Written by Xingyi Wu, Sep 2023:
As technology continues to advance, it is becoming increasingly difficult for seniors to keep up with the latest gadgets and devices.
Why is this the case?
While smartphones and other high-tech devices can be useful for many individuals, seniors may actually benefit more from a far simpler phone design, taking into account specific physical, social and emotional needs.
Put simply, smartly and purposefully designed phones for seniors can be the perfect choice for elderly loved ones in your life if they struggle with:
- Learning complicated new gadgets
- Hearing difficulties (requiring loud volume or automatic captioning)
- Reading small text (requiring large screens and buttons)
- Maintaining independence / living independently
- Remembering and calling family members and friends
In this article, we will further explore the reasons why a simple phone is the perfect choice for seniors, discussing many of the essential features that should be included in a simple phone; examples of simple, smartly designed phones; and reasons why a simple phone can be the best option for older individuals.
Why seniors need a simple phone
According to recent statistics, seniors are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with technology.
In countries such as Australia, over 80% of seniors say that they struggle with technology, while in the United States, only 17% of seniors feel confident using technology, including smart phones and other digital communication devices.
Over in the United Kingdom, the statistics are even more significant: Nearly 70% of seniors say they feel left behind in the digital age. These statistics show that many seniors are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by the complexity of modern technology.
Of course, there’s a need to go beyond the research to understand the reasons why older people are struggling to stay up-to-date with technology.
While seniors may not require all the bells and whistles of a smartphone (such as social media apps and other features that are geared towards younger generations), for many older individuals, the problem is that the screen and button size, the lack of volume and (most importantly) the poor ease-of-use often fails to keep them connected.
On the other hand, a simple phone that can make and receive calls with relatives, friends and critical services is often all an elderly person needs to maintain strong meaningful connections as well as independence.
It’s likely that, like us, you feel the above statistics demonstrate a clear need for introducing simple technologies into the lives of the elderly. Still, there is even further evidence to support this concept, in that simple communication technologies are even known to help save lives.
Essential features for simple phones for seniors
When selecting a simple phone for a senior, there are a few key features to look for:
- No menu-diving: The phone should be easy to use. Having to look through endless menus for options needed to successfully operate the phone is frustrating and disempowering.
- Large buttons: As seniors may often have additional trouble with both eyesight and general dexterity, large buttons and phone features become increasingly important.
- Large screen: Adding to this is the need for a large screen so that all information and functionalities can be seen clearly and engaged with easily.
- Assist button: Many simple phones designed for seniors include an assist button that can be pressed in case of a problem. This button can be programmed to call a specific number, such as a family member or emergency services, or a series of numbers.
- Safety: To prevent unwanted calls to vulnerable seniors by telemarketers, fraudsters, scammers and robo-callers, there must be an option to block unknown callers.
Let’s take a look at two Konnekt products: The Konnekt Videophone, designed specifically for elderly people, and the Konnekt Captioning Videophone for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
That’s right: Great, purpose-designed phones exist, other than the smartphones you’ve come to know, love, or find frustrating!
About the Konnekt Videophones for seniors
Luckily, the Konnekt Videophone is a device designed to facilitate communication for individuals who prefer an easy appliance or are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have memory loss or a disability. It is a video phone that uses an internet connection to make video calls to other Konnekt Videophone users, or any other device that supports video calls. It can also make regular phone calls to ordinary phones.
The device comes with several features that make communication more accessible for users, including a large touchscreen display, a high-quality camera, and twin built-in speakers that are much larger than phone peakers. The font size and color can also be adjusted to make text easier to read and can use a variety of communication methods, including sign language and text-to-speech.
In addition to the standard Konnekt Videophone, the Konnekt Captioning Videophone is also available, adding real-time captioning to video calls and to standard phone calls. The captioning technology can convert voice into words, making it easier for individuals with hearing impairments to understand what is being said.
Konnekt Videophone:
- One-touch video calling on a large 15” touchscreen
- Built-in speakers that can be set extra loud
- Up to 40 speed-dial buttons, up to 15 cm wide
- High-contrast colour scheme and large text options
- Privacy: Option to block unknown callers
Konnekt Captioning Videophone:
- All features of the Konnekt Videophone
- Real-time captioning for video calls and standard phone calls
- Converts speech to text for hard-of-hearing / deaf people
- Large captioning text, with multiple languages available
- No operator listening; fast, automatic, completely private
What’s more, we’re officially award-winners! At the ITAC Conference, Konnekt won the award for “Best Consumer-Friendly Product in Care”.
With a catalogue of excellent testimonials available to explore, we encourage you to discover today why so many satisfied customers have made the choice to trial, rent or purchase a Konnekt appliance.
How a simple phone can be the perfect choice for seniors
A simple, purposefully designed phone can be the perfect choice for seniors for a variety of reasons.
To help explore whether or not Konnekt’s products are the perfect fit for you and the elderly person in your life, reach out to our friendly team today. We can’t wait to chat with you.