My MIL has early dementia. We are trying to keep her living at home as long as possible but her mental decline has made it more and more difficult. Her behavior is getting more and more out of control. She has an iPhone she is attached to. She has YouTube on 24 hours a day. That and she uses FaceTime. Looking back, we should have gotten her an iPhone with a physical home button. Sometimes she forgets how to swipe away apps. In frustration she turns the phone off. Don’t get me started about all the scams. There is a not scammer she completely trusts and will argue non stop with my wife that my wife should listen to the scammer and sign over the house etc.
The home button is one of the most-brilliant pieces of design in computing, period. I’m still bitter that between ditching it and post-iOS6 software design changes they’ve made iOS devices so much less intuitive and friendly.
It was like a little safety net for people who easily get “lost” in their computers. Which is most users! Watch non-nerds use a computer some time. God I miss that beautiful little button. What a step backwards.
Also the borders. My grandma simply cannot avoid touching the screen while showing me something. “Oh, it disappeared”. Borderless devices require very specific, unnatural palm motorics to handle.
Also, when choosing my phone I was between 13 mini and se2. I got se2 and my buddy 13 mini. Our every interaction in telegram ended with <buddy recording audio>, because to swipe away an app you have to squeeze your phone in palm, which touches all sorts of borders. I want to shame everyone “borderless” designer out there, you suck.
Yup I replaced the battery in my old XS and gave it to my mom as an upgrade from her aged 7 or whatever. She hated the swipe gestures and still complains about them. Should'a just bought her an SE.
