Aging in Place
June 24, 2026

Apps Every Senior Should Have on Their Phone

Seven apps. One home screen. Everything else gets deleted.

Phone. Obviously. Messages. Texts from family, one tap away. Camera. Grandkid photos go both ways. Weather. Daily planning, simple, no confusion. A companion app. coley for conversation, check-ins, trivia, recipes. The app that shows up every morning when family cannot. Video calling. FaceTime or Google Duo. Audiobooks. Libby — free through local libraries.

Seven apps. One home screen. Zero confusion.

That Is It

Seven apps. One home screen. Zero confusion. Every additional app increases cognitive load without proportional benefit. Move everything else to a second screen or delete it entirely.

The Setup

Do this together. Arrange icons in the order she uses them most. Make text large. Enable Bold Text. Set the wallpaper to a photo of the grandkids. Hand it back. She owns it. You just cleared the path.

coley — Good Company When You Want It
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The best phone for your parent is not the newest one. It is the simplest one.
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