Best mobile phones for seniors in Australia

Kind of like picking a phone for kids, choosing the right mobile phone for older adults isn’t as simple as buying a new or refurbished smartphone. Understandably, older adults may need more from a mobile phone than speedy performance and a flashy camera: features like physical buttons, loud ringtones or hearing aid integration, and other accessibility considerations are great additions.

Thankfully, this also means there are plenty of affordable right-fit options, ranging from under $100 for a feature phone to hundreds of dollars for an appropriate smartphone pick. We’ve gone with the Opel Mobile TouchFlip as our top pick. It’s an affordable feature phone with big physical buttons, an SOS emergency button, and an audible low battery indicator.

In terms of inbuilt accessibility functions, the Opel Mobile TouchFlip is hearing aid compatible, and includes an SOS button, GPS location, flashlight, and a loudspeaker. We also like that it’s simplified with essential apps only. Don’t expect too much out of the 1,400mAh battery with regular use, but this phone has enough standby juice.

Consider pairing the Opel Mobile TouchFlip with a cheap prepaid plan from one of the providers below.

The Nokia 215 really is a phone for those older adults who want to be contactable more than they want to dig into advanced features. That said, the Nokia 215 has FM radio support, an MP3 player, a removable battery, and a torch feature.

To help save money, consider pairing the Nokia 215 with a cheap phone plan from one of the providers below.

While the 4.7-inch screen size could be bigger, the Retina HD display makes things easy to see. We also like that the iPhone SE has great water and dust resistance, hearing aid compatibility, and grants access to a world of accessibility apps via the App Store.

If you’d prefer to pay off an iPhone SE with a phone plan, consider one of the popular picks below.

Tinker with accessibility options for visibility enhancement, hearing enhancements (including hearing aid compatibility), and dexterity tweaks to improve the overall experience. Users can also launch the Google Assistant. Plus, download accessibility-boosting apps from the Google Play Store, including launchers that make icons bigger and easier to use.

You can pair your Oppo A58 with a prepaid mobile plan (with at least 8GB of data, so you can browse the web and check Facebook worry-free) from one of the providers below.

It’s great that the minimal 4GB internal storage can be upgraded by up to 32GB of MicroSD storage, even if the low-resolution camera doesn’t provide the best pictures. Still, the Nokia 2660 has great older adult-friendly accessibility features, including a torch, loud volume, and a dedicated emergency button.

You shouldn’t need a whole lot of data with the Nokia 2660, so consider one of these basic prepaid plans.

If you’re an older adult in the market for a mobile phone that’s easy to use, start your comparisons with the feature phones on this page. The Opel Mobile TouchFlip is the most straightforward. Alternatively, save money with the Nokia 215 or opt for the easier-to-use Nokia 2660. Smartphones have great accessibility features these days, too, so go with the Apple iPhone SE 2022 model or the cheaper Oppo A58 for an Android alternative.

We recommend choosing a feature phone over a smartphone for older adults because they’re generally easier to use, plus many models are built with older adult users in mind. This means accessibility is baked in at a design level rather than features that are tucked away in the settings menu.

For all mobile phones, we recommend keeping an eye out for the following features, depending on your specific needs:

• 4G network support as a minimum (3G will be deactivated in the coming years).
• A screen size that’s big enough to easily see icons.
• An inbuilt speaker that’s loud and clear.
• Physical buttons for those who don’t like touchscreens (or find them difficult to use).
• Generous battery standby time for sporadic use or multi-day capacity for regular use.
• Predictive text for easier messaging.
• Speed-dial storage for preselected numbers and/or a dedicated emergency button.
• An included charging cradle if you don’t want to rely on potentially fiddly charging cables.
• An easy-to-find torch function for low-light illumination.
• Optionally, a removable battery so you can have a spare or replace it when it starts to lose charge.
• Optionally, expandable MicroSD storage to keep more pictures, videos, and apps on your phone.
• Optionally, hearing aid compatibility.
• Optionally, an unlocked phone that isn’t restricted to a particular provider network.

On first start-up, most smartphones aren’t particularly great on the accessibility front, but this can be improved by jumping into the settings. For iPhone users, go to ‘Settings’, then ‘General’, and finally ‘Accessibility’. You’ll find options for larger text and hearing aid compatibility here, alongside other accessibility features.

For Android users, swipe down from the top of the phone then tap the settings cog. Scroll down through the settings menu until you find ‘Accessibility’. Here’s where you’ll find larger text and hearing aid compatibility, as well as other options that are worth testing to see which ones work for you.

While the iPhone operating system is generally considered to be easier to use than Android, Android users have the benefit of downloading ‘launchers’ that replace the basic look of the main phone options at start-up and during everyday use. Some launchers are free but others are paid. We recommend looking at options like Grand Launcher, BIG Launcher, and Simple Launcher that offer bigger apps and, generally, make smartphones closer in on-screen appearance to feature phones.

Choosing the right mobile phones for older adults isn’t the same process as recommending feature phones or smartphones for other adults. For starters, we favour easy-to-use mobile phones over more complicated options, which is why feature phones are more prominent picks than smartphones.

We’ve ignored any handset that only supports 3G as it is being phased out, which means 4G is a minimum, though 5G support is a nice addition. More important is the inclusion of physical buttons, loudspeakers, and built-in accessibility features that make using the phone easier for people who are visually impaired or hard of hearing (including hearing aid compatibility).

Standby battery life is important, as is the option for removable batteries and an included charging cradle to simplify recharging. Other nice-to-have features include fall detection, GPS locational tracking, a dedicated emergency button, and simplified call controls.

You can learn more about how we review products by checking out our methodology.