Assistive Features Already on Your Phone and Tablet — and How to Use Them

Most older adults don’t realize how many helpful features are already built into the phone or tablet they own. You don’t need to buy new equipment or download special apps to make your device easier to see, hear, and use. Apple and Android devices both come with a full set of accessibility tools — they’re just turned off by default. This guide shows you exactly where to find them and how to turn them on, organized by the most common challenges older adults experience.

Making Text Larger and Easier to Read

Small text is one of the most common frustrations with smartphones and tablets, and it’s one of the easiest problems to solve. Both iPhone and Android allow you to increase text size significantly — not just in one app, but across your entire device.

On iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size. Drag the slider to the right to increase text size. For even larger options, go to Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Larger Text, then enable “Larger Accessibility Sizes” and move the slider to your preferred size. Also turn on Bold Text on the same screen — it makes letters noticeably darker and easier to distinguish.

On Android (Samsung): Go to Settings → Display → Font Size and Style. Increase Font Size using the slider and also increase Screen Zoom, which makes buttons and icons larger as well as text. On other Android phones, look for Settings → Accessibility → Display Size and Text.

If you find that even the largest text setting isn’t enough for comfortable reading, iPhone has one more option: Display Zoom. Go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Display Zoom → select Larger Text. This enlarges everything on the screen, not just text. It’s worth trying if other settings haven’t helped enough.

Hearing Calls and Notifications More Clearly

Missed calls, soft ringtones, and unclear audio during conversations are common problems that built-in settings can address without any extra equipment.

Increase call and ringtone volume: On iPhone, go to Settings → Sounds & Haptics and move the Ringer and Alerts slider all the way to the right. During a call, use the volume buttons on the side of the phone to increase call volume. On Android, go to Settings → Sound & Vibration and raise the Ring Volume and Call Volume separately.

Make calls clearer with Phone Noise Cancellation (iPhone): Go to Settings → Accessibility → Audio & Visual and turn on Phone Noise Cancellation. This reduces background noise during calls, making the other person’s voice easier to hear even in noisy environments.

Add a visual alert for calls and notifications: If you sometimes miss calls because you don’t hear the ring, iPhone can flash the camera light each time you receive a call or notification. Go to Settings → Accessibility → Audio & Visual → LED Flash for Alerts and turn it on. Android has a similar feature under Settings → Accessibility → Flash Notification.

Hear your device read text aloud: On iPhone, go to Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content. Turn on Speak Screen — from then on, you can have any page read aloud by swiping down from the top of the screen with two fingers. Turn on Speak Selection to highlight any specific text and have just that portion read. This is useful for emails, messages, or articles that are long or tiring to read. On Android, the equivalent feature is called Select to Speak, found under Settings → Accessibility → Select to Speak.

Using Your Voice Instead of Typing

Typing on a small screen is one of the most common sources of frustration for older adults — and one of the most avoidable. Every iPhone and Android device allows you to dictate text by speaking instead of typing, in virtually any app.

On iPhone: Whenever the keyboard appears on screen, look for a small microphone icon on the keyboard (usually near the space bar). Tap it, wait for a tone, and speak. Your words will appear as text. Say “period” or “comma” to add punctuation. This works in messages, emails, notes, and search fields.

On Android: Look for the microphone icon on the Google keyboard — it appears at the top right of the keyboard. Tap it and speak. The same punctuation commands work: say “period,” “question mark,” or “new line” as needed.

You can also use your voice assistant — Siri on iPhone, Google Assistant on Android — to compose and send messages entirely by voice without touching the keyboard at all. Say “Hey Siri, send a message to [name]” or “Hey Google, text [name]” and follow the prompts. For many older adults, this becomes the preferred way to communicate on a phone.

Making the Screen Easier to Touch and Navigate

Arthritis, hand tremors, or reduced dexterity can make tapping small buttons frustrating and error-prone. Several built-in settings address this directly.

AssistiveTouch (iPhone): This adds a floating button to your screen that gives you quick access to common actions — going home, adjusting volume, taking a screenshot — without needing to press physical buttons or navigate menus. Go to Settings → Accessibility → Touch → AssistiveTouch and turn it on. You can move the button to any corner of the screen where it’s most comfortable to reach.

Touch Accommodations (iPhone): If you find you accidentally trigger things by resting your finger on the screen, go to Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Touch Accommodations. You can set a hold duration — the phone will only respond to taps held for a minimum amount of time you specify, filtering out accidental light contacts.

Accessibility Menu (Android): Similar to AssistiveTouch, this adds a persistent on-screen button with shortcuts to common actions. Go to Settings → Accessibility → Accessibility Menu and turn it on.

None of these features require technical knowledge to set up, and none of them change how the phone looks or works for other users. They simply add options that make your personal experience more comfortable. If you’re unsure which ones to try first, start with larger text and voice dictation — those two changes alone make a significant difference for most older adults.