Smart Phone for Canadian Senior?

[Gigi22]

Doing research for a friend’s first smart phone. Not an iPhone. He’s not a patient person, so it needs to be sturdy. Suggestions?

 

[dancin Disney style]

If you are the person that will be walking this senior through problems with the phone....get the same phone you have. It's got to be easy for someone to be able to help.

My entire family has IPhone so we can all walk my mom through almost anything. She's still on a 6 but we can generally figure out her problem while talking to her (she still has a land line too).

As far as sturdy....if you are meaning drop proof type of thing...that's what Otter Boxes are for. All phones are fragile without a really good case.

 

[samsteele]

If he doesn't really want or need a smart phone, go old school with a basic flip phone with big buttons. If he only wants to make and take calls, then maybe stick with what he knows and is comfortable with. Smart phones aren't all that smart and cause a great deal of frustration when the extras get in the way of a simple call. Maybe ask him if he really wants a tiny computer in his hand and the hassle of auto correct, pressing multiple buttons at once with big fingers, etc. Not for eveyone. Some days I long for my old field style bag phone.

 

[bbangel]

I'm looking into this right now for my mom. It is getting harder and harder to travel and do other things without a smart phone (QR codes are everywhere!) Haven't made any decisions yet so if someone has a basic smart phone they love....

 

[Gigi22]

I'm looking into this right now for my mom. It is getting harder and harder to travel and do other things without a smart phone (QR codes are everywhere!) Haven't made any decisions yet so if someone has a basic smart phone they love....

That’s mainly why he needs it, travel. He has a flip phone now.

 

[dancin Disney style]

If my mom can manage an IPhone anyone can. She had a phone many years ago probably a flip phone or something of that vintage that she never used or even carried around because she couldn’t work it. She decided a few years ago to get a phone again after she had a flat tire. She can barely manage email on her laptop but is much better with the phone. She has learned how to do a lot with it and is oddly interested in it. She has turned into one of those people (like many of us) that takes random pics of everything and texts them to all of us. I’m totally not interested In The fact that her landscapers spent 2 hours moving a pile of snow last week but I got to see it anyway.

 

[disneyfreak89]

We have Samsungs, my 76 yr old mother can manage it surprisingly well. I tried to only load the apps she needs and remove the ones she'll never need so as not to confuse her and I tried to shut off all notifications that aren't absolutely necessary. FWIW my sister got an iphone because she thought she was missing out. She absolutely hates it. Samsung is definitely easier to maneuver. The last one we got was the A32 5G.