I got a task to buy a smart phone for my grandparents, they are not techsavy but they know how to use basic functions. Iam looking for an andoid because it has language pack i need. I dont need it to have lots of functions, onley a good camera and a big screen. Bonus points if it can be flashed with some kind of simplefied version of android.
From my perspective you don’t necessarily need a simplified Android but only a simplified launcher. There are plenty of senior friendly launchers in the play store.
And you should also increase the interface and font size.
My advice is a little different than others. I recently got my in-laws outfitted with smartphones and a new nuc. My father in-law has Parkinson’s, slow onset, but it means he is clumsy. It’s not likely that his phone will survive shaky hands for 8 years. What I did was buy refurbished OnePlus phones, install a simple launcher, install Bitdefender, and then add a lock app that let’s me add a pin to the system settings app and the play store.
They can’t install anything out change things. They can browse, play games I preload, take pictures, etc, but I don’t have to worry about them installing things they shouldn’t. If one of the phone dies I’ll just get the latest affordable refurbished of the same line and configure it the same way.
I had originally tried without locking the phone down as much but my father in law could not stop installing spammy weather apps and clicking ads on games and following there instructions.
I also created new Google accounts for them that I manage, so they can’t get stuff stolen with bad account management practice.
If you are in the US, I’ve also found mint to be a good deal for cell service.
yea i would skip all smartphones. i got them an ipad. my parents are i their 80. there was no way failing eyesight and hand coordination can handle a tiny smartphone screen. Also skip android. Android has truly shitty touch interface responsiveness compared to Apple devices. Apple has the world’s best natural touch responsiveness. This is the main reason Apple is wooping Android ass. Dont waste money on smartphones for elderly. Only Ipads have a chance of working.
in fact for my mum, i was inclined to skip all touch devices. as a lady she has long fingernails. with arthritis making her fingers more crooked, there was no way for her to use a touchscreen. her fingernails would always tap the screen first. even if she trimmed her nails, her nails would touch first and the touch interface would fail. so i obtained a push button phone for her, old vintage desktop style.
Spotted the Apple advertisement. I don’t think gettin an overpriced piece of hardware to clumsy hands over a supposed “touch superiority” is a good idea.
Apple shill detected.
An Ouija-phone, seeing they’re all dead.
Jokes aside, Doro has a range of reasonably priced phones, from old style to Android smartphones, with “Old people interface” available to cut down on the techno fluff old folks likely won’t use. 3/4 grandparents were able to operate them, can recommend.
Doro makes phones specifically for seniors. They’re okay but still a bit complex for some
My father-in-law had one. It was awful. It made it so much harder for us to help him with issues. And apart from the system apps everything he got didn’t fit into how everything else worked. He was much better off with a regular Android he got later.
It worked okay for mine compared to othe solutions but in general trying to teach seniors touch interfaces has been a bit of a nightmare.
One with a ouija board built in.
I’m going to answer your question with a question. Do they actually need smartphones? Are they really going to use any of the “smart” features? If not, just get them a Motorola Razr or something and be done with it.
Also elderly people want to take pictures from time to time. Or use WhatsApp to join family group chats etc. Furthermore, a big & bright touch screen is definitely easier to read and handle than the old dumb phones where the same key may have a dozen of features depending on the context.
I agree, they want to take pictures, see photos of theyr grandchildren, video chat and use a bank app to check theyr pension
Well… Anything a generation old for price and not flag ship. Samsung A-something or Google something-a. You can change the screen dpi to make thing more readable.
You can install a custom launcher to have full control over the home screen and just show the important apps like call, text and email. I use pre sale Nova.
Most custom launchers let you lock the home screen too, something I learnt was important for my mother who would CONSTANTLY drag stuff around, get lost and then claim she didn’t go anything.
Thanks for sugesting about draging stuff on the screen lock
CONSTANTLY drag stuff around, get lost and then claim she didn’t go anything
Nothing is quite as relatable to me as this. Do they genuinely not realize? Are they too proud to admit they did something? I will never know
In my experience, older people want to use their smartphones forever so that they don’t have to relearn how to use them. If I were you, I would therefore use a mobile phone with the longest possible software support. I think that the Google Pixel 8 fulfils your criteria and offers very long software support among Android smartphones. Given Google’s size, you can also assume that the company won’t go bankrupt before then.
You can basically make a dumb smartphone with grapheneos so a pixel would be good for them. If you dont need a dumb phone set it up with the playstore and whatever apps they use and boom good to go
Edit: I would also setup accessibility features. Forgot to mention regardless of os add some kind of network firewall or DNS solution to block malicious/phishing domains. The elderly are often victims of scams
How did you get tasked with buying your grandparents a smart phone? Whose idea was it? Was is the reason for getting your grandparents a smartphone?
Not very “intensely human” question :D
I work with computers ao I must know whats the best phone for them, iam not paying, just choosing. But the problem is because in my opinion all phones are now almost the same, I havent kept up with the phone market for some time. So for me a any phone is good enough, but for older people, whats better?
Any iPhone (I’ve had one since the OG). This way I can remote troubleshoot because I’m so familiar with iOS.
You’re going to remote diag this guys grandparents phone? Lol just kidding
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woah! you really look like the half empty glass type of person. That’s why their grandson/daugther it’s going to set it up for them. I’ve been using AuroraStore for a long time and I never had to do any of that. Still, once you have installed the apps you need, correctly, the only concurrent task is to apply updates and I never had any problems with that either.
The foss apps I dont agree with but a stock grapheneos setup is as basic as it gets so even a non tech person can use it. OP can even set it up for them to auto update whatever apps they use through the playstore so the grandparents dont really have to do anything
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I see where you are coming from but I disagree. Using grapheneos will allow much more security and control over the device so OP can fine tune their grandparent’s device to their liking. As for not agreeing with the foss apps I really mean in this situation specifically. Foss apps often run into problems with stability (look at newpipe due to youtube) and ease of use (look at collabora) which will frustrate an older person and with grapheneos at least OP can further lockdown the proprietary apps that their grandparents would use if they do so in the first place. However, since OP stated they just want a phone that’s simple that’s why I would go with the stock grapheneos setup without adding new applications. As for compatiability, unless they are driving or banking which I doubt since they just know tha basics of a smartphone, I doubt this will be a problem since the majority of mainstream apps work. Grapheneos is meant for freedom and securiry over your device not just privacy
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The problem is that other people will be unfamiliar with it. Unless OP can be the support person all the time, the grandparents may want to get help from someone else.
Keeping things stock is helpful for that, and I feel like Google Pixel is already simple enough. Just disable things like assistant during setup or in settings.
I agree to disagree it’s really not that different from vanilla especially if he does go the playstore route, so a person familiar with android can naviagate grapheneos. The only problem would be if they break their device and the thumbprint scanner would have to be recalibrated. Personally I would just keep it as the stock grapheneos setup with accessibility features turned to max. That way its a dumb smartphone
Edit: forgot to mention regardless of os add some kind of network firewall or DNS solution to block malicious/phishing domains. The elderly are often victims of scams
That’s a great point, uBlock Origin helps a lot with scams on desktop.
I agree to disagree
I should also point out that I haven’t tried GrapheneOS and can’t judge what the differences might be, so I’ll go with your experience on this :)
