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Differences and learning curve on iPhones

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by SlickRCBD, Jun 17, 2020.

  1. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
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    My mother's iPhone 5S' battery is dying, it is running out in the evening after charging it over night, and sometimes in the afternoon if somebody sends her too many videos.
    She's not sure if she can get a new battery, and there is the issue of obsolescence.
    However, she's satisfied with the capabilities of the iPhone 5S, and doesn't use it for much more than e-mail, web browsing, texting, to control her hearing aid, check her pacemaker and as a telephone. She rarely uses the GPS and keeps calling me for help when she does need it.
    The only reason she's thinking about a new phone is that upgrading the OS to support the pacemaker app has consumed 9 of the 12 gb of storage and is concerned the next update won't support the 5S. She has less than 1gb of her own data on it as opposed to the OS and the two apps (hearing aid and pacemaker) I mentioned yet most of the storage is full, and we never know when they will drop support for an old phone like the 5S.

    How big a learning curve would getting an iPhone 7 or just about any other model compared to the 5S? She doesn't deal with change that well, and if it's like going from Windows 7 to Windows 10, it will be a lot of aggravation for her. She's not that computer literate.

    Which model would you guys suggest getting her since she doesn't need all the bells and whistles, and what she needs is the same capabilities as the iPhone 5S and an interface as close as possible so there is no learning curve. If say the iPhone 7 is pretty much the same as the 5, I'll go with that. I'm not going with the "latest and greatest", but whatever the cheapest they still sell new is. When I looked last year they were still selling the iPhone 7 in the AT&T store, but I wasn't seriously looking, I was just surprised they had something that many models out of date still in the store on display.
    She uses Consumer Cellular if that helps.

    Again, it's not so much the capabilities and she could care less about new features, just the learning curve, so long as it can do anything the iPhone 5S can do. The closer the interface is to the iPhone 5S the better.

    The problem is that I use Android, and have only researched them.
     
  2. Tarrasque

    Tarrasque Whoever said Paladins had to be charismatic? ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I've had iPhones since the 5 era, then a 7 and my current XS The majority of the changes phone wise is relatively minor. Where I did see more of a significant jump was from the 7 to the XS with the lack of the Home button which caused a little bit of getting used to as a (relatively) tech savvy person.

    As you've said she's updated the OS, I suspect there won't be a huge amount of changes with regards to that although that is one thing I do like about iPhones - when there's a security update you can update the phone when it is released rather than waiting until your phone network says you can, which I found when I had androids.
     
  3. ConjurerDragon

    ConjurerDragon Ich dien ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    The rechargeable batterys of mobile phones usually over time detoriate to the point where after around 2 years of loading they no longer can hold a full charge and need to be replaced.

    Why would it be a problem to get the battery replaced for your mother?
    A quick internet search brought dozens of offers, e. g.
    https://www.batteriesplus.com/produ...one-repair/apple/iphone-5s/iphone-5s/ris10339

    Nothing is obsolete simply because a new model is available. On my PC for old games at home I still run Windows XP SP3 - because it does work well for my old games, despite being "officially obsolete and no longer supported". So as long as the phone does what your mother wants it to do it is not obsolete to her.

    One thing she could do to lenghten battery life is what I told my own Mom: Shut down the mobile phone at night - not "silent alarm" or "vibrating", completely turn it off. There is no need to be available 24/7, she’ s not 110 (in Germany - for the US 911) - and in case of my Mom she is still available on the mhh- "Festnetz" - the not mobile phone/conventional phone?

    Does she have any programs running in the background that she does not actually use normally that could be shut off to save battery life? If she rarely uses GPS could she turn that off?
    https://www.cultofmac.com/230175/tu...r-iphone-and-save-some-battery-life-ios-tips/

    And if someone sends her too many videos have that person whipped
    [​IMG]
     
  4. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
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    She is not tech savvy enough to turn GPS and the like on and off.
    She will whine and bitch about "making it too complicated" when I tried to get her to do all that.

    We're not dealing with a gamer or tech.
     
  5. ConjurerDragon

    ConjurerDragon Ich dien ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Well, if she does not NEED GPS, turn and leave it off to save battery life. That´s true for any app or system that constantly runs in the background.
     
  6. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
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    Then when it's time to use the GPS (which probably won't happen until Illinois opens up fully again) she'll be unable to remember how to turn the GPS back on again and call me at work for help, or get home and complain that "it's broken" and want me to fix it .

    Yes, she is that tech dumb. She's not stupid in most other areas, but working with electronics we are complete opposites. I'm naturally gifted, she's always had trouble with the VCR beyond using them like a simple tape recorder, or learning computer and other gadgets :bang:.

    I've made her write down the procedures for certain things on index cards in her own words, and half the time if she doesn't use it for several months she won't remember how to follow her own notes because she left out details.
    I've made her run "Discover Windows 98" or "Tour Windows XP" countless times :bang:, and the only reason I haven't had her do the same for later Windows is because they no longer come with tutorials.
     
  7. ConjurerDragon

    ConjurerDragon Ich dien ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    So she uses the iphone as a navigation tool in her car instead of having a dedicated navigation aid?
     
  8. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
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    Rarely, but yes. So do I.
    Neither of us needed one enough to justify buying a dedicated device, but since it came with the phone, we were getting anyways, why not?
    Although she still prefers to have printed or hand written directions, the old-fashioned way.
    Actually so do I, I don't have to worry about the "GPS Signal lost" problem that once made me late to an interview because I missed an exit as I was unable to fiddle with the phone on the Kennedy.
    Although aside from some bad updates last year and again back in 2015 that hasn't been as big an issue as I make it sound like. Although for a couple weeks in October of last year and in April of 2015 the GPS was almost useless following a bad update, and the factory built-in version of the app no longer works without updating it. It had a hard time getting started and would keep losing the signal, until they released a new update.

    It was only made illegal to use the phone without a hands-free device a couple years ago in IL, and even then, I would just start the GPS and leave it sitting on the dashboard. She'd stick it on this compartment in front of the gear selector with a place for stashing stuff like CDs or her spare sunglasses. The difference is because of the difference between the interior designs of our cars.
     
  9. SlickRCBD Gems: 29/31
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    Well, here's an update. She decided to order an iPhone 7 for $200 from Consumer Cellular.
    It's going to fall on me to migrate things.
    Can somebody suggest the most complete, easiest tutorial on how to move all her data and settings from the iPhone 5S to the new iPhone 7(forgot to ask which).

    I use an android phone, and am not that familiar with the iPhones. I have a Windows 7 computer and a Windows 10 computer available to help if necessary, or I can use cloud storage.
    She uses Gmail for e-mail. I don't think she has any MP3s, but she does have a hearing aid app and a pacemaker app and I'd have to look up what to install if there isn't an easy way to transfer all apps the way you can using a Google account on android. Preferably with the configuration.
    Maybe SMS history, I'm not sure.
    I'll have to ask if there is anything else, but I doubt it.

    I can see several tutorials, I'm just asking which one is the most complete so that I don't do an incomplete job, find out she needs to figure out how to configure something and come whining to me to "fix it".
    I had to set up both the aforementioned apps, but that was years ago. I'd have to look it up or figure it out again.

    If it was for me, I could figure it out myself and correct any oversights and mistakes, but with her I want it done right the first time. Hence why I want a list of instructions so I don't miss a step and overlook something, if that makes sense. I'm not familiar enough with iPhones and iOS not to make such a mistake. Heck, part of me hears "IOS" and thinks Cisco.
     
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