If you have a parent or grandparent considering getting an iPhone, here’s how you can make it easier for them.
Since iOS comes with a simple user interface with a shallow learning curve, iPhone is one of the easiest devices to use. However, not everyone can grasp all the features of a smartphone, including the older generation, which, without its flaws, is dealing with technology ahead of its time. Here’s how to make iPhones easier to use for the older crowd.
Smartphones and tablets are hugely popular with the younger audience, and while the older generation is still somewhat reluctant to introduce this type of technology into their lives, more and more older people are starting to at least try it out.
One fear, however, is that smartphones and tablets are too confusing to work with, even if the user interface is simple for most users. Therefore, to make an iPhone easier to use, you should make things as simple as possible. Apple has been really good at this with iOS, but there are some things the user can do to make the iPhone easier to use for older people who have trouble grasping such a new technology.
Here’s how to make iPhone easy to use so your parents, grandparents, and even yourself can use it without feeling overwhelmed.
Enable Accessible Options
The Accessibility menu in the Settings app is usually reserved for users with disabilities or some form of disability, but it has some great features that anyone can use, and these features can make the iPhone easier to use in general.
Here are some that are worth a look.
Turn on Alert Notifications Instead of Banners
When you receive notifications, there are two ways to receive them. There are notifications where a strip of the top of the screen is cut off and a notification appears. Tapping on it will bring up the corresponding app.
The other type is notifications, which are larger pop-ups that appear on your screen asking you to take action with a few buttons you can tap on.
Arguably, Alert notifications are the best as they are easier to act on and easier to read, whereas headline notifications are extremely small and can be difficult to tap towards the top of the screen.
To change notifications to Alerts, open the app and tap on it. Scroll down and click an app. Select where you see iPhone pictures.
Disable All Unnecessary Push Notifications
You know what the real distraction is? Receive push notifications for each app you install. For older people, getting so many notifications can be intimidating, forcing them to give up and throw the phone out the window.
Therefore, it is very important to disable push notifications for all applications except those that are absolutely necessary, such as iMessage, Phone and other applications that the user can use on a daily basis.
To do this, open the app and tap on it. Scrolling down lists your installed apps. Tap in the upper right corner and then drag and drop the apps you don’t want to receive notifications from to the section.
Limit Distractions As Much As Possible
One big thing that makes the iPhone a daunting device to use is all the distractions it can bring. As mentioned earlier, notifications are a big culprit, but apart from that, there are a few other things you can do to make the iPhone easier to use and look less intimidating for older users.
For starters, hide all apps that will never be used by placing them in a folder and putting that folder on a second page. It’s also a good idea to keep all the apps that will be used on one page and then use that second page to keep the unused apps out.
You can also clean the slot a bit by keeping only important apps inside. So, if your parent or grandparent really uses Phone and iMessage most of the time, keeping these two apps in the dock makes it easy for them to access another app docked without accidentally touching it.
Of course, jailbreaking the iPhone can really open the door to a world of tweaks to make the iPhone easier to use, but that’s something we wouldn’t recommend for the older crowd, especially if they don’t know what they’re doing. A jailbroken iPhone has a higher potential to crash and cause problems.
