Reply With QuoteThe current iPhone SE still has a home button.
Hi all, this is NOT a stealth 'WTB' ad!
My elderly father, who is surprisingly good with his iphone, ipad and YouTube has an ancient iPhone7+. He uses it for texts, email and receiving/viewing photos & videos from the family. He (I think) uses iCloud to store his photos.
He needs to upgrade it, and as usual, I will buy one for him from SC, but I am really not IT literate and just wonder what the experts here would recommend as a good step up from the 7+, that won't be overwhelming.
I worry that he might find the loss of the 'home button' a challenge. He clearly doesn't need a 'bells and whistles' iPhone14.
What would be a good half-way-house? Needs a good battery as he needs wifi on all the time for phone signal.
Thanks very much!
PS it MUST be an iphone - he can't learn a new operating system now.
The current iPhone SE still has a home button.
Hi, similar situation with my Mother!
We also felt her moving up from her iPhone 5se (a 2016-2018 model) to a more recent model without a home button would be problematic. BUT it's been fine...Originally Posted by ach5
We got her an iPhone XR (2018-2021 model) which had a much larger screen and so visually everything was easier on the eye. The lack of home button became a non-issue within a matter of days, once we told her 'swiping the bar at the bottom upwards is the same as pressing the home button'. Additionally, models like the iPhone XR, iPhone 11, 12, 13, etc. have FaceID (face recognition) which removes the hassle of needing to tap in a code to unlock, he would be able to get in just by holding the phone up to his face. Far easier, and safer if out and about.
If a home button is an absolute must, then the no-brainer choice would be an iPhone SE 2022 model: https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone-se/
Pretty much the same dimensions as the iPhone 7 but with newer internals.
I'm pretty sure apple do user testing on 5 and 95 year olds so he'll be fine. For my mum and in-laws it just meant they never closed apps ever and swiped up once to get back to the home screen.
Anything in Max size should be fine. Might be worth googling the weight difference between certain models.
From the iPhone 14 onwards there is max version which isn't a pro so is lighter being plastic Vs metal but that's probably a bit expensive for now.
^ This^
The new ones without the button have a learning curve that you probably want to avoid. The SE will work exactly like the 7. Downside is the screen will be smaller than on the 7+
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Both my wife and daughter are so happy with the most recent SE version that they have no interest in moving on from them. So another vote.
I went from 7 to 11, no issues .
I quite like the home button too so I use Assistive Touch. Once switched on in the settings it gives a 'floating button' which you can put any where on the screen. When you press it, it brings up an option to return to the home screen - its really easy and useful, for some reason it's not well known - but it helps give a non home button device a clear short cut back to the home screen.
This is what my daughter uses after her home button broke. Quite a useful little tool.I quite like the home button too so I use Assistive Touch. Once switched on in the settings it gives a 'floating button' which you can put any where on the screen. When you press it, it brings up an option to return to the home screen - its really easy and useful, for some reason it's not well known - but it helps give a non home button device a clear short cut back to the home screen.
RE what phone, I think an X is a good way in to the latest no-button iPhones.
The new SE 2020 onwards has the home button. There are chip upgrades to the 2022 as well, which may or may not be helpful. I bought one a few months ago and love it. It replaced an Android which I also liked but I still missed my old 5s which was a great little phone. Highly recommend the new SE. As a bonus I think it is the same chassis as the 7 so it will feel very familiar.
The button is not just to return to the Home Screen. A double "click", for example, allows you to toggle between open apps, or clear the ones you don't want; without one you need to adjust your swipe between from the bottom and from the middle of the screen, etc.
I know it's straightforward, but it has stopped me from changing my 8 which does everything I want. When change will become necessary the SE it will be.
(PS: both my 17 daughter and technophobe wife use a no-button iPhone, so it isn't rocket science. Just that the screen extension is not worth the convenience for me).
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I would imagine the size would be very important factor, the XR would be a decent upgrade and nearly the same size as the 7+
Cheers..
Jase
My suggestion would be an iPhone 13. It would be a big upgrade and has an excellent battery, plus it's cheaper than the 14 being almost a couple of years old now. Size wise I think it's a bit smaller than the 7 Plus but has a much larger screen.
I know it has Face ID, but my guess would be that your father adjusts to this very quickly.
Easier to adjust to Face ID now than in 5 years time if he’s old.
FaceID is a much better system
Pick up a second gen SE2. Will accept updates until 2027, so still good for 4 years
Good number of unlocked models on EbayUK and prices depending on condition
Has the home button
My FIL (83) recently moved from an iPhone with a home button to one without. He got used to it pretty quickly, and face ID works much better for him than touch id.
My elderly mum really struggles with her iPhone and iPad - both with buttons, but if you say ‘press the button mum’ she doesn’t know which button - even though there’s only a great big one on the front! - she’s not daft, just doesn’t seem to have a brain wired for tech at all and never has. Without me around I have no idea how she’d manage in the modern world. Good luck to the OP!
Except when you want to check something quickly while the phone’s flat because now you have to pick it up and stare at it to make it work.
That’s the only thing that’s irritated me since moving away from a home button.
Everything else is really intuitive and saves wear on the fingers and the button.
It could be argued that dragging your finger across the screen instead of just making contact with the button increases wear...
Other than that it can be a pain for spectacled owners: longsighted will wear glasses when using the phone, so should have Face ID with glasses on; however when paying at a supermarket they have to fiddle through pockets/handbags to get the glasses so the bl***y thing recognise you; same is true for shortsighted, although they just need to remove them.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
That’s strange my Face ID recognises me glasses on or off, it also works irrespective of me wearing a tit’fa or not.
I know mate. For some reason it doesn't work well with Mrs SJ.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
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