The Best Adaptive Ways to Develop an iPad App for the Elderly

by JONATHAN PAUL Jonathan Paul working at PHPProgrammers, a leading

The rise of the smartphone and smart devices such as tablets and wearables has dramatically changed our lifestyle. The elders are also walking along with this trend. In this article, we will discuss some ways to consider iPad app development for the elderly.

According to Statista, in Australia, the market share of Apple as tablet vendors is 89.8%. The statistics are quite impressive and the elder people are now more interested in having an iPad for reading, learning and also having some fun in their leisure time. They are now accustomed to smart mobility.

So, when you are thinking about investing in iPad app development for the elderly, you need to give priorities on design. You have to keep your app design simple and convenient. Keep in mind that, for the elderly, technology should be an inclusive factor, not exclusive. The targeted iPad app should be designed for special abilities for older people. As the numbers of senior citizens continue to grow in the country, application builders have to adopt new trends to fulfil the needs of those users.

Some issues that need to be identified first. Though an iPad has many features such as dual finger scrolling, swiping, pinching etc but the elder people may have technology anxiety. They also have challenges like poor vision, poor understanding of the complex UX and as well as lack of support system.

While developing such an app for the elderly, developers should follow some guidelines:

Use simple and relevant content and avoid complex and high-standard.
Use big and easily understandable navigation.
Provide clear instructions and app user manuals.
Limited gesture control and minimal design.

Important factors to consider during iPhone app development:

A convenient UI: Due to poor vision, a senior citizen may not be able to read the tiny text though some elderly people can control the font size on their iPad screen. So, keep your iPad app-text larger. To run your iPad app seamlessly, you need to break the content into smaller sections.

You may use only two or three simple colours as the colour vision also decreases with age and it becomes harder for them to distinguish between various colours. It’s better to avoid blue shades or font for importing UI elements. To offer better UX, you may use subtitles for the videos and audios.

The size of UI elements: Older people love to use an iPad because of the screen size and they tend to perform better using the touch interfaces. For the developer, it is needed to reduce the distance between the buttons on the touch interface. There is also a need to reduce the number of clicks.

Use a simple, single colour screen background. Senior citizens are more likely to struggle to see items clearly on a complicated or fabricated background. Colour preferences and the perfectly catered UI elements will ensure the success of the iPad app.

Simple Features and Elements: Often slide-out menus can grow confusion among the elderly. So, using a simple ‘back’ button to the main menu helps them easily to get back to the previous screen.

iPad app development for the elderly needs to be catered with care and love. Avoid complex gestures and use simple taps and swipes. Make sure that there is one dedicated panic button. through which they can inform their dearest or family members in case of an emergency.

Conclusion:

Older people may not be habituated to fast computing or smart mobility, but they can use simple and convenient iPad applications with ease. Making a simple iPad application for them can encourage developers to work with patience and simpler ideas which can get easily noticeable.

Jonathan Paul, having potential and efficiency in the field of iPad App Development, he is considered as the best iPad app developer. Currently, he is working for Vision and Solutions, a leading and globally acclaimed Australia’s iPad app development company. For 15+ years, the company delivers applications to shaping up the business objectives with ease.