Comment by RandomBacon | Hacker News Reader

Comment by RandomBacon | Hacker News Reader

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Same (though a slightly newer version).

I'm an Android person, but I got an iPhone 4S for her first cell phone because it was straightforward and hard to mess up.

Now there are double-secret swipes, all other kinds of anti-user "features" that almost make her cry because she can't figure out her phone anymore.

Now I am thinking about getting an Android and finding a home app ("launcher") that makes it impossible to screw things up and lock down everything else that I can.

Edit: Crap. She does have an Apple Watch that she loves though. And Apple is not only a piece of shit company about their UI, they also don't allow their watch to play nice with Android. (Except that answering a call on the watch pipes the audio to her watch and not her hearing aids. Fuck Apple.)

My father is way more tech illiterate and I got him a Samsung, I put the mod 'ultra power saving' where it locks down the phone to 8 preselected app, no app drawer only home screen with the 8 icons, and it's enough for him to make phone call, send SMS and take photo. Everything else he doesn't know how to use and didn't want to learn anyway. Bonus, the phone last for one to two week.

Now I don't know if yours is as bad as my father, in that case I'd suggest Samsung, but my mother on the other hand she can actually use the phone for many things : Spotify, using wireless payment, Waze and so on... It's just that things got to be intuitive enough and she is going to fall every time there is dark pattern and she is going to call me every time something is convoluted.

Because of that Android is even worst, Google UI is horrendous and they are master at dark pattern, at least as good as Microsoft.

Apple is still better but that's a far cry from what it used to be a few years ago.

We are evolving, just not in the right direction.

There is a “kids mode” that can lock down iPhone. It’s useful for kids, seniors, and those unfamiliar with the device.

Thank you, I will look into it.

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