a fertile ground for such inquiry. Unlike generic apps, music applications cater to specialized interaction patterns largely dictated by their primary objective: to facilitate music discovery and personalized recommendations. This creates unique challenges, given the necessity to curate content by genres, artists, styles, and rankings, striving to personalize user experiences without overwhelming them with choice paralysis or convoluted navigation pathways.
Zhou and Zhao’s investigation reveals that the QQ Music interface, despite its popularity, suffers from a range of usability impediments that escalate users’ cognitive load. Cognitive load, in this context, refers to the mental effort required to process information while navigating through the app. The study highlights that the current version of QQ Music inundates users with an excessive number of recommendation categories—often between twenty and thirty—which, paradoxically, complicates the user’s decision-making process rather than streamlining it. Such an abundance of alternatives, paired with an interface peppered with frequent pop-ups and suboptimal visual contrasts, serves to fragment attention and increase user frustration.
The problem is exacerbated by visual inconsistencies and interaction designs that lack clarity and fluidity. The poor contrast between backgrounds and icons further diminishes legibility, while unclear visual links among interface elements weaken the user’s mental model of the app’s structure. Moreover, insufficient operational feedback coupled with vague explanations of function reduces transparency, impairing effective user-system communication. These factors collectively hinder the ability to instinctively navigate through the app, thereby elevating the cognitive burden and detracting from the overall user experience.
To address these issues, the research champions the simplification of interface operations as a core strategic priority. Reducing the cognitive load involves minimizing the number of operational steps needed to perform actions and integrating familiar design elements that users can easily anticipate and learn from. By doing so, the interface can foster a more natural and intuitive interaction flow. For instance, designing with consistent navigational cues and customizable pop-up notifications could significantly enhance user engagement by preventing interruptions and maintaining task focus.
Furthermore, the study underscores the growing complexity of modern music applications—a trend that reflects a shift from mere music streaming toward multi-faceted social entertainment platforms. Contemporary apps increasingly bundle features such as audiobooks, social gaming, and live music streaming, blurring the traditional boundaries of music consumption. While these expansions diversify functionality, they concurrently introduce added layers of interaction complexity. Designers must therefore balance enriching features with usability, ensuring that the sophistication of an app does not come at the expense of user comprehensibility or satisfaction.
On a theoretical plane, Zhou and Zhao’s work contributes to the evolving framework of usability assessment within human-computer interaction disciplines. By honing in on heuristic evaluation—a method where usability experts systematically inspect an interface against recognized usability principles—their research strengthens understanding of how qualitative assessments can pinpoint critical interface flaws. This approach not only adds empirical weight to usability testing frameworks but also provides actionable guidance that transcends the boundaries of specific product categories, enriching the broader discourse on interface efficiency and user-centric design.
From a practical perspective, the study offers invaluable recommendations specifically tailored for the Chinese market but with potential applicability elsewhere. The heuristic evaluation reveals pinpointed areas where UX designers and developers can optimize the QQ Music app to foster more intuitive user pathways, reduce redundant interface elements, and implement dynamic, context-aware feedback mechanisms. This is especially salient as digital music platforms continue to evolve, necessitating constant refinement of interface architectures to keep pace with burgeoning user demands and expectations.
A particularly notable contribution of the study is the development and prototyping of a redesigned QQ Music interface. This novel prototype draws directly on heuristic feedback, incorporating streamlined navigational structures, improved visual hierarchies, and adaptive feedback systems. Preliminary evaluations demonstrate marked improvements in usability metrics, including ease of navigation and reduction of user cognitive load. This prototyping effort illustrates how empirical usability insights can be directly translated into tangible interface enhancements, setting a precedent for iterative design grounded in expert evaluation.
Despite the strengths of the research, the authors acknowledge intrinsic limitations primarily related to cultural and contextual specificity. The investigation is confined to the Chinese market, which possesses unique socio-political, cultural, and consumer behavior characteristics impacting app usage patterns. Thus, while findings yield critical insights for that environment, their applicability to global markets remains limited. Furthermore, the study’s heuristic evaluation engaged a relatively modest panel of 15 domain experts. Expanding the participant pool and incorporating cross-national comparative studies constitutes a fruitful direction for future research aimed at broadening the scope and robustness of usability insights.
Looking ahead, the intersection of user interface design and digital music consumption will continue to present complex challenges. As online music applications strive to integrate ever more sophisticated social and interactive functionalities, the imperative to maintain—or even enhance—usability grows stronger. Future research must grapple with balancing feature richness against cognitive simplicity, potentially exploring adaptive interfaces that dynamically tailor user experience based on preferences, contexts, or even user proficiency levels.
Moreover, the deployment of AI-driven personalization and recommendation systems within music platforms further complicates interface design. While these systems promise hyper-personalized listening experiences, their integration must be carefully managed to avoid overburdening users with information or unnecessarily complex interactions. Usability studies similar to Zhou and Zhao’s will play a critical role here, bridging the gap between advanced technological capabilities and human factors principles.
In sum, this in-depth inquiry into QQ Music’s interface usability offers a potent reminder that in the rapidly evolving digital entertainment landscape, technology’s promise can only be fulfilled through intelligent, user-centered design. Music applications are not merely vessels for content delivery; they are platforms where aesthetics, psychology, and technology converge to shape how millions experience art and culture. The research provides a compelling template for future explorations into online music interface design, emphasizing that usability remains a keystone in achieving meaningful, engaging digital music experiences worldwide.
Subject of Research: Usability assessment and improvement strategies for online music application interfaces, with a focus on QQ Music in the Chinese market.
Article Title: Usability Assessment and Improvement Strategy of Music APP Interface Based on Heuristic Evaluation.
Article References:
Zhou, C., Zhao, H. Usability assessment and improvement strategy of music APP interface based on heuristic evaluation.
Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 1105 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05424-4
Image Credits: AI Generated
