Best wearable (eg apple watch) phone-capable device for older person?
November 24, 2017 11:07 AM   Subscribe

I'm hoping to get a Black Friday weekend deal on a wearable device for my mother. The question is, which one? I don't have an iPhone or Apple Watch myself and have never really looked into android wearables so I don't have any experience. more key info below the fold..

In a perfect world I could get her to wear a med alert device, but in the world that actually exists she refuses to wear one. So in place of that, I was thinking I could get her whichever wearable device can place a call and receive a call without being near the associated phone.

Of course that part alone would be easy to Google for, but the trickier bit is getting a sense of which one of the wearable devices is simplest-if you can imagine that you're someone who struggles with technology and often forgets their glasses ..

Her current cell phone type and plan is kind of irrelevant, it's really the usability of the wearable device that's most important- if I need to I will get her a separate plan for it… It's just that she often goes outside or walk the dog and forgets to bring her very large Samsung phone with her - no matter how many gizmos i get her to make it easier to carry it, and since she's had open heart surgery and several other serious health complications recently, it really frightens me that she's often running errands and going out without any kind of phone .

Have any of you had any luck with such a device for a similarly wayward parent and/or relative that you're concerned about? Many thanks in advance, and apologies for typos-I am on a tiny tiny touch screen right now.. Will come back and give this and at it once I can get to a computer .
posted by elgee to Technology (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Her current cell phone type and plan is kind of irrelevant

My Apple Watch relies on an iOS device for software updates and resets, so your statement above may not be true.
posted by infinitewindow at 1:30 PM on November 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Yes but i went on to say that i am willing to buy her a new plan, second phone, etc -- whatever it takes to get a wearable device with a cellular connection on her wrist , that, hopefully, she can figure out how to use.
posted by elgee at 3:16 PM on November 24, 2017 [1 favorite]


I'm 62 and fell recently and bruised my tailbone. Was barely mbile for a week, sore for longer. I live alone so kind of scary. I have a small purse that I can wear crossbody as a cell phone pocket and am trying to remember to use it. Introduce your Mom to good music on her mobile, or pictures of wild flowers or Pokemon go, to get her to take the phone every where.
posted by theora55 at 3:28 PM on November 24, 2017


I get where you're coming from, but a watch that can make calls is harder to use than a smart phone and would have to be taken off for charging daily. If money's no object it might be worth a shot, but if she doesn't want / can't remember to carry her phone with her it's unlikely she'd get into the lifestyle of dealing with an apple watch or the like.
posted by moxiedoll at 4:35 PM on November 24, 2017


they make watches that can make phone calls to just a couple numbers for kids. all of the ones I saw looked like the band would be too small for an adult.
posted by noloveforned at 5:17 PM on November 24, 2017


Response by poster: Huh this last kid option is intriguing ! Maybe i could replace the band ..
posted by elgee at 7:37 PM on November 24, 2017


« Older Help Me Identify This Tool, Episode Eleventy...   |   Facebook, let me decide if content should be... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.