Not everyone wants the latest, greatest, most expensive smartphone. Many older phone users still prefer the simplicity of a push-button handset, while others aren’t particularly interested in running apps or using the web. If that’s how you feel, there’s little point spending a fortune on the latest iPhone, when a refurbished or entry-level handset will be plenty good enough.
But with such a wide choice, how do you find the right balance of features, price and ease of use? And should you buy a new feature phone, or save more money and get a certified refurbished smartphone? Our guide to mobile phones for older users will help you out.
Can you still buy simple push-button phones?
If you like to keep things simple, you’ll be pleased to know there’s still a good choice of straightforward mobile phones with push buttons. These so-called feature phones are cheaper and more straightforward than a smartphone, and their battery tends to last for much longer on a single charge. Standard feature phones are often perfectly good for older users, but if you need extra help there are versions with bigger screens or buttons, and even an emergency response feature.
Do I need a smartphone?
If you’ve never had a smartphone, you may be firmly against getting one, or you may be beginning to wonder if you’re missing out. There’s no doubt that smartphones are more complicated than simple push-button handsets – instead of familiar buttons to open up your address book, make calls or write a text message, you get a touch screen and a pile of applications.
To a large extent, whether this is a good or bad thing depends on your interest in learning something new. Smartphone apps can help you find your way around the world, manage your banking or shopping, and connect you to huge libraries of music, TV and films. Apps like FaceTime or Zoom can help keep you in touch with friends and family, while family members can use other apps or features to help look after you. Smartphones typically have great cameras, too!
But these benefits aren’t much use if you find the phone difficult to use, and it simply ends up switched off most of the time. If you don’t want the hassle of learning a new gadget, stick with a simple handset that you’ll be happy using. And if you are considering a smartphone, buy a cheap or refurbished one first so you can see if it’s for you. In this guide, we’ve gathered good examples of both. We’ll explain what makes each a good phone for older users, and whether there’s anything else to consider before buying.
Nokia 105
Price £25 (from Nokia) – browse Nokia deals on Mozillion
Mozillion rating
Why buy?Cheap, robust and basic
Why not?Too basic for older kids
But these benefits aren’t much use if you find the phone difficult to use, and it simply ends up switched off most of the time. If you don’t want the hassle of learning a new gadget, stick with a simple handset that you’ll be happy using. And if you are considering a smartphone, buy a cheap or refurbished one first so you can see if it’s for you. In this guide, we’ve gathered good examples of both. We’ll explain what makes each a good phone for older users, and whether there’s anything else to consider before buying.
Doro 1370
Price £30
Mozillion rating
Why buy?Big buttons, simple to use
Why not?Still very basic
If you struggle with a hearing impairment or find it difficult to operate small buttons, the Doro 1370 might be the phone for you. It’s a simple feature phone with larger keys and a reasonable 6.1cm colour screen. It also has a handy Assistance button, letting you quickly alert selected contacts if you should ever need help.
This phone doesn’t have a lot of apps, but it has several useful features. Aside from a torch and HAC (hearing aid) compatibility, it has Bluetooth support, so you can use it in the car or with a wireless headset. Its large keys are backlit, and you can configure a visual indicator for incoming calls, and adjust the size of on-screen text.
If this phone has a weakness, it’s that its seven-hour talk time is less than you get on many other feature phones. It can last for around three weeks on standby, however, helping reduce the chances it’ll leave you stranded when you need it. If you want a simple phone that’s big on accessibility, this is a great choice.
Doro 8050
Price £180
Mozillion rating
Why buy? The smartphone designed for older users
Why not?Doesn’t support navigation or contactless payments
Doro’s 8050 is a smartphone specifically designed for older users. It runs Android, so you can install all the apps you want, but it’s customised with larger icons and other features that make it easier to view and use. As with other Doro phones, there’s also a dedicated Response button so you can quickly get help if you need it.
This isn’t a powerful handset as far as smartphones go. With an entry-level processor, it’s not suited to complex games, but it should handle simple ones just fine. It’ll also cope with playing videos through apps like iPlayer, or holding calls over services like Zoom.
The 8050 has HAC (hearing aid) compatibility, but it doesn’t offer a visual ring indicator. It’s also missing NFC, the technology used to power contactless payments, so you can’t use it with Google Pay or with other smart payment services. Perhaps more importantly, it doesn’t support GPS, the technology used for SatNav and other navigation apps. This would also be an issue if you plan to share your location with family members.
