iPhone iOS for senior citizens

No one here in this user-to-user forum would know Apple's plans for the future. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

You might also want to look at these articles:

Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Get started with accessibility features on iPhone - Apple Support

For the record, as someone who is over sixty, I find the generaliztion that older people as a group can't use technology offensive. The fact that your mother has not yet learned how to use her phone may well be completely unrelated to her age. In fact, it sounds as if she's trying to figure things out.

This all seems very familiar, and this is an older thread that y’all have restarted.

With iPhone, consider using Assistive Access. That might help here, but it does have its limits.

My most recent experience here was prior to the availability of Assistive Access. I’m unsure how much that will help; whether that can be another useful stop on the paths we each follow, or whether that might merely become another source of frustration.

Pragmatically, you’re probably headed for a feature phone though, and those do still exist. Nokia makes some models, and there are others. I did see some flip phones on offer, as well.

The feature phones also avoid having to block the ever-increasing piles of scams in the arriving mail and messages. iPhone and iPad filtering capabilities are unfortunately very limited.

Get iCloud backups going, if you are using iPhone. Stuff will get deleted, dropped, lost, or stolen.

Moving iPad to iCloud services for photos and backups and such too, if you’re also using iPad.

Get Legacy Contact configured, and Recovery Contact too.

Having tried to keep iPhone and iPad working for some folks with declining facilities, I’d now migrate to the feature phone much more quickly; sooner than I had previously tried. That and maybe a big-button home cordless phone, if they still have a landline.

The other difficulty that can arise here are loaned devices. Kids can and do “helpfully” delete or reconfigure all sorts of things. As was referenced elsewhere recently, a senior’s favorite game was simply deleted. Years of history gone.

MrHoffman wrote:

With iPhone, consider using Assistive Access. That might help here, but it does have its limits.

That's what I was trying to think of! I can never remember what it's called. Guess that's what comes of getting old!

Both my 90 year old mother in law, and my 86 year old step father want to use a cell phone -- but they are used to pushing buttons, and find answering the new phones (with "slide") difficult. They are button smashers! I noticed that Jane Fonda also poked her phone hard too on a recent movie.

I don't know the answer -- but I wonder with Apple's super intelligence for problem-solving, that they can't address this population.

Lot-19 Said:

"iOS for senior citizens: I heard a while ago that Apple was working on an iOS for seniors and handicapped people so that the options are minimal or locked down? My mother is a “Button Pusher” and she’s constantly messing up her phone requiring hours of help from family members, ugh!"

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Learning About your iPhone:

Find some videos on YouTube posts from none other than Apple. Have her watch them a few times. Here is where to view them: Apple Support - YouTube

Lot-19 wrote:

The onset of dementia has caused her to decline with remembering how to change the settings on her devices. She goes into settings for no apparent reason and as of late, her iPhone is locked down.

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother's medical condition. My mother also suffered from it in her later years. It was heartbreaking.

I honestly don't think there are any good recommendations I can make in this circumstance. Everyone with dementia is different and things also change over time, sometimes rapidly. Seeing what you can do with parental controls is about the best I can do.

I would note that, in your initial post, you merely mentioned age. And, I stand by my contention that age alone, unlike dementia, does not make people technically inept. I still stand by that. It's today's old people who invented the internet, personal computers and smart phones. But, none of that is really relevant to your situation.

I wish you all the best. Take care of yourself.

darkrai9292 wrote:

Both my 90 year old mother in law, and my 86 year old step father want to use a cell phone -- but they are used to pushing buttons, and find answering the new phones (with "slide") difficult.

Perhaps a basic phone would be a better choice for them. They have physical buttons.

I don't know the brand or model my of my 77-year-old brother's phone but, it has nice big buttons. It has navigation through Google Maps and it has Google voice assistant which he uses to get answers to questions. And, as it's a flip phone, opening it answers the phone.

darkrai9292 wrote:

Thank you. Can you tell me what the device is? This is helpful

As I stated in my first post, I don't remember the make or model of the phone. He's a TMobile subscriber and I believe he got it from one of their stores.

I suggest you visit your carrier's store and look at what they have. You might also check out their website. It's possible that there will be basic phones that they do not keep in the stores but do sell online.

Thank you. Can you tell me what the device is? This is helpful