Cell Phones for Seniors - The Best Models

Mobile phones for the elderly are slowly entering the market. In our small buying guide, we present some of the smartphones that have been tested by the Stiftung Warentest for their suitability for seniors.

Buying advice for senior cell phones

Meanwhile, almost every week, some supermarket offers a so-called senior cell phone at an extremely affordable price. Unfortunately, these supposed special offers are often only characterized by oversized buttons and a somewhat strange appearance. As a rule, these so-called senior cell phones hardly respond to the needs of seniors. If you would like to buy a good cell phone for a senior, you should pay attention to the criteria listed below, whereby it is of course individually different, which weighting you apply to the individual points.

• The keyboard should not only be characterized by the fact that the keys are large. The keyboard of the smartphone should be easy to use and easy to grip, such as with pressure-resistant rubber keys.
• Of course, the display should also be large and above all bright. It should also have a very good contrast ratio. The writing must be as sharp as possible and accordingly easy to read.
• Acoustic control is also particularly useful for seniors with poor eyesight. This will announce the digits of the phone number entered as you type.
• Another important factor in a senior smartphone is the so-called emergency button. Sufficient emergency numbers should be able to be entered there, as this increases security. The emergency call is "forwarded" until one of the entered emergency numbers answers. Unfortunately, the Stiftung Warentest found that some of the cell phones "got stuck" with an answering machine, so you should pay special attention to this point.
• A sufficient number of direct selection buttons are a must, since they make handling the smartphone much easier in everyday life.
• The menu navigation should be simple and clear and avoid unnecessary bells and whistles.
• Loud ringtones and an easily adjustable volume amplification are also usually useful.
• Seniors with hearing aids should also pay attention to the feedback of the cell phone. The standard T1-T4 has become established for smartphones with a telephone coil and the standard M1-M4 for mobile phones without a telephone coil. This means that the higher the specified T or M value, the better the cell phone is suitable for people with hearing aids.

Well-designed senior cell phones

• The Panasonic KX-TU327EXBE senior cell phone emerged as the test winner at the Stiftung Warentest. The price for the senior cell phone is around 75 euros.
• Also among the test winners is the Doro PhoneEasy 612 from the Swedish company Doro, which specializes in cell phones for the elderly. The price of this cell phone is also around 75 euros.
• The AMPLICOMMS PowerTel M7000 starts at around 70 euros.
• The around 35 euro Swisstone BBM 420 proves that inexpensive is not always the same as cheap. In this case, the relatively low price of the senior cell phone is not reflected in the quality.
• Tip: In our picture gallery you will find 12 buying tips for mobile phones for seniors from 30 euros.

We have more tips for buying senior cell phones in the next article.