If you take a minute to think about it, you’ll realize there are few ideas as universal as charts. Whether it’s pie charts, bar charts, or any other presentation they are an idea we all grasp immediately. Our brains prefer visual information so charts just appeal to everything that makes us easy to learn. And yet there’s more that we can do to make them even more efficient.
Right now there’s a very large possibility that you are reading this on your phone. Smartphones easily became our main way to interact with the internet and technology at large, so it’s no surprise. But given how massive smartphones are it’s shocking how few people pay attention to developing charts just for them. So today let’s go over the main ideas you need to keep in mind to make the perfect Android charts.
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What’s so different about Android charts?
At their core charts follow the same basic rules whether they are on a PC screen, a smartphone, or even printed. After all, that consistency is what makes them universal and easy to read. However different devices have unique pros and cons, and this means we can’t approach them all in the same way.
The first thing we need to consider with smartphones is that their screen is much smaller than other devices. And this means that there’s a limit to how much information can be portrayed before it feels taxing. This brings with it two considerations: On one hand, it’s even more important to rely on graphical information like charts instead of text, but it also means charts can’t get too crowded with variables or tags.
Thankfully the advent of JavaScript charts has resulted in more elaborate charts that can better take advantage of the unique features of smartphones. Android charts are designed to offer information when tapped, keep the upfront information minimal and take advantage of depth to portray more variables without feeling crowded.
All of the above helps improve the user experience and allows users to comfortably read charts and only go deeper on a single variable when they so desire. In short, it sums up the smartphone experience and fully applies to the way we look at charts.
Is there software designed just for Android charts?
Thankfully yes. Nowadays we count with a lot of powerful software suites that can make interactive charts like the ones we mentioned above. One of the best Alternatives is SciChart, thanks to its abundance of options. SciChart offers robust software that includes every known type of chart. And with their abundant features and great support, they are the perfect pick to start building better Android charts.