try as i might, my 93 year young grandma can not get used to the iphone and all the gestures. is there some type of senior "mode" for the iphone (using 15.5)? she's fine with her macbook air that she's had for a ?decade. any accessibility settings you'd recommend (the only one i use for myself is greyscale to keep the dopamine hits to a negative). for example, sending a text, and going back to the main text screen, is a challenge. thanks
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iPhone XR is there a senior mode for the iphone?
- Thread starter cmm
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I don’t believe there is a senior setting or mode on iPhone. It may make more sense to supply her with a phone designed for Seniors, like Jitterbug. We recently went through the same thing with an elderly family member, and one thing for sure: the simpler the better.
That being said, a Senior mode would not be a bad idea Apple if you’re listening . . . . .
That being said, a Senior mode would not be a bad idea Apple if you’re listening . . . . .
iOS and 93 years old is a bad combination.
You could try deleting all the apps except the couple that she uses so that there’s only a couple icons on the Home Screen.
iOS in its natural state is overwhelming and confusing.
You could try deleting all the apps except the couple that she uses so that there’s only a couple icons on the Home Screen.
iOS in its natural state is overwhelming and confusing.
Curious. What makes an iPhone SE in the realm of a 'senior' phone?
I bought my son an SE in 2017 when he was 14. I got him an SE 2020 in 2021 when he was 17. I just ordered an SE 2020 for my daughter. She'll be 14 in a few days.
AFAIK these are fully fledged iPhones.
True that the first time any new o/s is used it’s a learning curve.
To the point of the thread, maybe guided mode can be used.
I have an se as my main phone.
OP said note the gestures implying it’s a newer iphone. There’s something intuitive with a button, that for the grand ma she’s used to tv remotes. Gestures and swipes are relative new but also great way to navigate but perhaps grandma hasn’t learned to incorporate that into her muscle memory.
I wish I knew about Jitterbug before getting her an iPhone. She isn't willing to make yet another switch. She was happy with her old flip phone, until Verizon told her it was no longer supported and she needed something new. Sigh
Unfortunately, there isn’t. My parents keep asking me if there’s a simpler iPad (they assumed that the cheaper models would be simpler), but iOS is equally complicated on all of them. The only thing you can do is fiddle with certain accessibility settings, but it doesn’t reduce complexity and tends to introduce other problems like app layout issues when you increase font size.
Apple has run out of edges and corners to swipe from. It's infuriating.
What if you got her an iPad for fun, and a simple phone for communication?
What if you got her an iPad for fun, and a simple phone for communication?
If there was, I would have set it up for my 80-year-old mother-in-law immediately. She's quite a disaster with iOS.
What I’ve done for older family and older folks I’ve worked with is remove literally everything off the phone they don’t use. It helps them to not be overwhelmed. There ends up being only 4-5 icons on the phone.
So I helped set up my Nans iPhone. She’s had an XR for about two years which is a great size for her. I choose to make the display zoomed, I increased the font slightly, I removed all apps she doesn’t use, I made the Home Screen basic of the apps she wants (and a weather widget at the top). I put Face ID with two scans (one with glasses) and also made sure that it works with eyes shut as well (as it works better at a slight angle too), also set up just a 4 digit pin. I also made it say the name of the caller when it rings. Made sure dark mode was off so that it is consistently bright most the time. I set a spend cap so she can’t accidentally send picture messages via MMS and disabled MMS (iMessage only for photo sending). I also setup emergency contacts and medical ID just incase. I added a folio case because it’s better to protect it and added a card in the card holder which has emergency contact details and information of how to access medical ID. Also taught her emergency SOS just incase! Disabled crontrol Center access from Lock Screen and also accessing today view from Lock Screen to keep it consistent to unlock, disabled notifications from all apps except the ones she uses to message, call and anything I deemed essential. Also changed it so some notifications are alerts instead of banner notifications. Made sure that notification access was there without even Face ID. Set photo backup just incase delets stuff. Set tabs to close after one day and the home page to be google main page so ease of use for the odd Occasions she wants to use something. Also taught Siri for basics like calling and weather. This was over the course of a couple months, with no computer use at all before this (just a basic Nokia) and she’s got used to it. There are a couple apps on there outside of the default ones, she has WhatsApp for family that don’t have iPhones to send photos and for FaceTiming them too, news apps etc - just basic stuff she already does but via other means usually. If I can think of more I’ll update my post.
Thank you for starting this thread. My father is barely in his 70s but has Parkinson's. That, coupled with the fact he dislikes learning tech anyway, makes for many a "how do I" or "this thing is not working" calls for me. I've hidden all but the most basic apps he uses and used display zoom and all. Tried to turnoff animations and make clicks slower, but that just confused him even more.
I thought about getting him a Jitterbug or one of those things but my mother and I like the fact we can see where he is, FaceTime, and other apple ecosystem benefits.
I don't know how it would be implemented but I wish there was a more directed/specific easy mode.
I thought about getting him a Jitterbug or one of those things but my mother and I like the fact we can see where he is, FaceTime, and other apple ecosystem benefits.
I don't know how it would be implemented but I wish there was a more directed/specific easy mode.
I posted my reply before reading this. There's some good suggestions in here!
iOS is absolutely horrendous for seniors. I think it was iOS7 when it went downhill and became overly precious, with mysterious icons, tiny tap zones, and weird gestures.
But at any rate, get rid of any and all apps that aren't absolutely required. Its best to only have ONE home screen. Increase font sizes. Use the shortcuts app to make handy buttons, to, for example, call family members. Place these shortcuts on the home screen.
But at any rate, get rid of any and all apps that aren't absolutely required. Its best to only have ONE home screen. Increase font sizes. Use the shortcuts app to make handy buttons, to, for example, call family members. Place these shortcuts on the home screen.
lots of great tips here! Thank you. Please consider reformatting as a bulleted list for better legibility!
Thank you and yes sorry for that, I was trying to write down all my thoughts as I loose track easily and I wanted to make sure I replied to this post because I knew how it can be and I have had a busy day today. I'll try to get round to it soon!
I've always felt Apple should have a simple mode and advance mode which more experienced users can access all the features. For all their OS's. This use case would be perfect for such a setup.
Instead we get hundred's of new features every year, most of which don't add much value.
Instead we get hundred's of new features every year, most of which don't add much value.
My parents are in their 70s and after many hour of setup tech support with the XR and then the 13, the myth of iOS being ‘easy to use’, ‘settings in a logical place’ and the gestures being ‘intuitive’ is simply not true.
Echoing many others on this forum, I’m just not sure that the iPhone is suitable for those that are really advancing in years.
I don’t know how apple is going to solve their usability/complexity issue, but the common functions of the iPhone need a lot more exposure.
A global ‘put everything back to how it was an hour ago or a day ago’ would be great too.
Echoing many others on this forum, I’m just not sure that the iPhone is suitable for those that are really advancing in years.
I don’t know how apple is going to solve their usability/complexity issue, but the common functions of the iPhone need a lot more exposure.
A global ‘put everything back to how it was an hour ago or a day ago’ would be great too.