iPhone SE (2022) I spent the day trying to teach seniors how to use an iPhone and it was a nightmare.

[Allen_Wentz]

Couple of points:

• If the people you were trying to help only want something to make phone calls with, couldn't find the keypad in the phone app and couldn't cope with a Nokia "dumb" phone I respectfully suggest that a smartphone (of any type) is the wrong tool for the job.
• It's just not true that no-one elderly can cope with an iPhone or the process to set it up. My mother is in her 80s: she does need "passcodes, accounts, and a sea of information" and uses her iPhone (and iPad) just fine.
• Apple's accessibility work is (rightly IMO) regarded among the best in the industry. It's not a miracle worker though (see above comment re: the "dumb" phones).

p.s. did you try deleting all the apps except the phone app from the Home Screen?

Simply said, you are wrong and the OP was mostly correct. I could go on ad nauseam, but just look at one simple accessibility thing (of many):
• Fonts
Apple forces gray fonts in Mac OS, iOS and Safari. Gray fonts are harder to read, by a lot. Apple's designers think gray fonts are the cute thing to do, but gray sucks for the large proportion of the population with impaired vision. No ability exists to globally change to much more readable black fonts.

Apple talks a good game about accessibility and you are correct that they are better than the other guys, but that is just because the other guys are even worse.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

“all they wanted was the phone app”

This tells me right here you’re trying to use a screw driver to hammer a nail. Sure you can do it. But with great difficulty.

These people don’t need an iPhone at all, they need one of the many many dumb phones available. There are very simple phones out there like the ZTE easy call.

If they can’t figure that out then well there’s some onus on that users disability that they simply cannot use one.

No. Seniors are not developmentally impaired; they built things like Cray computers and the internet. It is not that "These people don’t need an iPhone at all." Devices simply need to be more accessible for all kinds of users, including seniors.

Like the OP said.

 

[neuropsychguy]

No. Seniors are not developmentally impaired; they built things like Cray computers and the internet. It is not that "These people don’t need an iPhone at all." Devices simply need to be more accessible for all kinds of users, including seniors.

Like the OP said.

This is true, but about 20-30% of adults 65+ have some level of cognitive impairment; that number increases with age and most people with cognitive impairment will develop more over time.


That means that there will be challenges for many older adults to grasp and learn how to use many features of the phones, especially whenever there are updates. Apple has settings to help with this: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/overview-of-cognitive-accessibility-features-iph0ede5b8d6/ios

Assistive Access User Guide

Learn about Assistive Access.

support.apple.com

They are not perfect and Apple needs to improve accessibility, but if people really are not "getting it", someone can turn on some of the assistive features and keep things simpler. However, it's effectively a losing battle with declining cognition and changing technology.

Saying that, I mostly agree with the OP. However, OP made an ageist remark (despite what I wrote about prevalence of cognitive impairment in community dwelling older adults): "So, I tried the assistive access, but why isn’t this an option from the get-go? It asks you the age of setup; why not have a 65+ or something for a senior mode?"

Apple could make it easier to turn on the assistive features during setup though.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Apple could make it easier to turn on the assistive features during setup though.

It is not simply "turn on the assistive features." The problem is that many assistive features (e.g. see my commentary above regarding gray fonts) simply do not exist.

 

[tbgb50]

My wife, in her 70s just wanted to make phone calls, so that's all I taught her. After a bit she asked me how to text. That met all of her needs. Otherwise, I'd be tech support for life. I set up favorites in her contacts so she would leave me alone.

For context, she invested in Google at least 15 years ago. Doesn't know what they do and never did a search - just wanted online banking.

 

[Siliconguy]

That might actually be too small to read the keypad and pressing on numbers to dial.

Mind, I reckon those in their 60s-70s already had access to smartphones and computers while working.

That group includes me. The work Android phone went away in a round of budget cutting in 2016. The flip phone I had until this summer needed replacing due to bad keypad and battery and more and more things seem to require more than a flip phone can do usually "for security" and the screen is too small to show more than a phone number. So I got a Motorola.

The Android now is not the Android I used at work. So Much Junk! Just yesterday I found another menu full of spyware to disable. Even answering the phone is a chore. If the caller is not on my contact list the phone declares it to be spam and puts it to voicemail before I can enter the correct mother-may-I incantation to get it to answer.

If Apple would get off their high horse and make cellular iPads fully functional phones I would get one. I don't take the phone with me when I go out in any case, I know where I'm going and how to get there. Having grown up when phones were anchored to the wall I know how to function without it.

