Tweak Smartphones to Make [Them] More Accessible to Seniors

CHAI Creative Director Kewal Kapoor writes in Entrepreneur that minor modifications to smartphone settings can help seniors more easily access an intuitive user experience. "While boosting the size of the text does improve readability, make sure you also increase the contrast so that the colors are rendered more distinct," he recommends. Kapoor also suggests reskinning the smartphone interface with a launcher, as some launchers are designed to simplify the browser experience for seniors by streamlining the options and menus, enlarging text, and brightening colors for easy readability. He also advises turning on voice control and text to speech features. "Once you have made the smartphone easier to navigate, you can further use the device to improve accessibility in the real world as well," Kapoor adds. "For example, you can teach them how to use the flashlight to illuminate dark spaces and text in dimly lit environments. Better still, you can install a text magnifying app, which will make it easier to read the fine print, menus, books, and other documents." Kapoor's final suggestion is to install the TeamViewer app, which facilitates remote smartphone access so others can help seniors when they encounter problems with the device.