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

Start with what the tablet is for

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

One thing on that list is fussy about which tablet it runs on: the NHS App. It's published through Apple's App Store and Google Play, for Android 8 or above and iOS 15 or above. It's for people aged 13 or over who are registered with a GP surgery in England or the Isle of Man. So it doesn't cover a parent in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Reliable Wi-Fi at your parent's home is part of the purchase, too. Age UK's video-calling guidance names WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Skype and FaceTime, and all of them run over the internet.

What matters more than the specification

Screen size. Ten to eleven inches suits iPlayer, video calls and the NHS App. Seven inches suits a tablet held like a paperback. No pick on our list is that small: the smallest is eleven inches, so a stand matters more than the weight.
Grip and dry fingertips. A propped-up tablet is easier on arthritic hands than a held one, so buy a case with a stand. Skin gets drier with age, and touchscreens respond less well to dry fingertips. AbilityNet, a digital accessibility charity, points this out, and says a stylus helps. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Lite is the only tablet on our list that comes with one.
Volume and hearing. Try a video call in the room where the tablet will live. If your parent wears hearing aids, pair them with the tablet (there's more on this below).
Software support. Every app needs a minimum version of the operating system, and those minimums rise over time. So a tablet that stops getting updates will eventually stop running what it was bought for. Apple supports its tablets for far longer than the Android norm. Samsung's A-series has a better update record than most entry-level Android tablets. And the Lenovo on our list publishes no support date on its listing.
Help from a distance. Someone in the family becomes the support desk. The platforms differ most on whether that person can see and fix a problem without driving over.

Accessibility settings to switch on first

All three kinds of tablet (iPad, Android and Fire) have the settings that matter. Set them up in person.

iPadOS. On an iPad, Bold Text and Larger Text are under Settings, Accessibility, Display and Text Size. 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, the kind designed to work with Apple devices, pair under Accessibility, Hearing Devices. Assistive Access is the big one. It's a simplified iPad with large buttons, a chosen set of apps and its own passcode. Apple suggests a family member sets it up.

Android. Font size, display size and Bold text are under Settings, Accessibility, Display size and text. Magnification zooms up to eight times, from a triple-tap shortcut (three quick taps on the screen). Google's Voice Access app lets your parent control the tablet by speaking. Live Transcribe turns speech in the room into text on the screen. Hearing aids pair under Accessibility, Hearing devices. Google says this works best with ASHA-compatible aids. ASHA is Android's standard for streaming sound to hearing aids.

Fire OS. Amazon's tablets have a larger font size, a Screen Magnifier, closed captions, colour inversion and Voice Access. They also have the VoiceView screen reader, which reads out what's on the screen. For a parent with hearing aids, one difference stands out. Amazon's own accessibility guide describes hearing-aid support on Fire tablets as limited, through Bluetooth.

The Fire tablet trade-off

Amazon's Fire tablets are the ones relatives reach for first, and none is on our list: Amazon UK had no new-unit buy box on the Fire 7 or the Fire HD models when this was last checked. If one turns up elsewhere, the catch is the apps. Fire OS uses the Amazon Appstore rather than Google Play. There are no official versions of Gmail, Google Maps or Chrome, and some banking and streaming apps simply aren't there.

Installing Google Play by hand isn't supported, and an update can break it. That's not a set-up to leave with a parent. The NHS App gets its own answer 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's in charge

The family tools you might 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 for another adult. Google's Family Link is the same: it's for children under 13 and teenagers.

What does work is making every purchase ask for a password. On an iPad, go to Settings, tap your parent's name, then Media and Purchases, Password Settings, and choose Always Require. On Android, open Google Play, tap the profile picture, then Payments and subscriptions, Purchase verification, and choose 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, which wipes the tablet. The Appstore's own parental controls also ask for the Amazon password before any in-app purchase. 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. Use strong passwords, and keep the operating system updated. If an email looks suspicious, don't reply or open anything in it. Delete it.

Which of our picks fits which parent

All seven are on our tablets page.

The Apple iPad 11-inch (A16) is the one to buy if it's affordable and the family has iPhones. It has the longest software support in the category and the deepest library of apps built for a tablet. It also has 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 stylus is in the box, and it needs no charging or pairing. It has full Google Play, a microSD slot for extra storage and the highest owner rating in the category. Its software support is shorter than the iPad's.

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. It's full Android on an 11-inch 90Hz screen (90Hz makes scrolling look smoother), with a microSD slot. It has a plastic build, and a thinner owner record than the TECLAST.

The Lenovo Tab Plus is the one for a kitchen counter. Its listing gives it eight JBL speakers and a kickstand that folds out of the back, so it stands up and plays the radio or a video call without being held. It runs full Android with Google Play, has a card slot, and Amazon sells it directly. There's no Alexa show mode, and its listing publishes no software-support date.

The TECLAST P50T is the cheapest tablet on our list, and it runs full Android with Google Play, so none of the app gaps above apply. It comes with a case, per the listing, but no power adapter, so check there's a USB-C charger in the house. The screen is 11 inches at 1280 x 800, the softest on our list, and it's sold by a third-party seller and dispatched by Amazon.

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

Day to day, neither. Both have larger text, magnification, voice control and hearing-aid pairing. And a parent who has used neither will learn whichever one you set up well. The differences come down to three things. The iPad leads on years of updates. Android leads on cost and expandable storage. And then there's 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 web 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. A Fire tablet's own browser, Silk, isn't on that list. Treat it as unsupported.

Can I set up a tablet for my mum remotely?

Not the first set-up. Accounts, passcodes and accessibility settings all need the tablet in your hands. After that, you can, with limits.

On an iPad, a one-to-one FaceTime call lets one person ask to control the other's screen, then tap, swipe and type on it. Both devices need to be on iPadOS 18 or iOS 18 or later, and you need to be saved in her contacts. She can stop it at any time. Apple says availability varies by region (it isn't offered in the European Union), so try it once first.

If you set up the device yourself, AbilityNet suggests a remote-support app such as TeamViewer. 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, and needs you both registered at the same practice. It will also ask for identification.