Smartphones, for the most part, have opened up technology to seniors and the older generation — their intuitive and large touch-screens proving much friendlier to use than old mobile phones with buttons (or circle-dial phones).
When looking at the best smartphone for seniors, we took various criteria into account like screen brightness and size, special accessibility features, and modernity. Do your grandma and grandpa think an Android is the metal trashcan from “Lost In Space”? It’s time to take them under the arm and guide them into the modern age. The phones listed below should be enough to convince them that smartphone technology isn’t all that scary.
1. Motorola Moto G Power (2021)
What’s one of the most common inconveniences of growing older and wiser? Forgetfulness. If the senior for whom you’re considering a smartphone isn’t too experienced with them, then there’s a good chance they’ll forget to charge it every night like the rest of us do.
So a big, forgiving battery can be a good feature to have, which is why the Moto G Power can be a good fit. There’s a lot more to the phone than the huge 5,000 mAh battery though. The G Power features a 6.6-inch display, which is very much at the larger end of smartphone displays, and it comes with stock Android out of the box. This means it’s free of bloatware and has one of the simpler UIs among smartphones.
The Moto G Power was never an expensive top-end phone to begin with, but since it’s been out for a while (released in 2021), customers can get it for a really affordable price.
Specifications
- 6.6-inch display with 720 x 1600 resolution
- Up to 4GB RAM
- 32/64GB internal storage, expandable
- 5,000mAh battery
- Android 10
- LTE/4G
- Hearing aid-compatible
2. Doro 8080
The Doro series of smartphones has a long-running reputation as one of the best phones specifically designed for senior smartphone users. Despite being tailored for those with special accessibility needs the Doro 8080 is a modern and elegant phone even if it’s running the older Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. It comes with a sizeable 5.7-inch display and decent resolution.
Of the more bespoke features, there’s an Assistance button on the back of the phone that immediately contacts your designated family and friends along with tagging your GPS location in case of an emergency. The charging cradle is a nice addition, too, letting you use your phone hands-free from your bedside table or other part of the house.
Beyond that, the Doro 8080 is a smart and regular handset, with a decent camera, crisp sound, and and audio boost function for the hard of hearing. It’s also officially Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC).
Specifications
- 5.7-inch display with 720 x 1440 resolution
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB internal storage, expandable via microSD to 128GB
- 16MP rear camera, 5MP front-facing camera
- 3,200 mAh battery
- Android 9.0
- LTE/4G
- Hearing aid-compatible
3. Samsung Galaxy Note 8
There’s no reason why senior smartphone users shouldn’t get a taste of what a true flagship phone feels like, just like there’s no reason for them to pay over $1,000 for the latest premium model when something cheaper will suffice. The award-winning Galaxy Note 8 is a perfect balance and great choice. It came out in 2017 but boasts a large and crisp 6.3-inch 1440p Super AMOLED display that’s still among the clearest on any phone. The fingerprint sensor also makes it much quicker to unlock your phone than fiddling around with patterns or PIN codes. Crucially, you can get it for under $300 today (in renewed form).
The unique feature on the Galaxy Note 8 that may appeal to grandma and grandpa is the included S-Pen stylus, which lets you doodle and write on the screen just like you would with an actual pen. It has excellent handwriting detection, which learns your handwriting and converts it to text. On a technical level, this is the best smartphone for seniors on this list.
Even a few years on, this is a really high-quality and powerful device that can be easily adjusted for extra accessibility, increased font sizes and so on. Its last OS update was Android 9.0 Pie, which is still pretty recent and includes the vast majority of OS features you’d want from a modern phone.
Specifications
- 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display with 1440 x 2960 resolution
- up to 6GB RAM
- 64GB to 256GB internal storage
- 12MP rear camera, 8MP front-facing camera
- 3,300 mAh battery
- Android 9.0
- LTE/4G
- Hearing aid-compatible
4. EmporiaSmart.5
The latest edition of the popular accessibility-focused EmporiaSmart is a smartphone that is intuitive and easy to use while also offering all the great options of a modern handset. The EmporiaSmart.5 has all the important accessibility features, including large display buttons, hearing aid compatibility and an emergency Call for Help button. It runs Android 10 out of the box and packs a 5.5-inch display with 720 x 1440 resolution.
The screen offers plenty of leeway for less accurate button presses and is a good size to ensure visibility of everything onscreen. It also comes with a full printed guide that’s meant to help new users learn the ropes of using a smartphone.
Crucial technologies like Bluetooth and LTE/4G data connectivity are also onboard ensuring that users will be able to connect online and between devices. The EmporiaSmart.5 also offers IP54 splash resistance, as protection against minor accidents. The phone ships with the company’s interactive Smartcover which allows important functions to be used even with the lid closed.
Specifications:
- 5.5-inch display with 720 x 1440 resolution
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB internal storage, expandable via microSD up to 256GB
- 13+2+2MP rear camera, 8MP front-facing camera
- 3,550 mAh battery
- Android 10
- LTE/4G
- Hearing aid-compatible – M4/T4 rating
5. Google Pixel 3XL
Google’s Pixel 3XL might have been released back in 2018, but even so it remains a great phone that can be upgraded to the latest Android 12 (although that will be its last update). At this point, you can get it for a relatively affordable price and can be a great way to get the elderly members of your family acclimatized to the ways of true stock Android.
