Rakuten Viki's simple mobile tooltip tour

Viki is a video streaming service owned by the Japanese ecommerce giant Rakuten.

Viki specializes in TV shows and movies from around Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and mainland China. Viki is available in a variety of app formats, including Apple TV and iOS.

We already use Viki on web and TV, so we downloaded the iOS app to see how the company onboards new users to their mobile experience. And we really liked what we found.

Viki's 3-step mobile onboarding tooltips

To start with, signing in is optional—new users can save that step until later and browse Viki's video selection without an account. If you're on the hunt for a particular program that's hard to find this side of the Pacific, the ability to search Viki's extensive library before signing up is a real bonus. And we'd wager this strategy works in the company's favor more often than not, since—even with Netflix's investment in the market—Viki's selection of Asian programs beats their competitors' by a wide margin.

Once they hit the home screen, new users are greeted by a single tooltip that lets them know they can cast videos directly to a nearby TV:

Selecting a program (in this case, our favorite reality show, Running Man) brings up another screen with more details, a list of episodes, and cast member profiles.

A second tooltip appears, pointing out a subtle bit of UI that might otherwise take new users a moment to locate:

Finally, a third tooltip points out a Siri shortcut icon that may not be immediately recognizable to all users:

What we like about this ReallyGood mobile tooltip tour:

• It's succinct. A single step on the home screen and 2 more brief tooltips on the second makes this onboarding tour quick, painless, and informative.
• It's not redundant. Viki hasn't wasted any time pointing out familiar icons or features (most mobile users can figure out what that bell-and-plus-sign icon mean, for example). Instead, the app focuses the user's attention on less obvious features that add value straightaway.
• It looks clean. Crisp white tooltips against a dark background, dark pink CTA text, and ample white space make the tooltip design stand out from the main interface.