As 2025 began, the oldest baby boomer has turned 79. The population aged 65+ exceeds 58 million. Because of the sheer size of the older adult market, vendors see older adults as constituents of the market of technology for multiple age and health segments, though in the consumer product category their opinions are still often ignored (see The User Experience Needs An Upgrade). How does the technology market evolve in next few years -- and how do older adults respond to the changes and opportunities it presents?
Most consumers might say that they would appreciate greater tech ease of use. But is that what they get? The tech industry’s fondness for innovation (see Innovation Awards for 2025) will likely beget ease of use in one gadget (see gesture innovation) – while creating an integration requirement in another. There will be some intriguing announcements next week, like the winner of Challenge -- The Digital Health for All Award – particularly targeting those with developmental disabilities – seeking greater independence and control of their health. And AARP’s AgeTech Summit will focus making daily tasks and aging easier. Taking a look at the list of startups exhibiting, individually they accomplish the targeted task goal.
Baby boomers and beyond increasingly depend on technology -- but using it has become a chore of fragmentation across devices and websites.
As the pace of inevitable tech change collides with an aging demographic, firms will need to seek user input, especially in healthcare. Accessibility features will become standard technology features.”
The decline of our tech experience was slow– it was barely noticeable for a while. Then device proliferation in homes – and the corresponding frustration became too obvious to miss. An AARP report notes, "No one prefers badly designed, over-complicated products." Yet that's what we get. Despite preferences, surveys show that today’s user experience for older adults is more problematic than ever. All are confronted with buggy software and frequent bug fix releases, such as a problem on iPhones that an embarrassed Apple redirected software work towards fixing. At the same time, innovation in new categories like Conversational and GenAI, machine learning and prediction have emerged and can help improve experiences if deployed properly. Over the next five years, it is highly likely that:
As the pace of inevitable tech change collides with an aging demographic, companies will again seek user input as to what works, what is too much, and how best to utilize tech that can help older adults obtain what they need. This will be particularly required in healthcare, with an aging population consuming more time and needing more care. Accessibility features will simply become technology features, ending the distinction in time for this population to use tech that is optimized for them.
The more things change. January 2024 brought announcements, updates and a plethora of new tech, some a dream in the eye of a startup, some in the market and some likely to improve lives, if not right away than soon. In fact, the most intriguing aspect of the month of CES 2024 was how much like previous events it was – and yet it was the first post-Covid big event, and the first for many new to the tech industry. Also 2024 is shaping up to be a big year of change for the older adults-tech market – some actually think it is disappearing into the tech market for all. Maybe! Here are the six blog posts from January 2024:
Most consumers might say that they would appreciate greater tech ease of use. But is that what they get? The tech industry’s fondness for innovation (see 
The decline of our tech experience was slow 
The more things change. January 2024 brought announcements, updates and a plethora of new tech, some a dream in the eye of a startup, some in the market and some likely to improve lives, if not right away than soon. In fact, the most intriguing aspect of the month of CES 2024 was how much like previous events it was – and yet it was the first post-Covid big event, and the first for many new to the tech industry. Also 2024 is shaping up to be a big year of change for the older adults-tech market – some actually think it is disappearing into the tech market for all. Maybe! Here are the six blog posts from January 2024: