ALL STOP. BACK ONE THIRD.
Went to Apple Store today to replace the battery in my XS Max. About $95, tax, title, graft and corruption fees included. FOUR PLUS HOURS!. Left and came back- and STILL waited more. Side note: not sure battery life ever shows below 79%- but it sure behaves badly, more and more, after first hitting 79%. Hmmmm. I hope they didn’t dl or otherwise lift data from my phone. Am changing critical PWs just in case.
Anyway, the deciding factor in my ordering a new iPhone was my MiL in a home is getting K4Community Plus ( BIG Yuck!). It requires an app that won’t run on her old iPhone 6. iOS too old. So I ordered the 15, with all the bells and whistles, for a price uncomfortably close to $2,000. Not including new case. She would get my “old” XS Max, which is supported in this K4 app. And I would get the latest and greatest, which will do a gazillion things I must admit I would never use. But a few niceties.
NOW it turns out that:
After researching this “K4” business, - it’s a dog. Put out by a company smaller than any I have worked at. Something in the range of $10M annual revenue. Reviews are BAD. NOT something for the elderly - although that is their target market. These folks don’t want to, and really can’t, learn such new things. Cell phones are a challenge for many. My MiL WILL NOT learn to text. Email is her limit. Not alone there.
Operation is “simple.” For people comfortable with computers, tablets, drop down menus, searching, learning that “Library” doesn’t mean that room with books, etc. EASY. BUT NOT FOR 91 yo folks, or most residents there (avg age appears to be mid to late 70s).
The “required” app has a laptop equivalent, which she MIGHT find easier.
This newfangled system also uses an echo dot, locked into the local facility only. No usual echo commands. It can be used, amongst other things, to call Security, but not to call outside, like to YOUR CHILDREN. Very limited.
She desperately does not want to give up her current iPhone, with its button. Really. Not that she uses one gazillionth of its features. Learning new things is not on her agenda.
She’s about to turn 92…..
She volunteered to run a little shop there. I expect them to ask her to provide data on that shop, and keep updating it, to feed this app.
The app is not yet a necessity. YET. They have a website, TV scroll, and the ability to call people for reservations or information. All of which appear to be migrating to this app, and will no doubt be shut down to force people to use the app, or the echo (wanna hear how long the echo takes to read the next meal’s menu?).
I anticipate a revolt against this new system, and bad press warning the elderly to not move there.
I also see this as poorly thought out, with NO asking residents what they thought. This WILL BE a source of stress for folks already close to death. BAD IDEA.
SOOOOO- I am inclined to cancel my iPhone order and wait 2-3 years for Apple to hopefully come up with a watch that can detect my BP without a cuff.
Venting is over.
What do you folks think?
