New Year, New Tech: The Best Devices for Elderly Independence in 2025

Many older people would say that they value their independence highly. In fact, a survey of UK seniors found that a massive 96% of them would prefer to remain living independently in their own homes rather than moving to a care home or a relative’s home.

Experts in ageing recognise this. In fact, it’s now accepted that ‘ageing in place’ in one’s home is generally preferable. That allows older people to keep their independence in a comfortable space while surrounded by beloved objects.

For some seniors, though, their mobility difficulties, medical conditions or just the general frailty of age can start to hinder their independence. That’s why the theory of ageing in place focuses on the importance of supports to help elderly people stay in their homes.

Sometimes just a little help is all that’s needed to enable an older person’s independence. For example, a house cleaner or Meals on Wheels can take some hard tasks away from an older person who struggles with them.

But in 2025, there are plenty of more high-tech solutions that can assist an older person, too. These devices can offer peace of mind and make daily life a little smoother for an older person who’s living independently.

What kinds of tech is available on the cutting edge of elderly care? In this post, we’ll run through some top examples.

Advanced personal alarms with GPS tracking

A personal alarm for the elderly is a device designed to get help to an older person who’s experiencing a fall or another type of emergency.

In the past, personal alarms did this by connecting to a home’s landline. Because they worked via a unit that plugged into a power socket in the home, they didn’t function outdoors or away from home.

These types of alarms still have their uses. For example, an elderly person who never leaves their home unaccompanied wouldn’t need protection outside it.

However, most seniors are better served by a new generation of alarms that offers many more functionalities.

These new alarms typically don’t rely on a landline. In fact, mobile alarms with GPS tracking work just as well outside the home. And, as their name suggests, they allow family members to be kept informed of their elderly relative’s location at all times.

This can help give relatives peace of mind – they can know that their older parent is safe at home after an evening out, for example. And it can also be important in the case of emergencies. If the personal alarm is activated, helpers will need to know where the alarm wearer is located. An alarm with GPS tracking allows them to do just that.

GPS alarms can also be invaluable as dementia trackers. A senior in the early stages of dementia might still be able to go out alone, but they might want a tracker just in case they get lost. At the same time, an elderly person with advanced dementia might be at risk of wandering away from home. A dementia tracking wrist alarm with a lockable strap helps keep them safe.

Personal alarms with fall detection

But GPS tracking isn’t the only advanced feature of the latest generation of personal alarms.

Automatic fall detection is another technology that offers peace of mind and protects seniors’ independence.

Personal alarms typically come with a one-touch SOS button that lets them call for help with a single touch. These can be highly effective when a phone is out of reach and when an older person is too unwell to manage dialling a phone.

But what happens if the elderly person faints, has a medical crisis that leaves them unconscious, or knocks their head in the process of a fall?

In this situation, an SOS button doesn’t help. So, fall detection steps in.

Alarms with automatic fall detection have multiple sensors that are constantly assessing the alarm’s movement to judge whether a fall has happened. If the device’s algorithm concludes that the alarm wearer has fallen, the alarm will send out an alert all by itself. In other words, even if the older person wearing the alarm is unconscious, they can still be protected.

Smart home systems

Each year, we see smart home systems becoming more advanced and more able to assist seniors. The key to getting the maximum help from a 2025 smart home system is to ensure all of your smart devices are working well together.

For example, you can get a smart thermostat that will automatically adjust temperature based on voice commands. You can even connect lights and curtains to your smart home system so that curtains can be closed on a timer, thus saving on electricity and saving an older person from having to walk all around their home to close the curtains.

AI assistants that are part of smart home systems can help seniors to remember appointments or to take medicine. And older people who’ve gotten front door cameras for safety can connect these to the smart home system as well.

Overall, smart home systems can shine when they take care of lots of minor tasks, leaving an elderly person with more energy to focus on the work that’s rewarding. The end result is an older person with more independence and a device that can act a little like another person in the home, answering questions and giving medication reminders.

Health trackers

Like personal alarms, health trackers and smart watches that track health data are not new. But as this technology advances, we’re seeing that they can track more data than ever.

Health trackers are known for tracking steps taken and heart rate. Today, however, they can track so much more. They can monitor sleep to see if an older person is getting a good night’s rest. They might even be able to track the activity and health of a person’s heart through much more than heartbeats per minute. In the future, they may be able to gather even more data – such as information about hydration levels.

In our age of data, more information about one’s health can be massively helpful. And it can help keep an older person independent by letting them keep track of the information about their own bodies. In real time, a glance at the fitness tracker can clue an elderly person into problems that are cropping up in their bodies between doctor’s visits.

Advanced safety from SureSafe

Here at SureSafe, we don’t provide fitness trackers or smart home systems. But we do offer personal alarms – including the top alarm in the UK, the SureSafeGO. Our focus is on protecting seniors from falls and other accidents, and our fantastic reviews show that what we’re doing really works.

What’s great about the SureSafeGO is that it can be what each individual older person needs it to be. It’s available in the form of a wrist alarm, a bit like a smart watch, or a pendant. And you can choose whether you want calls for help to go to a family member’s phone or to a dedicated response centre that’s in operation 24/7.

Curious to know more about how personal alarms work or how to get one? Give us a call on 0808 189 1671 or try our live chat to chat with us, or you can request a call back.