5 settings that can make Android phones user friendly for senior citizens

For those — especially the elderly — who are new to using smartphones, it can be quite a challenge at times. There are too many settings, too many features that aren’t used and it can get quite confusing. Senior citizens quite often have the most ‘basic’ usage pattern on smartphones. Here we tell you 5 settings that can help senior citizens who use Android phones:

Enlarge the font size on the phone

Senior citizens shouldn’t be saddled with the task of straining their eyes when reading anything on their smartphones. Hence, one of the first things you should do is increase the font size. Most Android phones have a few basic steps that are required to do so. Depending on the brand of phone they have, the settings could be slightly different but more or less, it should involve these steps. Go to Settings > Display > System Font > Text Size. You can adjust the text size after checking with the elderly person using the phone which is the most comfortable option.

Do not use gesture navigation

As good a feature gesture navigation is, it can be quite complicated for the elderly. For ease of use and to make the phone more user friendly, go back to the three-button navigation system. The three buttons are the triangle back button, the round Home button and the square overview button. To enable the three-button system, follow these steps: System > Gestures > System navigation.

Delete or uninstall the unwanted, ‘useless’ apps

Android phones come with a lot of apps that aren’t really needed and that’s especially true for senior citizens. Additional apps that aren’t required can unnecessarily create confusion and take up extra storage as well. A lot of these apps are bloatware and perhaps deleting them would require an additional few steps — depending on the smartphone you have.

Make use of Android launchers

One of the best things about Android phones is the level of customisation they offer. Android launchers are very handy to declutter the home screen or customise them as per your needs. Choose launchers that are that easy to use interface, where icons are large and text size is big enough. Some of the launchers that are ideal for senior citizens include Simple Launcher, Big Launcher, Help Launcher among others. All these can be easily downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Increase the size of the keyboard

Android phones have the option of making keyboards bigger and wider. This, of course, depends on what smartphone you are using but the option is there. Gboard, which is often preloaded in Android phones, gives users multiple options to change the height of the keyboard.