Yezz's Andy AZ4.5 is an Android smartphone for seniors
Packing a 4.5-inch display, a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, the handset also comes with a custom UI designed for the elderly.
BARCELONA, Spain--If you're looking for a smartphone for your elderly parent, perhaps you may want to give the Yezz Andy AZ4.5 a chance.
Powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, the smartphone runs a special version of Android that features large icons and a voice assistant that says whatever you're doing. For example, the phone will say "Phone" when you're opening the Phone app and will read out the numbers you're dialing.
I'll be honest though, I've seen similar UI's on phones from Xiaomi and Huawei, and they look very similar. What sets the Andy AZ4.5 apart though, is the fact that you can't go back to the normal Android home screen (you can with the Xiaomi Redmi and Huawei Honor 3X).
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The phone's permanently locked into the "elderly mode", but you can add apps using the Google Play Store. That's when the immersion breaks -- you'll be using the normal Play Store UI, which may be confusing for said elderly person.
Thankfully, the company has added PIN locks to certain apps such as the Settings and Play Store, so you can easily lock them out and prevent them from messing with the phone.
An SOS button is located at the rear of the handset below the 5-megapixel camera, which can either be set to call someone or send an emergency text message to up to ten people.
The only one thing I didn't quite like about the AZ4.5 was the poor quality 4.5-inch display -- I found viewing angles to be quite poor, and the screen wasn't very bright.
Other specs of the smartphone include dual-SIM capabilities, Android 4.2, 4GB of onboard storage and 512MB of RAM.
The Yezz Andy AZ4.5 will retail for 180 Euros ($247) and will be available at the end of March in the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa.