Here’s How to Make Smartphones Easier for the Elderly

Modern-day smartphones are getting way too advanced. Recently, brands have even started adding AI-powered features to their smartphones. While all this is good, it’s not so good for elderly. Seniors only want an interface that easier to see and access. All these modern day features and software are going to be the last thing they care about.

So if you are also planning to give a smartphone to an elder from your family, this guide will greatly help you. We have mentioned some of the best ways to enable Senior mode on smartphones for a more user-friendly interface for elders. Some tweaks such as adjusting font size or using simpler launchers can also greatly help them.

Use Built-In Easy Mode on Various Devices

Modern-day smartphones come with a built-in simple mode that simplifies the user interface and makes it friendly for elders. You can find this option on most popular brand such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and Motorola. This feature is available with different names such as Senior Mode, Easy Mode, Simple Mode, Lite Mode, Assistive Access, and more. Let’s see how you can enable simple mode across various devices.

Enable Senior Mode on iPhone

The simple mode for Seniors is available on iPhone as Assistive Access. It changes the interface to an easier and simpler one which is easy to navigate and use important apps. To enable Senior Mode on iPhone, go to Settings >> Accessibility >> Assistive Access >> Setup Assistive Access >> Continue >> Select appearance >> Select App to Show >> Continue. This may ask for additional steps depending on the iOS version.

Enable Senior Mode on iPhone

Exiting Senior Mode is also a breeze. Simply press the side button or home button three times followed by Exit Assistive Access option.

Enable Easy Mode on Samsung Galaxy

Samsung Galaxy phones are popular among seniors because they come with Easy Mode and are more comfortable for one-handed use. Easy Mode makes text and other important elements bigger throughout the system. This makes the system simple to use for senior citizen. To turn it on, open Settings >> Display >> Easy Mode. You can turn it on/off from this page.

Enable Easy Mode on Samsung Phone

Easy Mode on Google Pixel

Easy Mode or Simple Mode is not available on Pixel Phones right now. However, the Easy Mode feature is expected to arrive with Android 15 update, which is set to launch on August 13, 2024. So if you are reading this after the mentioned date, you can search for Easy Mode and enable it in Settings.

Easy Mode on Motorola

Motorola phones don’t have any built-in option for senior or easy mode. But you can try the methods mentioned below in this guide. With Android 15, Motorola phones could also get Easy Mode feature.

Enable Simple Mode on OnePlus

OnePlus devices come with built-in simple mode. To enable simple mode in OnePlus devices, open Settings then go to now scroll down and find “Special Features.” Now click on “Simple Mode” and apply. That’s it. This will toggle the simple mode on.

Enable Simple Mode on Xiaomi

The Xiaomi group of devices also comes with a simple mode. It is named “Lite Mode” on Xiaomi devices. To turn it on, open Settings and then scroll down and find the “Special Features” section. Tap on it and look for an option called “Lite Mode.” You will be able to turn the lite mode from here.

In HyperOS (new OS for Xiaomi phones), the Lite Mode is available under Settings >> Home Screen >> Home Screen >> Lite Mode. This feature may or may not be available in your region.

If you have a phone with built-in easy mode or senior mode, you can simply enable that. But if your device is missing this feature, we have some alternative options, which you can follow to achieve a simple mode interface. Let’s start with making the phone text size larger.

Increase Font Size across the System

As people grow older, their eyesight also gets weaker, this is the reason why senior people face problems while reading texts on smartphones. In this case, you can simply increase the text size so that elderly can now read the text easily. Changing text is a fairly easy process. Here’s how you can change the font on a device running stock Android. Note that this method will vary depending upon the devices but it won’t be very different so you can take this as reference.

Go to Settings. Scroll down and find the “Display” section. Click on it. Now find an option called “Display Size and Text” and then click on it. You can now increase or decrease the size of your text by dragging the slider present below the “Font Size” options. Make sure to large it enough so that elderly people do not face any problems reading or seeing the text. Also increase the Display size option.

