ipads vs android for seniors with memory problems

[PeterPan]

Anybody dealt with this? My dad's aging computer is biting the dust. Need at least a 10" screen, so there are 3 ipad options. Can the pros be simplified or is there a great senior app for them? Looking also at Claris Companion, subscription based app for android. Im so not android fan but his phones have all been android

He needs texting, email, youtube, and web browsing for singles sites (haha, yes,for real). Hes super smart so he wants to do a lot but his brain forgets many things. Like he doesnt always know day of week. So his old computer with yahoo mail was a fiasco. No interest in games and he barely pecks to type. BIG fingers. Needs constancy of place and not going to give him grief if he gets into something. 

Any great options for this? 

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Apple keychain

good point! lol

58 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I don't even think he needs the Air. 

I wondered about this. I have an ipad i bought a couple years ago just so ds could play Civ (yes, laugh) and it's BRILLIANT for stupid little $$. I just didnt know if his ipad vs air is that machine. So if i get my non-air set up in a way i think will work for him then youre saying even ust do that? i think lower price is not essential but nice. i havent done no button ipad/iphone yet but it seems like a way or things to go wrong. says the woman who hates the fingerprint buttin lol. theres NO way he could do fingerprint reliably. i was going to leave it unlocked.

is there an advantage to air? i think has bigger screen yes?

ill play with mine and hit the store to see the air.

1 hour ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

the Pro would be overkill personally. You'll be paying for screen size without using the technology that comes with it. 

dh has a rpo and said it would complicate and be more to muddle him. so i guess we elinate that and then just decide air vs. non air. jke is that $30 subscripton pays for new device

[PeterPan]

4 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

You could give him yours and buy the Pro for yourself? 😉 

ooo

let me think on that. he needs to cough up *some* $ and has $. 

18 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

Here's the model comparison. The screen difference on the current models is so miniscule, for capability I would go the cheap route. 

https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/?afid=p238|s3oclwZAh-dc_mtid_1870765e38482_pcrid_433501356919_pgrid_68116136088_&cid=aos-us-kwgo---slid-pmyv0vT7--product-

I think for what matters to him, everything else would be superfluous beyond the base model, or the one you can give him. He's not editing pictures, or dealing with videos or programs that demand that type of speed, or caring about the camera. You could give him yours and buy the Pro for yourself? 😉 

thanks im looking carefully at this. i guess is hoped going 11" pro would future proof. i see what youre saying in comparisons. body of all 3 (air, non, and 11"pro) are same basically. is there a facetime difference? i dont know how front camera works on the pro lol

I think im going to set both up and compare. I have a spare android tablet to try the claris. i think what rattles me is he hasnt wanted to do much on hs phone. but maybe he was stuck? he did some. i think he forgets what is there or how to access it.

[PeterPan]

so im fiddling with this and claris companion on android (which i agree otherwise is yuck) is actually great. but something isnt right with interface from cc app on android to other mobile, which seems unfathomable at $30 a month. going to call tehm

[katilac]

Let me confuse matters further: why a tablet instead of a laptop in the first place? You mention big fingers and not being a good typist, and typing is harder on a tablet even if you get a keypad, because everything is smaller. 

If you do go with a tablet, I say iPad simply bc so many more people are familiar with them, so it will be easier for him to get help. 

[PeterPan]

40 minutes ago, Dreamergal said:

My parents and inlaws hate iPads. So we gave them older versions of our MacBooks. They are set. They use texting, youtube, browsing, FaceTime and WhatsApp

interesting . ill look into it. im still playing with claris companion to see if i can get it too work.if not maybe a macbook, like youre saying, with the doc simplified and parental controls set. it could work. its how i have me ds account lol

[Lanny]

1 hour ago, katilac said:

Let me confuse matters further: why a tablet instead of a laptop in the first place? You mention big fingers and not being a good typist, and typing is harder on a tablet even if you get a keypad, because everything is smaller. 

If you do go with a tablet, I say iPad simply bc so many more people are familiar with them, so it will be easier for him to get help. 

 

+1 and Amen. 

I was going to come here and begin a thread about this. I don't know anything about Apple models (Cousins and Friends have them but we are Android).  A small laptop with a touch screen? A small laptop where the display can separate from the keyboard, but have a touch screen?  He could have a larger screen, possibly 13 or 14 inches like the school my DD goes to sells? If he ever decides he wants/needs to do other things, a laptop will give him much more power. However, it will not have 2 cameras like a phone or tablet does, if that is something he needs.  It will be much easier on his eyes.