By the way. Google is really really desperate to get hold of my contact list. Is Apple any different?

 

[Malarkey]

I've been through this process with my elderly mother. She lost her iPhone 6, which was getting harder for her to use, then we tried a Jitterbug phone as a replacement. What a horribly designed phone "for seniors." Then we switched back to a refurbished iPhone SE (2022), which was the last one to have the convenient home button. But now she's forgotten how to use an iPhone, and with increasing dementia it's nearly impossible to relearn some of the skills needed to use it. It's like teaching a monkey how to play chess. I tested the Assistive Access mode, which would be great if Apple followed through with it as a serious option, but it's a pain. (Also, it would need a way to let some 3rd party apps in, like Lyft, which she needs for rides.) There are only going to be more and more seniors lacking the ability to comprehend how these devices work. Apple would do well to fully perfect and implement that Assistive Access mode.

 

[CrysisDeu]

I agree with you. I don’t know if the PMs and Engineers at Apple still do user tests now. It’s a nightmare to teach someone who doesn’t know tech well or elderly. It’s not intuitive to use any more

 

[DCIFRTHS]

“all they wanted was the phone app”

This tells me right here you’re trying to use a screw driver to hammer a nail. Sure you can do it. But with great difficulty.

These people don’t need an iPhone at all, they need one of the many many dumb phones available. There are very simple phones out there like the ZTE easy call.

If they can’t figure that out then well there’s some onus on that users disability that they simply cannot use one.

In my experience, some elderly people have issues with understanding what "soft" buttons do. They can be clearly seen on the ZTE phone as being identified as with "dash".

 

[klasma]

In my experience, some elderly people have issues with understanding what "soft" buttons do. They can be clearly seen on the ZTE phone as being identified as with "dash".

View attachment 2562484

I’ve temporarily overlooked these myself on the landline phone that I only use every other month. They aren’t very self-evident.

 

[1rottenapple]

I volunteer at a computer lab for seniors and the level of skill varies. There's some including a 94 yr old who is a computer whiz and runs the volunteer schedule (Amazing man, has a busier schedule than me). And there's others who stick to desktop and email since its easier than a smart phone. But at the same time I see why security on the iphone needs to be top end but yes it is a barrier for some people. In that case candy bar phone with limited apps might be best.

 

[chanchowancho]

I think iPhones have exceptional affordances available for people of varying disabilities.

My partners grandmother was moved into a resthome, She was not a technology user, and blind to boot.

I donated her my old iPhone 8 Plus and the resthome had a dedicated "accessibility technology setup" staff member. They completely customised it using Apples inbuilt accessibility tools, for her personal needs.

Within days she was sending messages and emails to the entire family, and using it listing to music and podcasts, 100% using her voice. It was an incredible thing to see from someone who had never so much as sent a text message in her life!

 

[Anonymous Freak]

• It's just not true that no-one elderly can cope with an iPhone or the process to set it up. My mother is in her 80s: she does need "passcodes, accounts, and a sea of information" and uses her iPhone (and iPad) just fine.

Yep. My parents, my wife's parents, and my grandmother (who passed away a few years ago at age 100) all had/have no problem learning smartphones.

Meanwhile, my sister still refuses to "learn a smartphone" and still uses a "candy bar dumbphone"

 

[Meedoss]

I donated her my old iPhone 8 Plus

wow that is generous

 

[transpo1]

Honestly, I think Apple really needs to simplify the iPhone for the elderly. I know there are accessibility modes, but you don’t want to have to go through all that and spend hours trying to customize the phone. Also, the whole phone setup process needs to be delayed; having to go through it for an hour puts them off from even wanting to bother. I first set the phones up to make accounts, but it turns out none of them could understand how to unlock the phone. Entering a passcode was a nightmare because they kept forgetting it, even though it was a birthday they knew, lol.

So, I tried Touch ID and Face ID, and that was even more complicated and kept erroring out. Then, the Siri thing kept popping up on the phones with Touch ID, despite turning it off, and the whole swiping from the button kept making the screen go down to the bottom half. :/ There were too many apps; all they wanted was the phone app, but it doesn’t default to the keypad, which was too much for them to find.


The phones are too fiddly now, and pressing random things as they try to hold the phone meant the phone got lost in a sea of opening stuff up. So, I tried the assistive access, but why isn’t this an option from the get-go? It asks you the age of setup; why not have a 65+ or something for a senior mode?


