Launchers for seniors: Easy Mode, BIG Launcher and a simpler option
A launcher is an app that replaces the phone’s home screen with one that has big buttons. It is one way to make a phone easier for a parent, and not always the first one to try.
Below: what is already built into the phone, one well-known Android launcher, and where BabushkApp fits. BabushkApp is not a launcher. It is a separate screen of big buttons that opens from its own icon, next to the normal home screen. It also works on iPhone, where apps cannot replace the home screen.
Launcher or separate screen
A launcher changes the whole phone: the home screen, how apps are found, often access to settings. A separate screen changes nothing else; the phone looks the same and the big buttons sit behind one icon. You can combine the two, for example Easy Mode for the phone and BabushkApp for the people they call most.
Samsung Easy Mode: what it does and what it doesn’t
Easy Mode is built into Samsung Galaxy phones: Settings, then Display, then Easy mode, then the switch. Samsung’s guides differ by country and model, so if you cannot find it, search the settings for “Easy mode”.
What it does
- Makes text and icons bigger and leaves a few frequently used apps on the home screen.
- Adds a Contacts page for quick calls: Samsung’s German guide mentions up to 12 contacts.
- Offers a high-contrast keyboard and a longer touch-and-hold delay, so a stray touch does less.
What it doesn’t do
- Work on other brands. It is a Galaxy setting, and not every Galaxy model has it.
- Put a WhatsApp or Telegram chat on a button. The contact page is for calls; Samsung’s guides do not describe chat buttons.
- Keep your current layout. Samsung’s Russian guide says that switching it on cancels earlier home screen changes.
If small text is the main trouble, start here: it is free, and the same switch turns it off.
iPhone: Assistive Access
Assistive Access is Apple’s simplified iPhone experience for people with cognitive disabilities. A relative or caregiver sets it up in Settings, then Accessibility, then Assistive Access: you choose the apps, pick rows or a grid with larger items, and set a separate passcode to enter and leave it.
It narrows the whole iPhone to a few apps, which is the right tool when someone needs far fewer features. If they use their iPhone as usual and the trouble is reaching family quickly, one screen of buttons may be enough.
BIG Launcher for Android
BIG Launcher replaces the Android home screen with large buttons, from a grid of 15 down to a single one, with photo contacts, app shortcuts and widgets. Settings can be locked with a password. It is Android only; its site notes that Apple does not allow apps to replace the iPhone home screen.
The free version limits customization (only the right-hand column and up to 5 extra screens) and has no settings password. Paid plans for one app, US prices checked 2026-10: $3.49 a month, $13.99 a year or $40.99 once. Prices differ by country; Google Play shows the final amount.
When a launcher is the better choice
- You want the whole phone to look simpler, not only calling: every time it unlocks they see big buttons, and there is no icon to find first.
- The phone is Android and you can sit with it for half an hour to arrange screens and lock settings.
- They need more than calls: BIG Launcher’s companion apps add a large-print call log, simple SMS and an alarm clock.
When BabushkApp fits
BabushkApp is a free web app with no account. You add the people they call most and choose what each button does: a call, an SMS, or a WhatsApp or Telegram chat. Then you put one icon on the home screen. You can prepare the buttons on your own phone and send them as a link.
- They keep the phone as it is, and you do not want to change the home screen or settings.
- The trouble is reaching one person in one app, such as the WhatsApp chat with you, not the size of everything.
- It is an iPhone, and Assistive Access would take away more than they need.
What it doesn’t do: it does not replace the home screen, so they can still leave it for the normal phone; the buttons are stored in that phone’s browser, so save a copy; and it is not an emergency or monitoring service. To change the buttons, long-press “Setup” for about a second.
Start with what is already in the phone. If the screen is readable but the right chat is hard to reach, add one screen of buttons. If the whole phone is the obstacle, move to a launcher or a dedicated simple phone.
Wondering whether they need a separate phone at all? See a dedicated senior phone or a simpler screen.
Checked 2026-10-28 on Samsung and Apple support pages and on biglauncher.com. Names, menus and prices change by model, version and country.