On iPhone go to Settings > Display Brightness. Here you will need to change both Text Size and Display Zoom.

change Font size and display size on iPhone

If you are having trouble locating the font size settings, you can easily search for it easily in Settings. The same goes for other settings that we are going to share in this guide.

Switch to Button Navigation System

Almost all the latest devices come with gesture navigation by default. While it is good and offers some seamless transition across the system; it is not as good as button-based navigation for the elderly. Button-based navigation is good for elderly as it is easier to use and can initiate actions with simple clicks. They will not have to perform any extra orbiting gesture just to go back to the home screen.

To change Navigation Gesture mode in a device running Stock Android, go to Settings then go to the Systems tab. Now click on “Gestures” and then click on “Navigation Mode.” Now simply click on the 3-button navigation option. This will make the gesture navigation tab disappear and three buttons navigation will appear in the bottom part of the screen.

Use Launchers for Senior Mode

The stock launchers on smartphones come with tons of features. But because of that, it becomes kind of complicated for the elderly to use. In this case, you have numerous third-party launchers which make the home screen simple and readily accessible. You can download and install any of these launchers to the device being used by your senior people.

Use Launchers for Senior Mode

One of the best launchers in this category would be “Elder Launcher: UI for Seniors.” It’s a free application available in the Google Play Store. Installing this will make user interface friendly for senior people. They can also edit many things using the built-in simple-to-use edit button. I would recommend you to try different launchers and choose the best that you like.

Delete Unwanted Applications

Some devices come with pre-installed apps that may or may not be useful. Apps that are of no use to you are called bloatware. They can create a hindrance in smartphone usage for the elderly. It leaves them confused as well. However, in such situations, you can simply uninstall the application.

If there are some applications which are of no use and can’t be uninstalled, then you can simply disable the application by going to its Settings >> All apps >> App that you want to disable >> Disable the app. Disabling the app will make it disappear from the user interface and it won’t be accessible until you enable it again.

Set Up Call Shortcuts

Elders often get confused while finding an important number in their call history or contacts list. In such cases, smartphones allow the users to place a call widget directly on the home screen and then add important contacts to it. Now whenever anyone taps on the widget, it will auto-initiate the call to that particular contact.

To add a call widget to the home screen, long press on the empty space of your home screen. Now click on the “Widgets” section. Scroll down and find contacts. Choose the preferred widget size and tap on it. It will now ask you to assign a particular number to it. Choose the contact and just tap on it. That’s it. Now whenever anyone taps on the widget, it will directly call the assigned number.

Change Keyboard Height

The Keyboards on smartphones are small because of limited space on display. However, smartphone OS give us freedom to change the Keyboard size, we can make it bigger or smaller. Increasing the size of the keyboard will make it easier for our older loved ones to write anything easily on phone. On some phones, changing display size also increases the keyboard size, but if not, you can manually increase the Keyboard size.

Most users use Gboard as a keyboard app on their iPhone and Android phone. So here we will take example of Gboard to show how to enlarge keyboard on Smartphone.

Enlarge keyboard for senior mode
  1. First, bring the keyboard by opening Notes or Chat.
  2. The tap the four square icons on the left side.
  3. Then tap on Settings icon followed by Preference option.
  4. Look for Keyboard height and open it.
  5. Set the Keyboard height to Tall or Extra Tall and the keyboard size will increase when you open it.

So this is how to enable easy mode on smartphone for Elderly. This makes quite a difference as they don’t have to struggle of viewing the phone too closely. In case you have more queries let us know in the comment section.

Also Check:

Thumbnail: Canva

Explore Stories

AUTHOR.

Photo of author

Chandan

A consumer tech writer with a penchant for creating comprehensive guides, Chandan is deeply passionate about technology. Currently, he is an undergraduate student at the University of Delhi.

Leave a Comment

Share to...