They don’t need passcodes, accounts, and a sea of information. It’s insane, and it’s insane how fiddly these phones are. I never noticed because I’m used to it, but for these people with hands that barely move, the fake Touch ID button and the swiping from the bottom on Face ID phones seem to be the worst! I think having a proper physical button, like iPhones used to have, would have been superior. The one complaint about the fake button was that it didn’t feel like a real button, so they couldn’t gauge it.


I left there achieving nothing because they couldn’t figure out their old Nokia phones. The unlock thing on the keypad was too difficult, and if I turned that off, they kept dialing 999 in their pockets for some reason. That’s why I was there: they were calling emergency services 100 times a day, lol.


I think what I’ve realized is that I need to go back with flip phones that answer and hang up when you open and close them. However, the two I tried before didn’t act like that, and they had too many features. I really thought I could make the iPhone simple, but NOPE!


Apple should work on their phones to make them more accessible and less fiddly, without having to go through a sea of menus.

I’ve seen even my technically proficient father get more frustrated with the complication of the phones as he gets older— you’re definitely on to something here. Apple needs a “Simple Setup” mode that is an option from welcome screen.

 

[ThomasJL]

And that is precisely why Apple innovated and used skeuomorphism starting from the Lisa in 1983 all the way up to iOS 6 in 2012. It gave first-time computer and smartphone users visual cues. It referenced cultural products they were familiar with.

Scott Forstall took skeuomorphism to its peaks with iOS 6 and Mac OS X Mountain Lion. But Tim Cook fired Scott Forstall in late 2012 because Cook was too mediocre and clueless to recognize Forstall’s skeuomorphic design’s industry-leading user-friendliness, which benefited first-time computer/smartphone users like many elderly people.

And then in 2013, Cook, being the mediocre and clueless MBA degree-holding corporate suit that he is, decided to allow Jony Ive to copy Microsoft-pioneered flat design. It started with iOS 7 and still continues in every Apple OS to this day. Flat design gives no visual cues. It was elitist in the sense that its philosophy was that most computer and smartphone users are already familiar with how to use their devices, and thus don’t need those visual cues anymore. It totally doesn’t care about people like the elderly and children who’ve never used such devices.

 

[chrono1081]

I agree with this, Apple setups have gotten more complex over the years.

 

[SkippyThorson]

And that is precisely why Apple innovated and used skeuomorphism starting from the Lisa in 1983 all the way up to iOS 6 in 2012. It gave first-time computer and smartphone users visual cues. It referenced cultural products they were familiar with.

Scott Forstall took skeuomorphism to its peaks with iOS 6 and Mac OS X Mountain Lion. But Tim Cook fired Scott Forstall in late 2012 because Cook was too mediocre and clueless to recognize Forstall’s skeuomorphic design’s industry-leading user-friendliness, which benefited first-time computer/smartphone users like many elderly people.

And then in 2013, Cook, being the mediocre and clueless MBA degree-holding corporate suit that he is, decided to allow Jony Ive to copy Microsoft-pioneered flat design. It started with iOS 7 and still continues in every Apple OS to this day. Flat design gives no visual cues. It was elitist in the sense that its philosophy was that most computer and smartphone users are already familiar with how to use their devices, and thus don’t need those visual cues anymore. It totally doesn’t care about people like the elderly and children who’ve never used such devices.

I was and remain a huge proponent of Forstall’s; the original iPhone (iOS) had life because it took elements from life.

Modern phones (OS’es) are lifeless because they are void of character, familiar design elements and language, so people just see a soulless machine and don’t care.

The human element really is that simple. It’s complex because it’s void of emotion, its lack of emotion translates to a lack of interest. If there’s no interest and it’s complex, then it’s become the (un)necessary evil.

Forstall’s iOS will always hold a special place. Clicking a single button, being at a home screen, and knowing that single button is your way home (literally) was easy for anyone at any age to understand.

Swipes, gestures, and shortcuts aren’t intuitive if they rely solely on memory, and memory function is an issue. This is a great thread with many valid points, and something I’ve felt strongly about for a long time now. I feel for my reply recipient, the OP, and everyone else navigating this facet of life.

 

[seanmcbay]

My mom is in her 70s and is terrible with technology except iPhones and iPads. She uses them almost as well as I do. I didn’t even teach her or anything.

 

[boswald]

Have you considered something like Jitterbug instead? Giving seniors a modern iPhone is overkill. I can’t say the same for all of them, but before my mom passed she used her phone to call, text and watch YouTube. All of which I had to set up for her and she ignored the rest of the phones features.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

By the way. Google is really really desperate to get hold of my contact list. Is Apple any different?

Yes Apple is different. Apple does not have mining your data as its primary business model.

