product analyzed

Focus – Train your brain

Focus – Train your brain

Logo app Focus: Brain of colors
Overall rating:
4/5
Technology:

Categories assigned to this product within the main category Technology.

Needs:

Categories assigned to this product within the main category Needs.

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Below is the video of the review.

What does it consist of:

Focus is a mobile application whose objective is to stimulate the user's cognitive abilities through daily mental training. It has more than 25 games to strengthen memory, concentration, coordination, visual perception or logical reasoning.

iOS logo, blue brain with colored dots
Person with colored puzzle pieces around the head

Forms of acquisition:

The app works for both Android as if to IPhone, but only on mobile or tablet devices, no There is still a web platform.    Image from Google Play. Pressing it opens a new window of the SVIsual application in the Play Store.  

Technical assessment:

Author: Genaro Rodríguez Calatayud 

Fecha: 13 / 04 / 2023 

For the preparation of the report, the version 2.5.5 updated in March 2023. The terminals An iPhone 8 with iOS version 14.7.1 and a Xiaomi Mi Note 10 device, Android 11 version, were used to carry out the different functional tests.

Usor from the app 

After installing the application and opening it, you need to perform a tis cognitive for a first contact with which the app can give the user a first statistic of their results. To access the app you have to create a accountsale, in order to keep a record of the results and to be able to progress. The creation options are with Google, Facebook or Gmail, and you only have to enter your email, password, age and sex.  The process is fast and intuitive and does not ask for too much data. 

From this screen you can also access the menu settings, which allows you to select the language of the application: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French or Italian, as well as disable the sound with a button. This deployment also allows edit your data, delete the account, change the password or close the session easily, it is an intuitive configuration menu. 

It has been verified that there are no differences in the exercises and the use of the app  between iPhone and Android.

 

Home screen of the application that shows the weekly tracking, the current grade and the exercises to do
Categories

The initiation test consists of four exercises, each of one of the categories in which all Focus training sessions are organized. The categories and some examples of their exercises are:

  • Memory: Pair association exercises, objects, symbols, color sequences and more variety for the user to train their memory and association skills.
  • Reasoning: Aassociation of numbers that add up to a displayed figure, order of blocks based on a reference or deduction of color codes.
  • Attention: Finding a figure that is not repeated, word search, guessing where a ball is between three glasses...
  • Coordination: Exercises to avoid obstacles, cut fruits or move objects to a specific point.
  • Visuospatial: Symmetry, aim or affinity.
 

In total, there are 30 exercises with increasing difficulty levels as they are completed. About 15 have been tested and all work correctly. Each one has an explanation and an example shown on the screen before starting to make it easier for the user to carry them out. 

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Infographic of the application that shows 3 different exercises, one of word searches for attention, another of aligning a ball with an exact point for coordination, and another of memorizing the position of objects on cards for memory

The exercises have animations, indicative texts, different objects and settings (fruits, blocks, figures, words, cars, balls, etc.) and a variety of platforms.

How does Focus calculate the results?
Each exercise always has a timer located in the upper right corner, in such a way that the note is an average between the number of correct answers in the allotted time. At the end of an exercise, your result is automatically shown compared to the global average of the users. This comparison may not be ideal, as there may be people who prefer to practice at their own pace without making comparisons with the rest. In addition, at the beginning it may happen that the user is not used to handling the exercises and makes mistakes more easily, so at the end of the game seeing that he is far from a global average is not very effective. On the other hand, it is not well specified what this mean of comparison is.
Reasoning exercise final screen: Result 725, Mean 596.
Your Stats
Apart from the user profile and the main screen, the menu has another icon for accessing the statistics screen. In this section, the user can consult their cognitive summary with a total grade and a graph that shows the grade obtained in each category. You can even see the results by categories in weeks, months or per year. This is very interesting because it makes it easier for the user to do the exercises that are better or worse for them, in order to encourage their progress and maintain their motivation.
 
The user has the possibility of comparing their data with the average of other users, with the option of filtering by age ranges or by sex to specify the comparison.
Statistics screen with graph of results by categories

Interface and technical features 

Interface

It works without any loading error. All images, icons and text load automatically fast, facilitating fluid navigation. 

Consumer goods  

During the analysis, no significant increase in battery consumption was observed. The application occupies a storage space of 138 MB and does not require an internet connection. 

