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AARP, Google Brainstorm Age-Friendly Smartphone Designs

Older adults want tech companies to focus more on their needs

By

Natalie Missakian,

 
AARP
Comments
Published September 25, 2024
A woman's hands holding a smartphone
Getty Images

Most people 50 and older now own a smartphone, but once they get it home, setting up the device and figuring out all the features can be tricky.

Instead of asking your kids for help or muddling through on your own, what if you could have a conversation with an AI-enabled voice assistant to help you personalize your device so it works well for you?

That was one of the ideas explored in a co-design session last week between AARP volunteers and user experience (UX) designers from Google. Google sponsored the two-day workshop in Washington, D.C., to emphasize the importance of age-friendly designs for its next generation of smartphones and devices. 

Split into teams, the volunteers and UX designers focused on coming up with ideas for how to make the technology safer and easier to use, along with ways the devices can improve social connections and enhance health and homelife — all AARP priorities. 

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“The really fascinating thing was seeing the Google executives come in to evaluate the teams’ pitches, and having their eyes opened to how older adults think about these device features and functionalities, and understanding what’s a priority,” said Michael Phillips, AARP’s director of strategic partnerships. 

One volunteer described using a phone while wearing reading glasses versus not wearing readers, and needing the phone to act differently in each situation. “And the [younger] designers had never thought about that because they don’t use readers,” Phillips noted.

Growing need for technology that supports aging

More than 6 in 10 adults 50-plus do not feel today’s technology is designed with their needs in mind, according to a recent AARP survey, but AARP has been working to change that. 

AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative, for example, works with start-ups and venture capitalists to help them engineer products with older adults in mind.

Last year, AARP held a summit with game developers and industry leaders to encourage them to focus on age-friendly game design. And in recent years, we’ve stepped up our presence at CES in Las Vegas (formerly the Consumer Electronics Show) to drive home the need for age tech, which is technology that can improve the lives of people 50-plus.

“Older adults are really embracing technology in all kinds of new and different ways, and AARP works with tech companies around the world to help them see how important age tech is,” said Barbara Shipley, AARP’s senior vice president of brand integration.

As the global population ages, tech companies like Google are “seeing both the business and societal opportunity” and are “rising to the challenge,” added Shipley, who served as a judge during the event.

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Susan Mrachek, AARP’s director of volunteer engagement, said the AARP volunteers were eager to share their opinions and grateful for the chance to be heard.

“I was talking with a Google facilitator after the workshop, and she told me the AARP volunteers were much more engaged and creative than most of her research groups,” Mrachek said. “She said she does this work all the time and rarely gets individuals to share or ideate as much as they did.”​

Learn more about how AARP is helping older adults with digital skills, and visit AARP’s Personal Technology Resource Center for tips on how to use the latest technology.

Natalie Missakian covers federal and state policy and writes AARP’s Fighting for You Every Day blog. She previously worked as a reporter for the New Haven Register and daily newspapers in Ohio. She has also written for the AARP Bulletin, the Hartford Business Journal and other publications.

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