Dumb iPhones
There's a lot of talk about dumbphones at the moment, at least in my circles. But, of course, everyone still wants access to WhatsApp, Signal, etc. So there's a whole niche of expensive 'dumb' phones which are supposed to help you reclaim your life.
While dong some research in preparation for giving his child their first phone, Jeremy White discovered that Apple have a setting on iPhones meant for people with cognitive disabilities, but which does pretty much exactly what expensive 'dumb' phones do. I gave 'Assistive Access' (as it's called) it a try with a spare iPhone SE 2 and it works a charm.
It's called Assistive Access. Introduced with iOS 17, Apple designed it for those with cognitive disabilities. If you've never encountered or stumbled across it, it's a distinctive iOS experience: fewer options, more focused features, easier to navigate. The aesthetic is ideal for kids: large, friendly tiles for the apps replace the smaller icons of the “normal” Apple interface.
Here's how you set it up: Head into Settings, tap Accessibility, scroll down to the General section at the very bottom, and tap Assistive Access. Now, tap Set Up Assistive Access, then Continue. It will then ask you to select your preferred appearance: rows or a grid. I suggest choosing a grid. This is how you get those super-large tiles. Now the OS will ask you to select allowed apps—tap the green plus icon next to the apps you want to allow.
I'm currently considering whether this could be my 'holiday mode' phone. Note that the 'rows' layout makes it look a lot less like an OAP phone 😅
Source: Original article · Are.na block · Tech channel