Samsung A16 - Easy Mode

pseudodox

I am trying to find a suitable smart phone for a cousin in his mid 80s to replace his old dumbphone which has died. He only needs to make and receive calls and texts, check emails and when he gets used to it I expect he will try a bit of browsing (weather forecasts, touring caravan sites, places to visit whilst on holiday etc). He does not need speed, huge memory, high res screens, bells and whistles cameras and apart from a few very basic apps will probably not look at very much beyond basics. He has a laptop which he just about manages without too much help but is not wanting 24/7 tech in his life. I will be setting him up on Lebara - their basic packages will be more than enough for his use.

I have looked at the Samsung A16 which apparently offers the option to set "Easy Mode" which would appear to fulfil his requirements. It is currently available with Android 16, which is my priority. Has anyone used this phone or got an elderly relative who uses one and can give any feedback. Is it simple to set up Easy Mode? Can it be tweaked or reversed easily? I have seen the phone for sale by Easology - who seem to be charging a large premium for setting up the "ready to use from the box" Easy Mode. I am not a super techie person but would prefer to set the phone up myself so I can personalise it specifically for my cousin.

Appreciate any comments/feedback.

flaneurs_lobster

All newish Samsung phones have Easy Mode, there's a description here

https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/using-easy-mode

(I've no idea why that page is for Australia, it's valid for UK because I just tried it on my phone)

Doesn't do much as you can see, but should help.

Not really sure what value Easology are adding, extra support by phone? Haven't looked in detail but whatever it is they charge £269 for a phone that's £120 direct from Samsung and 99 notes at Argos.

pseudodox

I saw that Aussie site & couldn't see why it should not be valid. My cousin had found the Easology advert somewhere - fortunately he won't buy anything without my input - & felt the phone looked/sounded very "him". The layout of the screen in the ad appealed, but it does seem expensive, although I suppose it might be buying peace of mind for someone who has no-one to assist them. I expect I can tweak it to as near the ad as possible. He is currently "playing" with an old phone I lent him just to start finding his way around the smartphone world. It's low memory capacity & Android v7 are not ideal but he's getting the general idea, especially the revelation of how much easier it is to read messages than on the old dumb phone.

Thanks for the input.