The Best Phones for Seniors

Simple Phones for Every Age

Everyone needs to be connected. Seniors, who may be isolated from their families or have specific health needs, shouldn’t be left out. While the smartphone industry, by and large, isn’t thinking about the particular needs of the senior market, if you pay attention you can find carriers, phones, and services that are tailored to folks who’d prefer a streamlined, easy-to-use, simple phone experience.

Being a senior citizen, in this case, isn’t about chronological age. It’s about a set of preferences, faculties, and, in some cases, lifestyle. Those in the “senior market” may have declining eyesight and hearing, may not feel like keeping up with the latest tech features, or may be on a limited income. There are 95-year-olds with laser-sharp vision who would rather just browse our list of best cell phones overall, and there are 50-year-olds who may benefit from the phones we outline here.

Our list includes some voice phones, some general-purpose smartphones, and one smartphone with a physical keyboard. The BlackBerry Key2 LE, Galaxy Note 9, iPhone XR, and Moto G7 Power are all available unlocked, so they can be paired with any compatible carrier; the others are typically sold in carrier-specific versions.

Senior-Specific Carriers

Two wireless carriers specialize in the senior market: GreatCall, which markets its phones as Jitterbug, and Consumer Cellular. GreatCall uses the Verizon network, and Consumer Cellular uses the AT&T and T-Mobile networks. Of the two, GreatCall has more specialized features for those who need health monitoring: an urgent response button, 24/7 access to nurses, and connected medical alert devices.

GreatCall’s Jitterbug Flip is a simple (yet solid) flip phone that currently works on Verizon’s 3G network, and will get a software upgrade to make calls on Verizon’s 4G LTE network when the 3G network shuts down at the end of 2019. GreatCall also sells a simplified smartphone, but we really prefer the Flip.

Consumer Cellular has a marketing arrangement with AARP and doesn’t offer specialized services, but has received high marks in the past for customer service. The carrier has won our Readers’ Choice award four years running, largely on the strength of its customer service rating. The company’s Doro 7050 is a future-proof, 4G voice phone that gets excellent coverage. Consumer Cellular also offers our two high-end smartphone choices: the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and the Apple iPhone XR. In both cases, we picked phones with large screens and solid call quality, so you don’t have to squint to use them.

Senior Phones on Standard Carriers

Many seniors want voice-only devices, and the major wireless carriers still have some simple phones. You need to be smart about which simple phones you pick up, though, because of major changes coming in the carriers’ networks. All four of the major carriers have focused their energies on building 4G LTE networks. Although they’ve pledged to keep their existing networks up until at least 2019, the smart choice is to go with a voice phone that supports voice over 4G LTE. There are other benefits, as well. 4G LTE basic phones often have HD Voice, or high-quality voice calling, when calling other people on the same network (or between Verizon and AT&T). Those higher-quality calls can be easier on old ears.

Seniors looking for smartphones may prefer large, affordable devices with lower-resolution screens, so icons and touch targets are larger and easier to hit. There, we like the Moto G6 series, which is available in various forms on various carriers. Those phones all feature big screens, affordable prices, and solid battery life.

Samsung phones also have an Easy Mode with fewer obvious options, that’s available on phones from the low-cost J3 up to the high-end Galaxy S10 and Note 9. The Note 9 is the biggest model Samsung has to offer, and folks who still remember using pen and paper will enjoy taking notes with its S Pen stylus. Samsung smartphones are available on every major carrier.

Prepaid Carriers for Senior Phones

Seniors on fixed incomes may want to check out our story on The Best Cheap Cell Phone Plans You Never Heard Of, which features a lot of low-cost virtual carriers—prepaid carriers that use the major carriers’ networks, but tend to charge a lot less per month for basic service than the major carriers do. If you’re looking for limited, voice-only plans, you can get them on a range of carrier networks for around $ 10 per month.

Those plans usually require that you bring your own unlocked, compatible phone. That may involve buying a used phone from eBay, for instance. There are not currently any good, unlocked voice phones that support 4G voice calling, but you can use smartphones on voice-only plans as well; they just won’t be able to reach the internet without Wi-Fi.

For advice on how to pick the right carrier for you, head over to our story on the Fastest Mobile Networks.

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