Apple

Got one each(one was actually my old one but whatever) for my 61 parents and while it’s not like the best thing ever I think they both get a lot of use out of it

If she’s having any trouble with her eyesight, you’ll be better off getting her a 45mm model watch. Take it from me, an old guy, it’s much easier for me to read/interact with.

My mom is 76 and she has an Apple Watch and loves it. Granted she is better with tech than the average 76 year old and can work her iPhone pretty well.🤷

Fall detection is a good feature for older people.

yes

I'm 59 and love my Apple watch. I use it to monitor sleep, as a pill minder, an activity monitor, and weather reports.

I use it for a lot more than that, but those basic things are nice for older folks.

The Apple Watch is still great just for the safety features alone, even if she never touched it besides putting it on and teaching her how to call 911.

Fall detection

Crash detection

Heart rate detection/Afib detection

EKG

Blood Oxygen level reader

Emergency SOS

Compass backtrack

Medical ID

Is she open to trying and learning to use new tech? If she’s not, there’s a good chance this will sit in the box, get returned, or cause frustration. Source: seen it happen 3 times to people close to me.

Yes. Got one for my 85 year old mil after a fall. Turns out all her friends had them afterall and it was an “in” thing to have at chair yoga.

Also—I have one and rarely text type—I just press the microphone button and talk and it does a great job.

I’m 73 and I have an Apple Watch. It’s a valuable tool. There’s large numbers for the watch face, and several other accommodations as well. She’ll also have SIRI as a personal attendant.

My 86 year old dad has one and he’s not very techy at all. The only problem we have with him wearing it is charging it. Sometimes he forgets to put it back on when he takes it off to charge. It called me and the police this summer when he had a UTI (we didn’t know this at the time) and he fell. He was completely disoriented. We were able to tell that his heart rate had not dropped before the episode, which helped eventually figure out that he had a UTI and not a heart attack or passed out for some other reason. Totally worth it. He can also use it to answer the phone when I call if he’s not near his cell or the house phone.

The fall notification could be helpful, depending on her physical abilities.

68 here and wife got me one for the health stuff. All of it is handy and easy to love.

Granted I started on computers using dos, went through the building and overclocking phase and flashing custom phone rom’s….but set it up for her with the complications and she will be good to go.

The sole reason I gave my mother an apple watch, was simply in case of an accident at home or on the road. Not always a phone will be in reach but the watch always is. As long as you can still move that arm, you can call for help. It eases my mind as she is living on her own.

Based off what you’ve said I don’t know that it’s really of value to her.

Got my mom an Apple Watch and she 84. She doesn’t know how to use most of the functions but if she falls I’ll get a notification. She can also call someone for help if she does fall. She luvs talking to people using the watch.

I am 65 and I love my Apple Watch, and I am totally lost without it. If her eyesight isn't that good I would go for a larger watch, it's so much easier to see. I got my watch primarily because I could tell something was happening with my heart. One month after getting it, I went into Afib, because my watch diagnosed it, I went immediately to ER. Get the watch for her.

I can see you’re asking a lot of good questions and i get the feeling you’re leaning away from getting the smart watch in favour of an annual check up.

What i would say is if she’s recently been diagnosed with anything which could be monitored vaguely by using the watch, it cant hurt to get it, even if its YOU who holds the data on your phone and all she has to do is wear it and recharge it.

Im in my 30s and was diagnosed with a non life threatening thyroid disease that intermittently makes me feel bad in many different ways. Some days i get light headed, nauseous, emotional and brain foggy and its hard to tell of its because of my thyroid playing up or of its because i haven’t had enough water and food. I dont yet have an apple watch (currently using garmin) and i use the various heart and oxygen data to help me work out whether my issues are because i forgot to eat properly or if my thyroid is going haywire.

It helps me tuck away my hypochondriac tendencies when i can see that my body isn’t doing anything unusual, but if my pulse ox or heart rate does change, it will prompt me to visit my doctor to get my bloods and medications updated.