Versatility and compatibility 

The application works equally on both iPhone and Android, and the developers have made updates in recent months, so they are currently on the lookout to fix bugs or To implement improvements. 

Usability

  • El visual aspect of the app is very professional: the accesses are very well organized, the general appearance is intuitive and also attractive. This helps the user to develop better in their use of the app.
  •  La ttypography and appearance chosen do the suitable and attractive app for all age rangesbut with a certain modernity. 
  •  The icons from the menu bar and headers help navigate the app. While the large number of icons and information on the home screen can be very useful for technology-savvy people, perhaps older people or people who are not used to handling applications may perceive too much information and too much variety of choice, which which can make them not know where to start and therefore some patience will be necessary to understand the organization of the application. 
 

 

Home

Home screen icon: House

Your profile: 

Profile screen icon: person silhouette

Your Stats: 

statistics icon

Home screen with the categories and the corresponding exercises for each one

Accessibility

  • For people with reduced or no vision 

The screen reader option for IPhone (VoiceOver) has been tested but it does not detect any labeling, so the application is not accessible to this group of people. The same thing happens with the Talkback. 

The contrasts and sizes are appropriate and very careful. Each category is assigned a different color that supports its readability and facilitates the association for the user. This legibility is maintained when carrying out the exercises and there are even some that show help texts maintaining the contrasts according to the category. 

  • Cognitive 

Although there are many icons of different exercises to choose from, options such as daily training that leads directly to carrying out exercises proposed by the application with a prior explanation makes it easier for these users to use and understand the application. 

  • For people with hearing difficulties   

The relevant content of the application is presented in text, images or animations, so there are no accessibility problems in this regard.  

Highlights

  • Los 30 drill stand out for their ability to promote cognitive training while being very entertained. Many are classic games known to be classics and it is a very good opportunity to have many of these collected in the same app.
  • The interface, the development of the application and its visual aspect, from the technological point of view, are advanced and professional character, while maintaining a certain simplicity by not neglecting the main objective: cognitive training.
  • The application provides the user with the option of progress over time, thanks to the variety of categories and to the fact that the exercises expand their training tasks as they are passed. All this is also driven because there is a data recording or with a calculation of results that can be consulted at any time in the statistics section.
  •  Registering and taking the first steps with the app is simple and fast, by presenting small tutorials for each exercise (also included in the first-time test) and explanations in utilities such as statistics.
  • The option to use the application on devices Tablet with the accessibility menus of Android is a point to highlight, since for example it makes it easier for the elderly to use.

Improvement points

  • Development of a Web platform: This option would extend the use of the application to a greater number of people.
  • Label the different menus and functionalities in the VoiceOver and TalkBack screen readers. 
  • give option to avoid comparisons of results with the average at the end of the exercises or approach it another way. For example, in the statistics section this function is optional.

Conclusion

Focus is a very entertaining and complete app for cognitive training. It is useful both on a timely basis and on a constant day-to-day basis, since the exercises are very well developed and effective, in addition to the fact that there is a great variety and different levels. The variety of icons and the colors and contrasts chosen for the categories improve usability and accessibility, and keep the collection of exercises very well organized. It is missing that screen readers work, which do not detect any label on iPhone or Android. 

Technical evaluation scores.

Design and manufacturing:
4.5/5
This section refers to the physical aspects and details of the manufacturing of the technological product
Technical benefits:
4.5/5
Description of the quality of the technical specifications of the technological solution
User experience:
4.5/5
This criterion is linked to the user's assessment when relating to the technical product or application.
Accessibility:
3/5
It is the degree to which people can use or access a product, technological solution or service, regardless of their technical, cognitive or physical abilities

Social valuation:

Social valuation scores.

Impact and utility:
This item has not been rated/5
Describes to what extent the functionalities of the product are useful and impact on improving the life of the user
Design and Ergonomics:
This item has not been rated/5
Assessment of how the design of the technological solution adapts to the person to achieve greater comfort and efficiency when using it
Usability and accessibility:
This item has not been rated/5
Possibility of the device to be used, understood and taken advantage of under equal conditions for anyone
Ease of acquisition:
This item has not been rated/5
It refers to the possibilities of accessing and acquiring a technological solution by the user.

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