If your grandpa or grandma is regularly complaining about how the new Android smartphone you gifted them is complicated, there are different ways you can make it more friendly.
Doing this will not only save them their precious time of looking for you when they’re stuck, but also make your interactions with them about other important things than their inevitable navigation troubles with the new smartphone.
Here are different ways to make any Android phone friendly for senior users.
1. Use Senior-Friendly Android Launchers
One quick trick of turning any Android smartphone elderly-friendly is by installing senior-friendly launchers. Yes, they do exist, and there is quite a variety of them. A good example is Simple Launcher, one of the best senior-friendly Android launchers.
Simple Launcher allows you to add up to nine important apps on the home screen. The icons are large, and the text size is big.
The easy-to-use interface, coupled with the available control center allows seniors to operate their Android smartphones easily. The control center includes an easy way to uninstall apps, a safety lock for locking home screen edit mode, and a way to lock the ring and notification volume.
Simple Launcher also provides special folders for adding important contacts on the secondary home screen in two distinct folders: Family and Friends. And for emergency purposes, there’s a large SOS button on the secondary home screen.
Other senior-friendly Android launchers include BIG Launcher, Senior Safety Phone, Help Launcher, and Square Phone. You can try them and see which one they’re most comfortable with.
Download: Simple Launcher (Free)
2. Enlarge the Keyboard Buttons
Using senior-friendly Android launchers is just one piece of the puzzle. The next thing you should do is enlarge the keyboard buttons for ease of use. Most Android smartphones ship with Google’s keyboard Gboard pre-installed, so we’ll use that in this example.
If your Android smartphone doesn’t have it, you can install it from Google Play Store for free using the download link below.
How to Enlarge the Keyboard on Android
Gboard provides a way to customize it to fit your specific needs. You can, for instance, change the theme, layout, height, and more. To enlarge the keyboard, we have to change the height.
First, open any app and tap on a place where you can type some text. The keyboard will appear. Once the keyboard appears, you will be presented with the usual layout, including a gear icon. Tap the gear icon. A settings page will appear from where you can customize Gboard.
Select Preferences > Layout > Keyboard height. By default, the keyboard height is set to normal—choose mid-tall, tall, or extra tall, depending on your preference.
Once selected, the keyboard height will be saved automatically. Gboard will now be a bit taller than before and a lot easier to use.
Download: Gboard (Free)
If you prefer Microsoft’s SwiftKey Keyboard, you can customize the size during setup, or by opening the app and going to Layout & keys > Resize. Swift Keyboard can stretch a little further than Gboard, so if you’re not satisfied with the latter, switch.
Download: SwiftKey Keyboard (Free)
3. Increase Text Size Across the System
Next, you need to increase the font size across the whole system. Android offers an easy way to change the font size through the Settings app. But before we dive into the how, keep in mind that depending on the type of device, the precise steps for changing the text size might vary (the device used in this tutorial runs Xiaomi's MIUI software).
Here’s how you can do that:
- Open your Android phone’s Settings app.
- Go to Display.
- Scroll down to System font and tap Text size.
- Adjust the text size to a larger alternative.
The font size settings will be saved automatically. You'll notice all the text across the system is bigger.
4. Uninstall or Disable Unwanted Apps
Unless the Android device is a Google Pixel phone or is under Google’s Android One project, it will have lots of apps pre-installed.
Most of the pre-installed apps are usually unnecessary. Android phones from third-party makers come with lots of them which can be an issue for the elderly. They produce a lot of clutter. It’s important to disable most of these apps or totally uninstall them if possible.
How to Uninstall Unnecessary Apps on Android
Most of the pre-installed apps and games, referred to as bloatware, won’t uninstall normally. However, some do.
To uninstall an app, open your phone’s Settings and go to Apps > Manage apps. Again, your device may have a slightly different way of accessing this setting.
Select the app you want to uninstall and check if that option is available. If not, you may see an option to disable the app, and choose that instead. This will hide the app icon, among other things.
If that's missing as well, explore other ways to uninstall unwanted apps on Android. But before you do, ensure you don't disable or uninstall critical apps needed for proper functioning.
5. Turn Off Gesture Navigation
Gesture navigation is a cool way to navigate your Android smartphone, but this can be unintuitive to the elderly. To make a device more friendly for them, switch back to the classic 3-button navigation system.
The 3-button navigation includes a triangular back button, a square overview, and a circular Home button.
This can be a bit easier to use as compared to gesture navigation. Starting from Android 10 and beyond, you can select to use the classic buttons or gestures. Here’s how you can change the navigation style keeping in mind your device might have a slightly different approach:
- Open your device’s Settings app and go to System > Gestures > System navigation.
- From here, select the classic 3-button navigation style.
6. Activate Easy Mode on Samsung Devices
If you have a Samsung smartphone, you can turn on Easy Mode. Easy Mode simplifies the interface of the device, making it easy to use for seniors.
To activate Easy Mode go to Settings > Display > Easy Mode, then turn on the feature on the activation page.
If you find Easy Mode not simple enough, use the Android launchers optimized for seniors like Simple Launcher and BIG Launcher.
Simplify Senior Life on Android Smartphones
We’ve covered a variety of ways to help you make any Android phone simpler for seniors. To recap, start by installing a senior-friendly Android launcher. Alternatively, you can activate Easy Mode if you have a Samsung Galaxy smartphone. Next, enlarge the keyboard height, and increase the font size across the system. Finally, revert to the classic 3-button navigation style.
That will make your grandparents' life easier dealing with even the latest Android smartphones. In addition to that, you should also find them the best cell phone plans for seniors.
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