While it’s not the most obvious choice for seniors, a smartwatch can be a genuinely useful safety net – and Apple’s Watch SE is our pick. It’s the more affordable member of the Apple Watch family, but it still has the features that matter most: fall detection, which can automatically call for help if you take a hard tumble and don’t respond, an irregular heart rhythm notification, and Emergency SOS, which calls emergency services (and lets your contacts know where you are) at the press and hold of a button.
It pairs with an iPhone and mirrors a lot of what’s on the phone – you can see who’s calling, read texts, and reply with your voice, all without having to dig the phone out of a pocket or bag. The screen is bright and legible, and if your relative already has an iPhone, setup takes a few minutes.
It’s worth knowing the GPS-only model needs to stay within Bluetooth range of an iPhone to make calls or send its location, so if being reachable while out on a walk alone matters most, it’s worth looking at the (pricier) cellular version instead, which works independently of a nearby phone.
Buy the Apple Watch SE on Amazon
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