A Tablet for an Elderly Parent: What Matters in the UK

Start with what the tablet is for

Which tablet is easiest for an older person depends on what it will do, so write the list down first. For most parents it is video calls with the grandchildren, BBC iPlayer and ITVX, the NHS App or the GP surgery's online services, email, the family photos and a little shopping.

One item on that list is fussy about platforms. The NHS App is published through Apple's App Store and Google Play, for Android 8 or above and iOS 15 or above, and it is for people aged 13 or over registered with a GP surgery in England or the Isle of Man, so it does not cover a parent in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Age UK's video-calling guidance names WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Skype and FaceTime, all of which run over the internet, so reliable Wi-Fi at your parent's home is part of the purchase.

What matters more than the specification

Screen size. Ten to eleven inches suits iPlayer, video calls and the NHS App; eight inches suits a tablet held like a paperback. The Amazon Fire HD 8 is the only pick on our list that is genuinely one-handed.
Grip and dry fingertips. A propped tablet is easier on arthritic hands than a held one, so buy a case with a stand. AbilityNet notes that skin gets drier with age, touchscreens respond less well to dry fingertips, and a stylus helps. Only the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Lite on our list ships with one.
Volume and hearing. Try a video call in the room where the tablet will live, and if your parent wears hearing aids, pair them to the tablet (below).
Software support. Every app has a minimum operating system and floors rise, so a tablet that stops receiving updates eventually stops running what it was bought for. Apple supports its tablets far longer than the Android norm, Samsung's A-series update record is better than most entry-level Android tablets, and the Lenovo on our list is an older model than most of the others.
Help from a distance. Someone in the family becomes the support desk, and whether they can see and fix a problem without driving over is where the platforms differ most.

Accessibility settings to switch on first

All three platforms have the settings that matter. Set them up in person.

iPadOS. Settings, Accessibility, Display and Text Size holds Bold Text and Larger Text. Zoom magnifies the screen, and the Magnifier app turns the camera into a magnifying glass. Voice Control lets your parent tap, swipe and type by speaking, after a one-time download. Made for iPhone hearing aids pair under Accessibility, Hearing Devices. Assistive Access is the big one: a simplified iPad with large buttons, a chosen set of apps and its own passcode, which Apple suggests a family member sets up.

Android. Settings, Accessibility, Display size and text covers font size, display size and Bold text. Magnification zooms up to eight times from a triple-tap shortcut. Google's Voice Access app gives spoken control, and Live Transcribe turns speech in the room into text on the screen. Hearing aids pair under Accessibility, Hearing devices, which Google says works best with ASHA-compatible aids.

Fire OS. Amazon's tablets have a larger font size, a Screen Magnifier, the VoiceView screen reader, closed captions, colour inversion and Voice Access. Amazon's own accessibility guide describes hearing-aid support on Fire tablets as limited, through Bluetooth: the plainest difference for a parent with hearing aids.

The Fire tablet trade-off

The Amazon Fire HD 10 and Fire HD 8 cost less than anything else on our list, and they run Fire OS, which uses the Amazon Appstore rather than Google Play. Gmail, Google Maps and Chrome have no official versions, and some banking and streaming apps are simply not there. Installing Google Play by hand is unsupported and an update can break it, which is not a set-up to leave with a parent. The NHS App is the specific case, answered below. If the NHS App or a particular bank is a reason for the purchase, buy Android or an iPad. If the list is video calls, reading, streaming and shopping, a Fire tablet does the job without fuss.

Scams, purchases and who holds the keys

The family tools people expect to use here are mostly built for children. Apple's Family Sharing puts one organiser in charge of a group of up to six, but Ask to Buy and remote Screen Time management are designed for children's accounts, not another adult. Google's Family Link is likewise for children under 13 and teenagers.

What does work is making every purchase ask for a password. On an iPad: Settings, your parent's name, Media and Purchases, Password Settings, Always Require. On Android: Google Play, the profile picture, Payments and subscriptions, Purchase verification, Always. On a Fire tablet, Parental Controls in Settings put shopping, downloading and settings behind a separate password (Amazon says forgetting it means a factory reset), and the Appstore's own parental controls demand the Amazon password for in-app purchases. Buying an app there needs a payment method on the Amazon account or a gift card, so a small gift-card balance and no card on the account limits what any mistake can cost.

Age UK's advice on staying safe is worth repeating: strong passwords, keep the operating system updated, and if an email looks suspicious, do not reply or open anything in it, delete it.

Which of our picks fits

All seven are on our tablets page.

The Apple iPad 11-inch (A16) is the one to buy if it is affordable and the family has iPhones: the longest software support in the category, the deepest library of apps built for a tablet, Assistive Access, hearing-aid pairing and the FaceTime remote control described below.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Lite is the Android answer for a parent whose fingertips no longer register on a screen: the S Pen is in the box and needs no charging or pairing. Full Google Play, a microSD slot and the highest owner rating in the category, with shorter software support than the iPad.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ is the pick when the NHS App and a banking app are essential and the two above cost more than you want to spend: full Android on an 11-inch 90Hz screen, with a microSD slot, a plastic build and a thinner owner record than the Fire tablets.

The Lenovo Smart Tab M10 Plus doubles as an Alexa smart display, for a parent who would rather talk to a kitchen screen than tap one. It runs full Android with Google Play, but it is an older model than most of the list.

The Amazon Fire HD 10 is the video-call, reading and streaming tablet, with the deepest owner record on our list and a 10.1-inch Full HD screen, on the Fire OS terms above. The Amazon Fire HD 8 is the same idea in a hand-sized, lower-resolution package for a parent who mainly reads. The Fire HD 10 Kids is the same tablet in a Kid-Proof Case for children aged three to seven, and not the answer here.

Is an iPad or an Android tablet easier for an older person?

Day to day, neither. Larger text, magnification, voice control and hearing-aid pairing exist on both, and a parent who has used neither will learn whichever one you set up well. The differences are years of updates, where the iPad leads; cost and expandable storage, where Android leads; and remote help. If the helper has an iPhone or an iPad, FaceTime remote control tips it to the iPad. If the family is on Android and WhatsApp, buy Android.

Does the NHS App work on a Fire tablet?

Not in any form the NHS documents. The NHS distributes the app through the App Store and Google Play and says nothing about Fire OS or Amazon's store. Its documented fallback is the browser: every NHS App service can be used by logging in through the NHS website, minus face or fingerprint login and calendar entries. But the supported browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Android WebView and Safari, and a Fire tablet's own Silk browser is not on that list. Treat it as unsupported.

Can I set up a tablet for my mum remotely?

The first set-up, no: accounts, passcodes and accessibility settings all need the tablet in your hands. After that, with limits. On an iPad, a one-to-one FaceTime call lets one person request control of the other's screen and tap, swipe and type on it, provided both devices are on iPadOS 18 or iOS 18 or later and the helper is saved in her contacts, and she can stop it at any time. Apple says availability varies by region (it is not offered in the European Union), so try it once first. AbilityNet suggests a remote-support app such as TeamViewer if you set up the device yourself. For prescriptions and appointments, the NHS App's family and carer access lets you act for her from your own phone; the GP surgery sets it up, needs you both registered at the same practice, and will ask for identification.