Please Recommend a Mobile Phone for a Senior

saxlady on 27/09/2017 - 13:39

I need to get a new phone for my elderly father - I managed to sign him up for the optus deal which included the sports package for the EPL, but his phone is so old it won't run the optus app (let alone cast to the tv, which was my next step)

So - suggestions of a cheapish, (around $150 or under would be great) phone, easy to use for a senior, capable of running latest apps - at least the optus sports one anyway - I think probably android of some sort.

If if happened to be included in the current ebay 20% tech sale that would be even better.

Thanks for any ideas

Mobile

Comments

    • saxlady on 27/09/2017 - 13:49

      Thanks for thought, I did look through previous posts, but it's been a good 6 months since the most recent similar request, and most other threads are a fair bit older, so I was hoping for some more up to date recommendations - things change pretty quickly.

  • scrimshaw on 27/09/2017 - 14:47

    I recommend a big phone for oldies. Got my mum a Moto G4 Plus (5.5 inch) and my uncle uses a Xiaomi Mi Max (6.44 inch)

    The equivalent of these phones now would be Xiaomi Mi A1 (runs Androind One) and Xiaomi Mi Max 2 (2nd generation)

    If cost too much consider the cheap Redmi Note 4x

    What is important to note is the usability of the phone suffers if the specs are too low end. RAM > 2GB, Storage at least 16GB, CPU hopefully quad core 1.2ghz and Android 6.0 or better.

    In terms of user interface, that sort can be changed using a variety of different launchers and homescreens, as well as tuning the screens Font size in settings. Having a big screen size helps with usability of the onscreen keyboard.

    • saxlady on 27/09/2017 - 14:59

      Big Screen - yes thats pretty obvious - although I hadn't really thought about it - thanks for the setting tips.

      • scrimshaw on 27/09/2017 - 15:08
        +3

        There's no such thing as a senior android smartphone, since all smartphones are touchscreen input, so the best thing to do is to make your smartphone "grandpa-friendly"

        This is what I prepared the phone with before giving it to Mum / pops

        set font in settings to Larger
        Install Nova Launcher (free) and change icon size to 125 percent bigger
        set maximum icon grid to 4x4
        Install Swiftkey and change the keyboard size bigger
        Disable Swiftkey's built in voice recognition to remove unnecessary button

        Preinstall the most common apps that you can think of, Whatsapp, Youtube, Sport stuff, News reading app, Pocket Weather, Google Keep, Calendar,

        3G watchdog if you want an app that can monitor Data usage and warn of over-use

        then drag it out onto the homescreen but try not to crowd with too many icons. Keep it to just 6 icons per screen.

        That's just my setup, but yours can vary.

        • saxlady on 27/09/2017 - 15:10

          champion - thanks again

  • boomramada on 28/09/2017 - 09:36

    http://www.kisaphone.com.au/seniors.aspx Not sure how good they are, saw it on shark tank.

    • saxlady on 28/09/2017 - 10:55

      interesting

  • Word on 28/09/2017 - 14:14

    This one:
    phone

    • saxlady on 28/09/2017 - 14:47

      Haha - he'd probably be delighted

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