The Doro flip I bought for an elderly relative was very well received.  I see they do a smartphone version also

https://www.doro.co.nz/blog/newzeeland

Been discussed a bit in the past, but I can't find many of the relevant threads other than this one:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=97&topicid=215261

There was a recent one on best phones for the those with sight issues, which has some parallels:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=11&topicid=243739

In my experience it really depends on how 'geriatric' (what a lovely term!) you're talking, particularly the abilities of the person in question, or even what devices they've used in the past. 

My elderly father was ok with a cheapish Android running Wiser, one of the better basic launchers (I think I mention this in the top thread) - it did enough for him to be able to take and make calls and texts, and give easy access to the apps he used. But my mother (who has dementia) never even really managed to use that well enough, and when I last tried to show her a couple of years ago wasn't able to accept a call easily let alone make one. That said, she's had an iPad for many years and can work her way around that ok - but that was being used long enough ago that it's well embedded.

As per a recommendation in that thread on phones for the blind, you may well find that an iPhone is your best main-stream bet, but I guess it's harder to customise if anything in particular does prove to be a bit tricky for the person.

perfect, thank you sir!

shk292:

 

The Doro flip I bought for an elderly relative was very well received.  I see they do a smartphone version also

 

https://www.doro.co.nz/blog/newzeeland

 

... whereas the same phone was a disaster for my father! We tried him with a Doro 'seniors' phone, but he found it difficult to use - in particular, these old types of phones will often use those shortcut keys near the bottom of the screen, but he found this confusing. The end result was he simply didn't use it at all, whereas he had no significant problems with a smart phone skinned with a basic launcher - it is far more intuitive and easier on the brain, I think, to touch a screen with clear directions on it than to have to connect that pressing a button with a symbol on it somewhere else on the device will do x.

Doro's website doesn't show any current smart phone (https://www.doro.co.nz/mobile-devices/smart-phones.html), but then again I'm not sure if that'll offer anything much better than a normal smartphone with a suitable launcher.

nathan:

 

perfect, thank you sir!

 

If you're keen on trying out a Doro phone (and I would suggest doing this before committing decent money, given my direct experience with them and having to help someone learn how to use it!), I'm pretty sure I could sell you my father's old one for not much - I'm sure it's still going. PM me if interested.