Elderly folks around me have already transitioned to smartphones. But apparently, some senior members of the society in Japan are still stuck with feature phones (probably not Supreme’s) which, IMHO, is a major stumbling block to their digital literacy. To overcome this, Kyocera has designed the Anshin KY-51B smartphone.
Anshin, which means peace of mind in Japanese, is designed to help the elderly transition from feature phones, and improving digital literacy, and overcome declining physical ability. With the pandemic still going on, it is imperative to open up the digital world to senior citizens who haven’t already done so.
The design of the phone starts with an easy-to-handle size, along with an easy-to-grip body and hard keys that feature phone users are familiar with. It even has dedicated buttons for accessing phone and email functions.
On the software front, the device is pre-installed with a special tutorial app to get the user started, guiding them to use trending features such as video calls and digital payment.
The UI is, of course, easy to read. Everything is large and highly legible. Plus, virtual buttons are designed to stand out from the background, so that even unfamiliar folks know where to press them.
Finally, it has a large summary widget that offers weather information, steps taken, and current time, at a glance, and an easy character input UI with large buttons.
Other features include the ability to record calls, screen memo/screen recording, easy-to-use smartphone health checkup (smartphone troubleshooting guide), spam/scam call alert, loud ringtones, and strong vibrations.
The Kyocera Anshin KY-51B Smartphone for Elderly is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 chip with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage that is expandable up to a terabyte via a microSDXC card. It has a 6.1-inch “tear-drop” TFT FHD+ (2,400 x 1,080) touch display with an 8 MP camera, and a 48 MP rear-facing camera. It is protected against water, dust, and shock (IPX5/8/IP6X/MIL-STD-810H).
Other spec sheet details include face recognition, physical fingerprint sensor, WiFi, Bluetooth, built-in FM radio, NFC, Mobile Wallet, USB-C with support for PD 3.0, 5G/LTE radio, and a 4,500 mAh non-removable battery.
Kyocera Anshin KY-51B Smartphone went on sale in Japan last year and it is still available from DoCoMo [JP].
Images: Kyocera [JP].