Best smartwatch for seniors and the elderly

Looking for the best smartwatch for seniors? We pick the Samsung Galaxy Watch. It can be a good watch for an older person. It looks like any other watch, it tells the time in big numbers, and it has fall detection built in. What it doesn't do on its own is tell you, every morning, that they're OK. That is the part Lanturne adds.

Which Galaxy Watch to get

We suggest the Galaxy Watch 7. It's the watch we build and test Lanturne on every day.

A Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 in silver with a light strap, showing the Lanturne watch face

Get the larger size. The 44 mm watch has a bigger screen, so the time is easier to read and the HELP button is easier to find.
Refurbished is fine. Refurbished Galaxy watches start at $89.
LTE lets it work away from home. A Galaxy Watch 7 with LTE costs $139 refurbished. With its own mobile plan, the watch stays connected without the phone nearby.
An older Galaxy Watch works too. Any Galaxy Watch4 or newer runs Wear OS, and so does the Pixel Watch. The full list of watches

A buckle is hard for stiff fingers. A stretchy band with a magnetic end slides over the hand instead.

Do Android watches have fall detection?

Many do. The Galaxy Watch and the Pixel Watch both have fall detection built in. Lanturne uses the watch's own fall detection. When the watch detects a fall and they don't cancel it, your phone gets an alert.

But a fall is only one way things go wrong. Someone can feel faint and sit down, or not get out of bed. No fall happens, so no fall alert comes. That's why Lanturne also watches for things that should happen and don't.

What Lanturne adds to the watch

A daily check-in. They tap I'm OK each morning, and you see it on your phone. If the tap doesn't come, you get an alert.
An alert when the watch goes quiet, so a dead or forgotten watch doesn't fool you.
An alert when the watch is worn but finds no pulse and no movement.
A HELP button they press and hold to reach you.
A backup contact who gets the alert if you don't answer.

Every alert goes straight to your phone, with where the watch was and a Call 911 button.

Setting it up

Install Lanturne on your Android phone.
Install Lanturne on the watch from the Play Store on the watch.
Type the six-digit code the watch shows into your phone.
Pick a check-in time.

The watch needs an Android phone in their home for its own first setup. After that, you can be anywhere. How to set up the watch

What it costs

Lanturne is $30 a month, or $120 a year. The first 7 days are free. The watch is not included.

Lanturne is not a medical device and not an emergency service. It tells you and your backup contact what the watch noticed.