Note: Most of the suggestions listed below can be accessed from “Settings -> Accessibility.”

1. Increase Icon Size

Increasing the icon size can make apps easier to locate. It can also help people with dexterity issues since it makes icons easier to press.

2. Adjust Font Size and Boldness

Sometimes enlarging the icons isn’t enough for people with visual impairments. They may also need enlarged or bolded font so that they can easily read messages on their device. Luckily, you can change this in the Accessibility settings.

3. Enable Zoom and Magnify

For people who need items even larger or who plan to use their iOS device to read, enabling the Zoom and Magnification settings can help. To enable Zoom: To enable the Magnifier:

4. Increase Screen Contrast

Sometimes the issue isn’t the size of elements, but rather the contrast between items. This can make it hard for some people to see them – a problem easily fixed by raising the contrast of onscreen elements.

5. Enable Voice Commands

If navigating apps is too much effort for the senior in your life, you can simply enable voice commands so that they can talk to their device to accomplish certain things. You can further customize the voice command setup from the same section.

6. Turn on Subtitles and Captioning

For those who are hard of hearing, subtitles and captioning can really help. This is yet another amazing accessibility feature available within iOS. To turn on subtitles and captioning:

7. Adjust Hearing Settings

If your senior uses a hearing aid or needs to make adjustments to help them hear the device better, you can also do that.

8. Turn On Assistive Touch

If the senior using the iOS device plans to use an accessory such as Apple Watch, or needs help with the touch screen, enable assistive touch.

9. Turn On Touch Accommodations

Touch accommodation changes how the touch screen responds. Enabling this can help seniors who have a hard time pressing the screen.

10. Enable Guided Access

Guided Access turns the iOS device into a simple item that is easy to use, and makes it impossible to accidentally delete apps or change settings. This is handy if you want to, say, disable the touch screen while playing Netflix. If you’re disabling touch for Netflix, YouTube, etc., be sure to hit Play before you start Guided Access.

11. Set Up Shortcuts

If you want to make certain tasks, like FaceTiming with a certain family member, easy for the senior in question, you can create shortcuts to do this. Image credit: Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels