I got a task to buy a smart phone for my grandparents, they are not techsavy but they know how to use basic functions. Iam looking for an andoid because it has language pack i need. I dont need it to have lots of functions, onley a good camera and a big screen. Bonus points if it can be flashed with some kind of simplefied version of android.
The foss apps I dont agree with but a stock grapheneos setup is as basic as it gets so even a non tech person can use it. OP can even set it up for them to auto update whatever apps they use through the playstore so the grandparents dont really have to do anything
The problem is that other people will be unfamiliar with it. Unless OP can be the support person all the time, the grandparents may want to get help from someone else.
Keeping things stock is helpful for that, and I feel like Google Pixel is already simple enough. Just disable things like assistant during setup or in settings.
I agree to disagree it’s really not that different from vanilla especially if he does go the playstore route, so a person familiar with android can naviagate grapheneos. The only problem would be if they break their device and the thumbprint scanner would have to be recalibrated. Personally I would just keep it as the stock grapheneos setup with accessibility features turned to max. That way its a dumb smartphone
Edit: forgot to mention regardless of os add some kind of network firewall or DNS solution to block malicious/phishing domains. The elderly are often victims of scams
it is basic but you rum into compatibility issues every once in a while which they will not be able to figure out. And also, if you don’t agree with the Foss apps, it means you will just install the regular familiar google apps, which if you do that, does not make much of a difference if you are on GOS or stock Android
it does a difference to be on GOS. Google apps are sandboxed and are safer than in vanilla android, and grapheneos has features to mitigate exploits and again… as easy as a toggle buttons.
I see where you are coming from but I disagree. Using grapheneos will allow much more security and control over the device so OP can fine tune their grandparent’s device to their liking. As for not agreeing with the foss apps I really mean in this situation specifically. Foss apps often run into problems with stability (look at newpipe due to youtube) and ease of use (look at collabora) which will frustrate an older person and with grapheneos at least OP can further lockdown the proprietary apps that their grandparents would use if they do so in the first place. However, since OP stated they just want a phone that’s simple that’s why I would go with the stock grapheneos setup without adding new applications. As for compatiability, unless they are driving or banking which I doubt since they just know tha basics of a smartphone, I doubt this will be a problem since the majority of mainstream apps work. Grapheneos is meant for freedom and securiry over your device not just privacy
i run my Pixel + GrapheneOS as daily and it’s very simple to set up, it does not even take 30 minutes to install the OS if you read the instructions from the official webpage. Does not have any bloat or unnecesary apps at all, no telemetry or tracking. No distractions of the main point of a phone. You can install normal apps from the Aurora Store and FOSS (clean, simple and useful) apps from F-Droid. The battery charge lasts all day and the phone it’s fast and secure.
the same aurora store that wouldnt work for half the times and you would have to go to the google play website for an application and click on “open in app” on ur browser?
woah! you really look like the half empty glass type of person. That’s why their grandson/daugther it’s going to set it up for them. I’ve been using AuroraStore for a long time and I never had to do any of that. Still, once you have installed the apps you need, correctly, the only concurrent task is to apply updates and I never had any problems with that either.
Some older apple devices. I usually despise apple devices but their strong points usually are big screen + good camera while also being piss easy to use for non techsavvy people.
I would buy an iphone and jailbreak, remove settings apps, useless apps and make it minimalistic, but it doesnt have language pack i need so i cant use it
If its an iPhone I would go with an iPhone plus for the screen size.
If its android, I would go with a Samsung A device. They’re usually big in size, affordable, comes with a lot of accessibility features, good battery, and relatively easy to find accessories and spare parts.
From my perspective you don’t necessarily need a simplified Android but only a simplified launcher. There are plenty of senior friendly launchers in the play store.
You can basically make a dumb smartphone with grapheneos so a pixel would be good for them. If you dont need a dumb phone set it up with the playstore and whatever apps they use and boom good to go
Edit: I would also setup accessibility features. Forgot to mention regardless of os add some kind of network firewall or DNS solution to block malicious/phishing domains. The elderly are often victims of scams
Depends massively on your budget, i would buy any 400ish dollar phone from any well known chinese brand (Redmi, Realme) and flash it with something like lineage OS, the hardware is good enough and will last a few years, if you have a higher budget, something like the asus zenfone is also good and you probably won’t need to modify the software (unless you want to)
Stay away from samsung imo, they are harder to mod and their budget phones are far from the best, they may look decent on paper but the software and speed are very lackluster
Well… Anything a generation old for price and not flag ship. Samsung A-something or Google something-a. You can change the screen dpi to make thing more readable.
You can install a custom launcher to have full control over the home screen and just show the important apps like call, text and email. I use pre sale Nova.
Most custom launchers let you lock the home screen too, something I learnt was important for my mother who would CONSTANTLY drag stuff around, get lost and then claim she didn’t go anything.
I’d double check that language you need isn’t already on iPhone. They’ve added pretty much every language spoken by at least 100k people.
iPhone is really the only choice for the computer/smartphone illiterate. You can’t easily put the device in an unrecognizable state, you can’t install a launcher that drastically changes the GUI from the app store. iPhone justifiably gets tons of shit, but this is the exact use case it’s designed for. They also have really good accessibility features, and they actually work in apps.
Android has tons of benefits, and I’ve had only android for the last 14 years. I think if you are planning on removing the settings app all together, you know it’s not a great choice for them.
In my experience, older people want to use their smartphones forever so that they don’t have to relearn how to use them. If I were you, I would therefore use a mobile phone with the longest possible software support. I think that the Google Pixel 8 fulfils your criteria and offers very long software support among Android smartphones. Given Google’s size, you can also assume that the company won’t go bankrupt before then.
My mother is 84. I got her a Motorola phone for around €170 / $180 and did the setup for her (increase text size, setup whatsapp etc.). It is perfect. Main consideration was a decent battery life, reasonable camera and a not awful processor.
At her age all she wants is phone calls, texts, youtube and whatsapp and most androids in that price range or higher ticks those boxes IMO.
My father-in-law had one. It was awful. It made it so much harder for us to help him with issues. And apart from the system apps everything he got didn’t fit into how everything else worked. He was much better off with a regular Android he got later.
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