It is rare to see a high-end smartphone designed specially to appeal to seniors, so the latest news regarding Doro’s new addition to its smartphone roster turned heads. We like to review the features of various mobile devices and a quick review of the new Doro 8080 reveals an interesting phone that definitely knows its audience – but will it be widely embraced?
Smartphones aimed at senior users
Doro is a Swedish company that specializes in smartphones aimed at seniors, with a selection that ranges from flip phones to simple, user-friendly smartphones, emphasizing safety, large screens, clear sound, and ease of use for older smartphone owners. It is true that smartphone usage has gone up among the third generation in recent years: as Forbes reports, while in 2000 only 14% of those aged 65+ used the internet, now 73% do, with 53% of people over 65 years old owning a smartphone. However, owning a smartphone does not mean that a senior is as active as a millennial would be or uses a phone in the same way a millennial would – for example, seniors are less active on social media. According to a report by Betway, social media following of popular British TV show Strictly Come Dancing does not seem to affect the votes that determine the winner, as its audience is in large part comprised of seniors who are not very active on social media.
Doro 8080: High-End Phone for #Seniors https://t.co/SgyTZcH4lc
— MakeUseOf (@MakeUseOf) September 12, 2019
The new Doro 8080
As per research by the Pew Research Center, only 68% of those aged 55-73 and 40% of those between 74 and 91 years old own a smartphone, compared to 93% of millennials, with only 28% of those aged 74-91 using social media. But Doro 8080 seems to know what its key demographic wants, which is why it aims to combine less sophisticated internet usage with coveted features specially designed for seniors, such as an SOS button or an interface that caters to those with age-related impairments such as visual and hearing decline. At the tap of the Search icon, its screen launches a simplified interface, complete with icons and font of augmented size, where the user can easily search for applications such as call history, messages, emails, pictures, videos, and more. The phone features Android 9.0 as its OS and also sports a feature that increases higher audio frequencies, so that older users, who usually have trouble discerning them, can be able to hear them without too much hassle.
Complete with an aesthetic inspired by the classic iPhone design, the new Doro 8080 that is set to be released later in 2019 in Europe and the US seems like a pretty good deal for senior users interested in a device that is both stylish and practical.