That means that seniors will still get most of the bells and whistles of Android that anyone else would. Why does this matter? Because the stock Android UI is among the most user-friendly around and will help familiarize older people, not just with using this specific phone but with the Android OS as a whole.
The phone comes with a sizable 6.3-inches display with 1440 x 2960 pixels, ensuring everything is nice and clear for faded eyes. UI elements can be increased for added convenience. It also includes a relatively large 3,430 mAh battery, and a dual-selfie camera for snapping superior self-portraits.
Specifications:
- 6.3-inch display with 1440 x 2960 resolution
- 4GB of RAM
- 32GB/128GB internal storage, no card slot
- 12MP rear camera, 8MP + 8MP front-facing camera
- 3,430 mAh battery
- Android 9.0 (upgradable to Android 12)
- 4G LTE
6. Jitterbug Smart3
The latest Jitterbug smartphone continues in the vein of its predecessor, boasting an even larger screen at 6.2-inch with 720p resolution and big, bold interface elements that make it easy to use for those whose fingers aren’t as nimble as they used to be. It’s not the fastest of phones, but the GreatCall UI is designed for accessibility and organized in a single list.
There are various subscriptions you can get for this phone that add extra services such as doctor/nurse contact lines and the option for family members to track the phone’s location. The camera is pretty decent as well, so if grandma wants to share a selfie with her loved ones, she can use the 5MP front-facing camera.
Specifications:
- 6.2-inch display with HD resolution
- 32GB internal storage, expandable via microSD card up to 256GB
- 13MP rear camera, 5MP front-facing camera
- 3,500 mAh battery
- Android 10
- 4G LTE
- Hearing aid-compatible – M4/T4 rating
7. Nokia 6300
The Nokia 6300 might look like a modern version of a dumb phone, but it does have some smarts as it comes packed with apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Google Maps and YouTube. The Google Assistant is also on board, ready to do things if asked.
The Nokia nostalgia aside, this phone might be a better fit for senior users simply because it doesn’t have a huge sensitive screen and won’t easily break if accidentally dropped on a hard surface. The phone ships with a 2.4-inch display with 240 x 320 pixels with large keys underneath. Nokia ships this little device with KaiOS, so seniors won’t be getting a taste of Android with this one. However, the interface is easy enough to navigate. Users can even play the classic game of Snake.
Nokia 6300 includes a tiny – by comparison – 1,500 mAh battery but given that it’s not powering a large bright display, it should be able to sustain quite a decent usage cycle.
Specifications:
- 2.4-inch display with 240 x 320 pixels
- 512MB of RAM
- 4GB of internal storage, expandable
- VGA main camera
- 1,500 mAh battery
- KaiOS
- 4G
8. iPhone SE (2022)
While most of the devices included on this list run on Android, there’s a good chance that the easy-to-use iPhone UI might allow elderly people to learn how to use the device a lot faster, provided someone helps them with the phone’s initial setup.
Newer iPhone models tend to cost lots of money, and so we’ve included the iPhone SE (2022) model in this list. It’s a lower-end model. At, 4.7-inch, the device comes with a relatively small screen compared to most of the phones on this list. However, its fluid interface might compensate for that.
The iPhone SE (2022) is powered by an A15 processor, so it’s bound to get plenty of updates in the upcoming years. It has a decent camera lens and comes with Touch ID, which will be easier to deal with for seniors than Face ID. The SE also has some nice accessibility features, such as working with a whole range of “Made for Apple” hearing aids. Last but not least, the phone boasts IP67 dust/water resistance.
Starting at $429, the iPhone SE (2022) is one of the more expensive options on this list, but it can be a good choice especially for those seniors switching from an older iPhone.
Specifications:
- 4.7-inch Retina display with 750 x 1334 pixel resolution
- 4GB of RAM
- up to 256GB of internal storage
- 12MP main camera and 7MP selfie camera
- 2,018 mAh battery
- iOS 15.4
- 4G/LTE
- Compatible with “Made for Apple” hearing aids
Frequently Asked Questions
Do seniors really need a smartphone?
A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2015 found that the majority of elderly individuals who own a smartphone believe that having one is freeing and connecting. A smartphone can grant a higher degree of autonomy to an elderly person, but that’s just one of the benefits. Others include:
- Being able to make emergency calls
- Texting and keeping in touch with friends and family
- Video calling with friends and family
- Setting reminders for taking medication, drinking water, and more
- Using GPS to help navigate while driving or walking
- Checking the weather or the news
- Having access to health-monitoring apps
- Accessing the internet for various needs
- Having access to an endless source of entertainment
What are some things I can do before handing over the new phone to a senior member of my family?
To make things easier for them, you should do a few things beforehand. For starters, handle the initial configuration, so they won’t have to worry about that. Next, make sure that you add shortcuts to useful tasks and apps on the home screen. If you’ve bought an Android phone for them, consider installing a simple launcher like Big Launcher or Simple Launcher. If the senior in question suffers from deteriorating eyesight, enlarging the phone’s font should also be on your list of priorities.
What if I am looking for something even larger than a smartphone. Are there any tablets for seniors out there?
If the senior you’re buying the device for loves watching TV shows and movies, you might want to consider getting them a tablet. One good example of a tablet geared for seniors is the GrandPad. This is an 8-inch device featuring FHD resolution, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of internal storage. Check more details about the device on the official GrandPad website.
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