PANGASINAN, Philippines — A mobile application featuring updates on the 30th SEA Games to be held a week from now has been criticized by online users for its design.
The application named “30th SEA Games (10th ASEAN Para Games)” has a poor user interface (UI) and experience (UX), according to posts dated Friday and Saturday.
Related Stories
“Pati kulay hindi match sa theme ng hosting country!” a tweet posted on Friday read.
Ok clarification hindi po ito fake since available sya sa playstore, Sino ba magiisip na hindi ito official app at ang official app lang ay ONLY AVAILABLE FOR APPLE USER, masmarami ang ANDROID USER sa pinas tapos gagamitin ay IOS. ???? pic.twitter.com/vj7DPcx4Am
— #WorkaHILIK ???? (@IconicCursor) November 23, 2019
Tanginang mobile app ng seagames mukang minadaling term project kase nagprocrastinate yung members nung group
— i skip anime openings (@EduardDatu) November 23, 2019
(Even the color of the application doesn’t match the theme of the SEA Games’ hosting country.)
Sen. Sonny Angara on Friday said the country should set aside the anomalies surrounding the SEA Games to show visitors the trademark “Filipino hospitality” and to allow the athletes to focus on the SEA Games.
“This is about the hosting of the Games – we must concentrate on that. Our athletes could become distracted if there are many issues. They should be focused only on their competitions,” Angara said.
30th SEA Games (10th ASEAN Para Games) is “a mobile app featuring about (sic) the 30th Southeast Asian Games latest news and updates,” according to the product description on Google Play.
It is unclear if the aforementioned is the official mobile app for the SEA Games this year that reportedly has Mastercard as its main backer.
However, the official mobile application “refers to any of online applications published and made available or duly accredited by PHISGOC (Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee) and which may be downloaded through Google Play, or through the Apple App Store,” according to the 30th SEA Games website.
Among the application's features include a social network-type profile, event photos, a forum, a matching tool that allows users to find somebody to watch with, news on SEA games, event schedules, and a fitness tool.
The application, last updated on November 17, is offered by WINANDRIOS APPS. It has a rating of 1.6 out of 5 stars on Google Play as of writing based on 24 reviews.
"Who is the designer? You should be ashamed of yourself. We are in 2019, not 2005, and you had the audacity to release such a terrible looking app? This is less than mediocre," a review read.
Philstar.com has attempted to reach the email provided by the mobile application (seagamescommune@gmail.com) but has not yet received their response.
The mobile application is the latest SEA Games design to be criticized, following the controversial P50-million cauldron, logo, and mascot named “Pami” which also received widely negative feedback on social media.