If you buy an iPhone, Apple stores have free workshops with the basics about their products.
The other way to turn off your iphone when flying is to go into settings (tap the icon called settings) and turn on “airplane mode.” You can use the non-Internet functions of the phone while flying.
I found the iPhone much easier to figure out than a basic flip phone. Whenever I have to use a flip phone (usually when making phone calls for candidates), I can never figure out how to use it. The one time I had an Android for 3 months I never figured out how to use it.
I have no tech savvy at all. My daughter handed my my brand new iPhone 6 when we got on the plane to leave for Disney World in April (did not think I needed one, but she ordered it for me). She continued to give me lessons on it whenever we stood in line at DW. I was in tears once or twice, and forgot lots. The day after we returned and she was back to her home, I carried the thing into church and said “can someone with a smart phone give their dumb pastor a clue as to how to turn on the ringtone?”
Flash forward 6 months and just this week I taught a 93 year old woman how to use it, as she was thinking about purchasing one. Within minutes she was guessing correctly how to do things that I hadn’t yet shown her, like, “oh, this icon must be for my phone contacts”.
We all had only basic flip phones thru 2012 and all got iphones for that New Year. They worked great and we all figured them out mostly independently over the first few days we had them. My 90 year old dad taught himself his to use his iPhone 5s.
The next thing to know is that these things are immensely powerful computers. They can do almost anything you need. You get there by looking at what you do and then looking up how to do that. Example: let’s say you have a bunch of things to do to take care of a person - from pills to take, doctor appts, insurance reimbursements. The phone can track all that and remind you. Some of it is stupid easy: tell Siri “remind to …” or “add to calendar …” But you can do more and more and more. Or you have a few calendars - kids, you, spouse, work, whatever: super easy to arrange. (BTW, I recommend Fantastical as a calendar app but the built-in calendar is getting better.)
An interest? My cousin is devoted to Pinterest. My wife tracks an auction site. You can use a bunch of apps that collect pretty much anything you run across on the internet but now Apple’s Notes does that too. Just hit that square with the arrow sticking up and save it to Notes - and you can type a note to that note.
You can run a business from your phone. Need a cash register? Get a Square reader: barely costs anything and you collect emails, dump the stuff right into an accounting program, etc.
More power than regular desktop computers of a few years ago and you carry it around in your hand.
Forget where you parked? If you press the Apple Maps icon, you can drop a “pin” to mark your location without opening the app. I set reminders for when I leave my gym; I set up my gym as a location and now can have my phone remind me when I get there or leave.
That’s never been my experience. I can’t tell you how much I hated my i-pod. I never knew what was going to happen if I pushed button in different places or did the swirly thing. Drove me bananas!
My kid set up my first iPhone, then I took a risk and set up my iPad. I thought I was technology challenged until a guy at work with kids at Princeton and MIT asked me a question about how to set up messaging that’s when I knew I was not alone.
What I love about Apple products is that they offer workshops at their store. I’ve taken two so far, and they are immensely helpful. Plus the new iOS has a Tips app that automatically sends me helpful tips on how to use my device.
I was in your shoes some time ago and got an iphone because I’d heard it was the easiest to learn. I also went to the library and checked out “Iphone for Dummies” and “Iphone for Senior Dummies.” The latter, which had larger print and less info, was actually the best first intro because it focused on the very basics, and the “regular dummies” filled in the gaps - I checked it out again a couple months later. I know I’m still not using it to its full potential, but I really like having the power of the various apps at my fingertips, and the camera is better than the one I’d been using on vacations.
If it makes you feel any better, DH is still using a pre flip phone that one of the kids used in high school in the early 2000s. He uses it to call me if he’s stuck in traffic on the way home and that’s it.
Our family has always done Android. For education and for upgrade / phone swap it was easier to be all the same. Now I am contemplating an iphone. One small reason is to help my mom talk with my sister (who has iphone and does not do skype). The bigger reason is that at work people are shifting toward Apple.