These limitations aside, the Doro 8050 provides a good compromise between the simplicity of a big-buttoned feature phone, and the best entertainment and communication features of a smartphone. If you don’t want to use a phone to pay or navigate, it’s perfect.
Nokia G10
Price £120 (from Nokia) – browse Nokia deals on Mozillion
Mozillion rating
Why buy? Big screen, big battery life
Why not?Doesn’t support contactless payments
If you want your first smartphone to be something big and cheap, Nokia’s G10 is just the ticket. Despite costing only just over £100, the G10 offers a full Android experience, with a big battery that’s claimed to last up to three days – about as good as it gets on a smartphone. The phone’s 6.5 inch (16.5cm) display offers plenty of space, and Android’s inbuilt accessibility features let you make the most of it, by improving readability and contrast, for example, or removing animations.
The G10 isn’t an especially powerful phone, but it’s easily capable of running modern entertainment and communication apps. It also supports GPS, so you can use it to navigate unfamiliar places, or put it in a phone cradle and use it as a car sat-nav. It has only 32GB of onboard storage, which could be limiting if you download or take loads of pictures or videos, but you can extend this by adding a MicroSD card.
Nokia tends to offer a comparatively pure Android experience, without needless additional software. The G10 launched with Android 11, but is slated to get two major upgrades, bringing it up to Android 13 by the end of 2022.
This phone’s major drawback is that it doesn’t support NFC, so you can’t use it with an app to make contactless payments. It’s also worth noting that, despite its huge battery, it charges only at a maximum rate of 10W. This means that a full recharge could take more than two hours, and that even when plugged in, the phone may struggle to recharge if you’re also running demanding software like a game or navigation app.
Apple iPhone XS Max
Price Discontinued – buy a refurbished iPhone XS Max through Mozillion
Mozillion rating
Why buy? A cheap iPhone with a huge screen
Why not?Not the latest iPhone
Apple’s iPhone XS Max launched back in September 2018 and was discontinued a year later, so why are we recommending it? First up, the XS Max was the first large iPhone to get Apple’s ‘bezel-less’ design treatment – basically, there’s more screen, and less phone around it. Second, it was the first large iPhone with OLED screen technology, which is brighter and can show more detail than older LCD technology. Third, and perhaps most importantly, iPhones get software updates for years, meaning you won’t miss out by buying an old one.
The XS Max is outclassed by the latest iPhones, which are faster and offer support for 5G networks. However, it’s still a powerful phone, fit to run even fairly taxing games. More importantly, it has oodles of performance for entertainment, communication and other everyday apps.
Features built into iOS (the operating system that powers Apple’s devices) let you improve the accessibility of any iPhone. In the case of the iPhone Max XS, that lets you get great readability out of its large and pin-sharp display. Throw in a decent camera, splash-proofing and a robust chassis, and the iPhone XS Max is a cheap way to buy a highly usable and durable iPhone. It’s a great choice, but if you’ve more to spend, the iPhone 11 Pro Max, 12 Pro Max or 13 Pro Max will give you even more.
Apple iPhone 12 mini
Price £579 (from Apple) – check out Mozillion’s iPhone 12 mini deals
Mozillion rating
Why buy?An affordable iPhone if you don’t need a big screen
Why not?Not ideal for accessibility
The iPhone 12 mini was replaced by the iPhone 13 mini in September 2021, but you can still buy it new, or save more on a certified refurbished iPhone 12 mini. It’s a brilliant little phone, essentially taking a standard iPhone 12 and shrinking it into a smaller package. For many, that’s good news, as the iPhone 12 mini is one of the few truly compact smartphones available. However, with its smaller 5.4” screen, this phone may not be ideal if you have a visual impairment.
As a newer iPhone, the iPhone 12 mini benefits from an extremely powerful processor, meaning it has the computing power to run any app you can throw at it. It also supports 5G, the latest, fastest standard for mobile data. This phone has Apple’s latest Ceramic Shield glass on the front – tests have shown it’s very resistant to shattering.
Like any iPhone, you can customise the iPhone 12 mini to improve its accessibility. If a compact size is more important to you than a large screen, this phone combines the latest features and a great camera in a small package. And with software updates expected until 2027, it should make a great long-term buy.