Which mobile devices for seniors?

Modern smartphones are not really suitable for the elderly. You just have to see grandpa put on his glasses when you have to answer a call or hear him moan when you have to dial a number to be convinced of it. Indeed, touch surfaces are sometimes difficult to handle when you lose sensitivity at your fingertips. The icons are also too small and even if the Android system partially solves the problem from the Accessibility mode, there is also the sound obstacle.

“Hello, uncle, why are you coughing?”

To respond to customers, smartphone manufacturers are constantly improving the quality of the sound coming out of the speakers in defiance of the sound power. Spotify, Netflix, YouTube: people want quality when they buy a new phone with stereo, Dolby Atmos or 360 Spatial Sound. However, when we have hearing loss, we don’t care about these technologies: what we want is to hear when the phone rings. Similarly, manufacturers make sure to offer HD sound for conversations, but for a senior the priority is to hear well and to be able to raise the sound beyond the imposed limits. So of course, there are also dedicated interfaces to add to the Android layer to adapt a device to make it “senior compatible”, but the best solution is to opt for a mobile phone for the elderly.

Devices suitable for seniors

These are devices with powerful sound (whether for ringtones or for conversations), large, clearly visible keys, a high-contrast and large screen to clearly see names, numbers and any notifications. There are clamshell or one-piece and some are even waterproof to avoid accidents. “Senior” does not mean “outdated” and some of these devices also offer compatibility with WhatsApp or Facebook. Because while there are 4G models, in case Grandpa or Grandma don’t want to hear about those things, ultra-basic GSM devices are available. For the elderly who are really hermetic to technology or who have great difficulty, there are also mobiles with buttons that correspond to a specific contact. Whatever the model, these devices rarely exceed a hundred euros. Count between 40 and 90 € for a basic model. Finally, the feature that most interests children who wish to equip their parents is remote assistance. It’s about a emergency key allowing a single gesture to call a loved one in the event of a problem.