 

[Boeingfan]

There will be members on here who just make calls, message and scroll socials but still have the Pro Max when the regular iPhone would do!

Yeah, you had me until "...when the regular iPhone would do!" What an assumption to make.

 

[Boeingfan]

Honestly, I think Apple really needs to simplify the iPhone for the elderly. I know there are accessibility modes, but you don’t want to have to go through all that and spend hours trying to customize the phone. Also, the whole phone setup process needs to be delayed; having to go through it for an hour puts them off from even wanting to bother. I first set the phones up to make accounts, but it turns out none of them could understand how to unlock the phone. Entering a passcode was a nightmare because they kept forgetting it, even though it was a birthday they knew, lol.

So, I tried Touch ID and Face ID, and that was even more complicated and kept erroring out. Then, the Siri thing kept popping up on the phones with Touch ID, despite turning it off, and the whole swiping from the button kept making the screen go down to the bottom half. :/ There were too many apps; all they wanted was the phone app, but it doesn’t default to the keypad, which was too much for them to find.


The phones are too fiddly now, and pressing random things as they try to hold the phone meant the phone got lost in a sea of opening stuff up. So, I tried the assistive access, but why isn’t this an option from the get-go? It asks you the age of setup; why not have a 65+ or something for a senior mode?


They don’t need passcodes, accounts, and a sea of information. It’s insane, and it’s insane how fiddly these phones are. I never noticed because I’m used to it, but for these people with hands that barely move, the fake Touch ID button and the swiping from the bottom on Face ID phones seem to be the worst! I think having a proper physical button, like iPhones used to have, would have been superior. The one complaint about the fake button was that it didn’t feel like a real button, so they couldn’t gauge it.


I left there achieving nothing because they couldn’t figure out their old Nokia phones. The unlock thing on the keypad was too difficult, and if I turned that off, they kept dialing 999 in their pockets for some reason. That’s why I was there: they were calling emergency services 100 times a day, lol.


I think what I’ve realized is that I need to go back with flip phones that answer and hang up when you open and close them. However, the two I tried before didn’t act like that, and they had too many features. I really thought I could make the iPhone simple, but NOPE!


Apple should work on their phones to make them more accessible and less fiddly, without having to go through a sea of menus.

As a full time carer for my elderly 87yo Dad, I will start by saying kudos to you for having a go; this can be a very challenging task. Putting what is essentially a small computer in front of those who ask for nothing more than a telephone, is clearly overkill. The irony that the iPhone doesn't come with a user guide in the box because it's supposedly so 'logical', isn't lost here. Some Gen Z's struggle with a rotary dial phone, and the elderly would look at them like they're dunces. As you've demonstrated, the iPhone isn't for everyone. Simplicity, and bigger screens, are key for the oldies that I'm involved with.

Given that every person participating in these forums today will be dead one day, it astounds me that so little of society struggles to care for and accommodate the needs of the elderly, as much as we could.

Wouldn't it be great if iPhone had a selectable mode called kids or seniors, for example, which stripped the UI back to just the icons needed, such as calls, texts, emergency, etc.. Big screen, big text, easy to hold, and simple. Voila.

 

[Newton1701]

One word: Jitterbug

 

[Boeingfan]

My late father was in his 70's when I handed down my original SE and an iPad Mini to him. I took an hour or two to run him through basic functions and hid some of the pointless apps he didn't need and downloaded a few things he might use. He knew how to call, text (in mostly caps), FaceTime, check email, take photos, use Safari, and Facebook. It worked just fine for him until he passed. Every now again he'd have a question, but he'd figure it out with a little instruction over the phone or in person. To put it into perspective, he was the guy that when we got him his first computer, he didn't know how to turn it on or use it. Almost anyone can learn. iOS, while it has added some feautures and functions over the years that may not be needed for most, is still a relatively simple operating system for basic functions and a little patience.

You made me recall a time when my biological mother got her first PC, and I told her to right click on the desktop, and tell me what it said. She replied, “What’s this?” Haha I haven’t seen that for ages but it is indicative of the very first learnings needed to master a PC. For those of us who grew up with computers they’re a no brainer, but put the imperial measurement system or the imperial currency system in front of me and I’m the one asking, “What’s this?” 😁

In some countries the elderly of today have gone through the change from imperial to metric measurements AFTER they left school, and imperial to metric currency also. Never mind that a mail box was where you sent and received letters from, now you need to understand which computer to buy and how to use it just to open an email.

I think I’ll start telling people ‘if it’s not important enough for you to post it to me then don’t bother emailing it either! 😂