[Ottakee]

You can also get keyboards for the iPad...but that might be too much to remember to charge, pair, etc.

[Forget-Me-Not]

Agree that a laptop may be a better option. The keyboard will be more familiar than an on-screen touch keyboard. You can get a Chromebook that does everything he wants (and more) for around $200.  

[katilac]

2 hours ago, Ottakee said:

You can also get keyboards for the iPad...but that might be too much to remember to charge, pair, etc.

You can, but they are noticeably smaller than a laptop keyboard, so not great for someone with big fingers. 

[DoraBora]

I think this looks like a cool option for older people:

https://birdsonglife.com/?utm_source=GoogleAdwords&utm_medium=Simple&utm_campaign=April2020&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvKjk8Ovh6gIVisDACh1yJAWKEAAYASAAEgIL5PD_BwE

[J-rap]

My dad (92) loves his iPad, and uses it for most things.  I visit him 2 or 3 times/week, and always spend part of my visit helping him with his iPad.  So, it's not trouble-free necessarily....  He keeps a list of questions for each visit.  But for the most part, he can do what he needs to do, and I just help problem-solve (like when he's locked out of accounts, or needs to set up new accounts, etc.).  I also help him set up helpful apps, bookmark favorite pages, get rid of of junk mail, etc., to make his life easier, etc.  We usually practice iPad tasks together.  He's very smart, though!  (For example, he still does his own complicated tax return, etc.)

He also uses my mother's MacBook which was nearly brand new when she had a stroke and dementia instantly set in.  He likes her MacBook for using Zoom, and prefers watching Amazon and Netflix shows on that.  But, he knows how to do it on his iPad too.  If I had to pick only one for him, I'd choose an iPad.  But, his emails are brief.  If they were long, an iPad would probably drive him crazy!

[J-rap]

14 minutes ago, DoraBora said:

I think this looks like a cool option for older people:

https://birdsonglife.com/?utm_source=GoogleAdwords&utm_medium=Simple&utm_campaign=April2020&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvKjk8Ovh6gIVisDACh1yJAWKEAAYASAAEgIL5PD_BwE

Wow, that looks GREAT!!  I've never heard of it.  I'll bookmark this one... Might be helpful down the road for a few people I know.

[Carol in Cal.]

I have an IPad Pro and bought the Logitech keyboard case for it.  It’s really great.  I use it as a laptop, but it has its own phone line (Verizon second line, unlimited data with throttling, not very expensive) so I can get texts on it from other Apple users, AND I use it as a hotspot a lot, AND I go on the internet on it, AND the keyboard is normal sized because I got the Really Big IPad, AND I have the pencil so in theory I can draw right on it (although I don’t use that function much at all.).  I tend to be late to the party with technology, and then go big, and this has really paid off for me.  I am VERY glad I got the keypad case for it.  I would hate to be using my fingers right on the screen to laboriously type things.  Resolution is good.  Nice camera for zoom calls.  Have not used it for taking pictures though, and it is too big to be anything but awkward for that.  One thing I really appreciate about it is that I can use apps (not like on a laptop).  One thing I miss is that I have not figured out how to print from it.  I’m not sure how feasible that is, but I just use my laptop for that.

[Ausmumof3]

iPads are so much easier to use.  And I’d get an otter box or similar case.

[katilac]

16 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

If you look at a MacBook instead of an iPad just prepare yourself for the $$ difference. 

Is he prone to dropping things? That would be another consideration. You can put a case on an iPad and drop it a million times and it'll be fine. A laptop is not. Might not be an issue- just throwing it out there. I have never broken an iPad. The same cannot be said for MacBooks, lol. 

AppleCare is a good thing if he is accident prone. 🙂

I suggested considering a laptop, but I should have clarified that I didn't mean a Mac, lol. 

OP, is there a way he can give a tablet a try before you commit? Do you have one? I see the drawbacks of an iPad as smaller screen size and more difficult to type, even with keyboard. Apparently the drawback of a laptop is possibly breaking it, but y'all must be mighty rough on computers 😄

One more thing: will he be good about closing the case every time he finishes using the iPad? Because that's what actually got broken around here, an iPad with a case that someone fell asleep without closing. The screen was a $300 repair, and that wasn't even through Apple. Grrr. 

[Annie G]

My dad is 88 and has memory issues and is tech challenged. He does well w his iPad. Well, he buys way too much stuff online, but I guess that shows it’s easy to use. He reads the Atlanta paper online every day, checks his investment balances, orders crap, and surfs the internet.  This from a guy who occasionally forgets how to make a fried egg.