Laptop for seniors: recommended notebooks for seniors
Keeping in touch with grandkids, banking online, reconnecting with old friends, learning more, editing photos, writing memoirs – there are many things seniors can do with a laptop. Many commercially available notebooks are also suitable for older people if they meet certain requirements. We tell you what is important when it comes to laptops for seniors.
By Sven Wernicke
Acer Chromebook (CB317-1HT-CO5D): Large laptop with Chrome OS
Acer’s Chromebook offers a large 17-inch display.
Image: © SATURN 2022
Laptops with the Google Chrome OS operating system score with a simple user interface and software that is designed to get you where you want to go quickly. Such Chromebooks are ideal for streaming, surfing the net, e-mails and video telephony, and Chrome OS also works very quickly.
| Per: | Cons: |
| + First Chromebook with a 17-inch display | – Relatively slow hardware (CPU and flash memory) |
| + High quality stereo speakers | – Limited offline use |
| + Illuminated keyboard |
Asus VivoBook 17: Stylish, big and powerful
Asus’ VivoBook 17 is powerful and offers many ports.
Image: © SATURN 2022
The stylish VivoBook 17 is a true workhorse, and those who type a lot will benefit from the full numeric keypad. A webcam with an integrated microphone is also available.
| Per: | Cons: |
| + Powerful laptop | – Display brightness could be higher |
| + Very large 17.3 display with Full HD resolution | |
| + Many connections | |
| + Attractive design |
The Acer Swift 3 also meets high demands.
Image: © SATURN 2022
The stylish laptop Acer Swift 3 seems quite small for a model with a 16-inch display, which is due to the slim metal housing and the extremely narrow frame around the screen. In addition, the device weighs only 1.7 kilograms.
The Acer Swift 3 is a laptop for people with high demands. Image and video editing are no problem thanks to 16 GB of RAM, a 1 TB SSD and a current Intel Core i7 processor. With the powerful equipment, users are prepared for the future.
| Per: | Cons: |
| + Slim metal housing | – Equipment possibly oversized |
| + First-class equipment for demanding applications | |
| + Illuminated keyboard and fingerprint sensor | |
| + many connections (jack, USB-C, HDMI) |
Apple MacBook Pro (MK183D/A): Powerful piece of technology
A big MacBook Pro is also very suitable for seniors. The macOS operating system makes it easy to find your way around and use everything that is important to you. Even the cheapest MacBook Pro with a 16.2-inch display has outstanding technology, but the price is correspondingly high. For infrequent users, a MacBook can be prohibitively expensive.
The MacBook Pro offers a fantastic Retina XDR display with a high image resolution (3456 x 2234 pixels) and the powerful M1 chip from Apple. It guarantees amazing performance and is very energy efficient.
Tip: If a smaller screen is conceivable, the price could be attractive MacBook Air with an M1 chip and 13.3-inch display.
| Per: | Cons: |
| + Very beginner-friendly operating system | – Highly priced |
| + Outstanding technology | |
| + High quality |
You should pay attention to this when buying a laptop for seniors
Important aspects are the size and brightness of the display as well as the operating system and operation.
Screen: According to current studies, more than 90 percent of Germans over 60 wear glasses. For comfortable reading and working, it is therefore advisable to use a laptop with a sufficiently large screen. Display diagonals from 15 inches make sense, 17 inches are easier on the eyes.
With increasing age, the need for light increases in order to be able to recognize objects – on a screen, for example. A device with a high display brightness and good contrast is therefore recommended. Also, the higher the screen resolution, the better the image quality. It should be at least Full HD
Operating system: macOS from Apple is known for its intuitive and beginner-friendly operation. However, Apple’s laptops are expensive – and Windows 11 is also a comfortable operating system that is well suited for older users. In addition, there is the largest range of applications for Windows computers. If seniors only need a laptop for Internet, video telephony and office applications, a so-called Chromebook with the Chrome OS operating system can also be considered.
Perfomance: If seniors don’t want to edit images or videos and don’t want to play complex video games on their laptops, they don’t need the fastest processor or a powerful graphics card. Nevertheless, the computer should offer good performance. At least 8 GB of RAM, an SSD (HDD and eMMC storage are slower in comparison) with at least 256 GB and a processor with several cores are recommended. Chips from Intel (Core i3 or better) or AMD (Ryzen 4000 series or higher) are particularly suitable.
Furnishing: Although the wishes and ideas for a laptop for seniors are individually different, there are various practical features.
- USB ports: Sufficient ports for USB Type-A and/or Type-C for connecting to external hard drives, memory sticks, etc. should be available.
- cam: A camera is already integrated in many laptops, as is the associated microphone. Alternatively, a USB webcam can be retrofitted for video telephony.
- memory card slot: This can be used to expand the notebook’s memory.
- Bluetooth: Devices such as headphones and smartphones can be wirelessly connected to the laptop using radio technology.
- Backlit keyboard: It increases ease of use in darker environments – and the lighting looks smart.
- speaker: They are permanently installed in every laptop, if necessary, external speakers can be connected for better sound quality.
usability: If seniors don’t get along with the notebook keyboard, they can connect an external keyboard with extra-large keys via USB or Bluetooth. If users also use a separate mouse instead of the trackpad, this further increases the ease of use.
tablet or laptop: A possible alternative to a notebook is a tablet, but such devices usually have a much smaller screen (7 to 12 inches). They are operated via touchscreen, which may take some getting used to. Optional external keyboards are available for many tablets, such as the models from Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 series and the iPad Pro from Apple.
Reference-www.turn-on.de