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. 2025 Sep 1;10(1):57.
doi: 10.1186/s41235-025-00668-9.

Position-invariant icon remapping facilities search performance in foldable smartphones through the contribution of contextual cueing

Yuzhu Ji  1 , Yubing Wang  1 , Wenjing Jin  1 , Haiyang Jin  2 , Weidan Xu  3 , Hongting Li  1
Affiliations

Position-invariant icon remapping facilities search performance in foldable smartphones through the contribution of contextual cueing

Yuzhu Ji et al. Cogn Res Princ Implic. .

Abstract

Enabling smartphones to be foldable provides an effective approach to achieving both portability and large screens. Notably, switches between closed and open states in using foldable smartphones are accompanied by icon remapping, which can decrease smartphone usability if it fails to match usage expectations. This study conducted two experiments to examine the usability of two popular icon remapping methods, position-invariant and order-invariant, as well as the specific roles of contextual cues in different icon remapping. Results revealed that position-invariant remapping is more effective in terms of usability with faster searching speed. Also, getting familiar with the spatial arrangement of icons on small screens reduced performance differences between the two remapping methods on large screens while improving search speed only on small screens. These results together suggest that position-invariant remapping is a more effective design, highlighting the significance of contextual cueing in optimizing icon remapping designs in foldable smartphones.

Keywords: Contextual cueing; Foldable devices; Icon remapping; Usability; Visual search.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zhejiang University of Technology (2024D012). All participants gave informed consent before the experiment and were paid for their participation after the experiment. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic illustration of icon remapping. Note: A Small screen, i.e., screen in the closed state. B Large screen (i.e., screen in the open state), where icons were arranged with the order-invariant remapping. C Large screens (i.e., screens in the open state), where icons were arranged with the position-invariant remapping. Each number represents a specific icon. Real icons were used in the experiment
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Search targets with response targets in Experiment 1. Note: The search targets with response targets for the first (A) and second (B) small screens. Participants were instructed to press the keys according to the response target (“F” or “J”) shown on the search target (the target icon)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Trial procedure in Experiment 1. Note: The first row shows the trial procedure for small-to-large screen transition (i.e., from closed to open states in foldable phones), while the second row shows the large-to-small transition (i.e., from open to closed states in foldable phones)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Results in Experiment 1. Note: Correct response times for searching target icons as a function of Transition (small-to-large vs. large-to-small) and Remapping (order-invariant vs. position-invariant). Error bars denote the 95% confidence intervals (CIs), ***p < 0.001
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Stimuli in Experiment 2. Note: A Icons displayed on the small screen. B Icons displayed on the large screen, using position-invariant remapping as an example. The circled icon is the search target. Participants were instructed to press the corresponding keys (“F” or “J”, i.e., response targets) shown on the search target
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Results in Experiment 2. Note: Correct response times for searching target icons on large screens and small screens as a function of Remapping (order-invariant vs. position-invariant) and Context (old vs. new). Error bars denote the 95% CIs, n.s. = non-significant, ***p < 0.001
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