Yes , In most parent’s cases for the fall alert

My mom used a fit bit for years, then my dad got her an Apple Watch earlier this year and she LOVES it. She’s 66, doesn’t go anywhere without it

100%. We gave my mom one several years back and it’s saved her life three times. Once, she fell and couldn’t call for help but her watch did and twice it’s woken her up with the Afib warning so she could take her emergency medication. She wears it all the time unless it’s charging.

1000%. If nothing else, if she falls, the watch immediately notifies everyone on her emergency contact list (showing not only the fall but where it occurred) and it also notifies emergency services.

My Mum 70ish, has and loves her Apple Watch. She fell over whilst doing gardening and it immediately detected the fall and started to dial emergency contact (Me).

I would absolutely recommend it for that alone.

My grandma is almost 81 and she just bought herself a smart watch online (not Apple as she uses Samsung) and set it up herself! She likes to see her heart rate and make sure she walks enough steps so definitely would recommend!

Bought one right around when I turned 59. Had Fitbits for a while and then a Garmin. I use it for a number of things but also in part because I wanted a better looking fitness watch than the more obvious fitness Garmins and Fitbits. No MacBook but I have an iPhone, iPad, AirPods, AirTags. Have had those first two for quite a while. By the way, I don’t feel old or out of it re. tech.

Yes.

Get the series 8 or 7 if you get them at a discount. The fall and crash detection is very useful for anyone aged 60 or above.

I’m 62 (although admittedly quite a geek), but I gave my previous model to a very non-techy 76 year old friend. She loves it! I do help her occasionally with it, but not too much. I say go for it!

Think fall detection and location tracking. If she gets used to wearing it now it will be easier on you in a few years if she develops dementia. Trying to get a dementia patient to start wearing a tracker is difficult. But if it is already part of her daily routine, you might have better success in her wearing it and remembering to charge it.

Jesus Christ. I’m 59 and my Apple Watch is fully integrated into my life (fitness, health, etc). And my 83 yo mom uses hers as well. Get the big one and see how much she enjoys it.

I got one for my Mum, and the more she uses it, the more she likes it. Not only is it good for the heart tracking but things like the fall sensor I think is also really important. To be honest, it’s good for my own piece of mind so for me it’s worth the investment.

I’m not sure what’s the best choice for you but I have an anecdote for you.

I got an Apple Watch a few years back and had my dad try it out. It detected a-fib right away which began a few years process of sorting that out. He’s not good at taking care of himself nor well aware of his body so it could have ended up being much worse by the time he figured it out otherwise.

Fall detection is always great. For the elderly. I got it for all 4 of my grandparents especially the 2 approaching 90s and it’s a peace of mind.

Sometimes they hide the injuries and what not and makes things worse.

Had to see my grandpa limping and won’t tell us why. And we check the security footage to see him fall at the door. Wish we knew sooner.

1. Get cellular if possible, 911 works without a cellular plan and without iPhone nearby.

2. Typing isn’t necessary, scribble and voice work great.

3. You can set a reminder to move each hour, if you’ve been sitting get up and stretch or at least wiggle your toes and squeeze your calves for blood flow.

4. Apple has short YouTube videos with easy tutorials, plus tips are on the AW.

5. She can set a small movement goal. While not doing any work out you can still see that you at least moved your minimum in a day or find you really sat on your butt and will make sure to move a bit more tomorrow.

6. It has a strobe light so if it’s dark and you need to be seen/helped you are visible.

7. Nightlight

8. Medication feature is a huge plus for tracking and reminding.

Hey, thinking about it also. Is the SPO2 reading accurate? Me Folks needed it . I see them using the fingertip SPO2 reading thingy whenever they feel tired after some time. Thanks

My parents have been using Apple Watch since they were 68 and now they are 72 and absolutely enjoys it. They’ve been working out daily thanks to the watch as well