RAZ Memory Phone Media Release for Canada

RAZ Memory Phone Media Release for Canada

Media Release: RAZ Memory Phone Redefines Senior Communication in Canada with Accessible, Text Messaging–Focused Solution

Empowering Canadian seniors, caregivers, and individuals experiencing cognitive decline with an intuitive, text-enabled, and highly accessible mobile device—now available nationwide through leading Canadian carriers, distributors, and assistive technology partners.

Introduction

In response to the rapidly escalating needs of Canada's aging population and the unique challenges faced by individuals experiencing cognitive decline, RAZ Mobility is proud to announce a significant Canadian expansion of its signature product, the RAZ Memory Phone. Specially engineered for seniors, individuals living with dementia, Alzheimer's, vision loss, and hand tremors, the RAZ Memory Phone provides a streamlined, picture-based communication experience. With enhanced text messaging features, remote caregiver management capabilities, and robust accessibility options, the device is making profound impacts on senior wellness, caregiver peace of mind, and community safety across Canada. The RAZ Memory Phone is currently available through an expanding network of distributors, including national and regional carriers, online retailers, specialized assistive device vendors, and local accessibility programs, with pricing models tailored for both affordability and flexibility24.

A Growing National Challenge: Dementia and Cognitive Decline in Canada

As of early 2025, more than 770,000 Canadians are living with dementia—projected to reach nearly 1 million by 2030 and over 1.7 million by 20506. Every day, 414 people in Canada develop dementia, and women account for over 60% of cases. The burden extends to over 1 million caregivers, who collectively provide hundreds of millions of hours of unpaid care annually. By 2050, care partner hours are expected to surpass 1.4 billion annually6. The need for tools that support both patient independence and caregiver oversight is acute, particularly in the face of increased risks such as scam calls, social isolation, loneliness, and barriers to communication caused by standard, complex smartphones9.

For Indigenous, ethnic minority, and remote rural communities, the challenges are often even greater due to reduced access to culturally safe dementia care, digital services, and specialized assistive devices6. Against this backdrop, the RAZ Memory Phone offers a powerful, accessible, and genuinely empowering solution that aligns with Canada’s health, accessibility, and inclusion mandates.

Breaking Down Barriers: Purpose-Designed Features for Canadian Seniors

The RAZ Memory Phone is not a conventional smartphone. Instead, it is engineered from the ground up to support seniors and those with cognitive, visual, and dexterity impairments in maintaining safe, simple, and meaningful connections with family, friends, and care teams11. The device presents users with a permanently “on” home screen featuring large, high-contrast photos for up to 50 contacts (defaulting to 6, but easily expandable), a prominent emergency button, and clear network and battery indicators. There are no menus, settings, or confusing notifications to disrupt or disorient the user, eliminating common frustration and risk factors found with standard devices13.

Innovative Text Messaging Capabilities

In a significant evolution, the RAZ Memory Phone’s text messaging features provide tangible reassurance for both users and caregivers. They include:

• Automatic Text Alerts for Emergencies: When a user presses the 911 button, up to three designated caregivers receive immediate text alerts, allowing them to respond appropriately and avoid unnecessary emergency escalations13.
• Low Battery Notifications: Personalized text messages can be sent to caregivers when the device’s battery drops to a pre-set level, ensuring the phone remains usable without the user needing to actively monitor battery status13.
• RAZ Emergency Service Integration: As an alternative to 911, this subscription service can send text alerts to caregivers, enabling intervention before emergency services are dispatched—a critical feature for users prone to repetitive emergency calls10.
• Loneliness and Activity Alerts: If a user does not participate in a specified number of calls within a chosen period (24, 48, 72, or 120 hours), an automated alert is sent to caregivers by SMS, helping families detect early signs of social withdrawal or health issues13.

The device intentionally restricts standard texting to prioritize cognitive simplicity and prevent confusion yet offers highly targeted SMS notifications that keep caregivers up to date and engaged. This makes the RAZ Memory Phone stand out as both a communication device and a proactive safety net—especially important given that nearly 90% of Canadian seniors now own smartphones and that text messaging has surpassed even email as the most popular digital communication channel among adults over 659.

Remote Caregiver Management: The RAZ Care App

A central pillar of the RAZ Memory Phone ecosystem is the RAZ Care App, available on both iOS and Android, empowering caregivers to manage the user’s device from anywhere in Canada16. The app allows authorized caregivers to:

• Add, edit, or remove contacts (up to 50), including adding photos and custom labels.
• Set up an “Allow list” for incoming calls, barring scammers and unwanted numbers while permitting exceptions for trusted contacts outside the core list.
• Receive and customize all SMS notifications (emergency, battery, loneliness).
• Track the device’s location using GPS, with updates every 10–15 minutes including full timestamps and address details—a crucial tool for ensuring the safety of adults with memory loss who may be at risk of wandering or becoming lost.
• Schedule and send medication or appointment reminders as sticky notes and/or audio messages.
• Set “Quiet Hours” to block outgoing calls at night or during other inappropriate times, with custom recorded messages to gently inform the user of temporary restrictions.
• Switch the display to high-contrast or extra-large mode for low-vision or Parkinson’s users.
• Monitor call logs, missed call alerts, and phone status (on/off, charging, signal strength).
• Enable automatic call answering and loudspeaker mode to further reduce user effort.

The latest App updates also include a new feature allowing caregivers to send a pre-populated welcome SMS to new secondary caregivers or trusted contacts as the device’s support network grows15.

Robust Accessibility Compliance Across Canada

Canada is at the forefront of accessibility regulation, with the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), and equivalent provincial regulations mandating inclusive design and information access18. The RAZ Memory Phone fully embraces these requirements, offering:

• Large, customizable visual contrast settings and oversized touch targets, ensuring usability for those with vision impairment or tremor.
• Automatic spoken caller ID and voice-based audio messages, supporting users with partial sight or literacy challenges.
• Simple, non-nested navigation with no menus, compliant with cognitive accessibility guidelines.
• Screen reader and voice control compatibility within the RAZ Care App, allowing both users and caregivers with disabilities to participate fully.
• Consistency with WCAG 2.2 guidance for mobile app accessibility, according to accessibility advocates and user testing by Canadian assistive technology partners.

These features facilitate not only legal compliance (critical to provincial and national procurement), but also a best-in-class user experience for Canada’s diverse and multilingual senior population.

Canadian Distribution, Pricing, and Financing Models

National Carrier and Retail Presence

The RAZ Memory Phone is now available through Canada’s leading carriers and respected provincial providers:

• Special Needs Computers and other specialist assistive tech resellers bring the device to a nationwide audience via online and in-person support, helping families, long-term care residences, and health professionals access the phone coast to coast.

Online ordering is available in all provinces and territories, with prompt shipping and optional in-store pickup (Ontario).

All major Canadian wireless networks (Bell, Rogers, Telus, Freedom, and most 4G/LTE providers) are compatible with the phone, ensuring that urban, rural, and remote users can access plans best suited to their needs.

Tax Implications and Zero-Rated Exemptions for Assistive Devices

As an assistive device engineered for seniors and those with hearing, speech, vision, or cognitive impairments, the RAZ Memory Phone may qualify for zero-rated GST/HST as a “communication device specially designed for use by an individual with a hearing, speech or vision impairment” under Canadian tax laws23. When procured for eligible users, the device and its specialized accessories could be exempt from federal and provincial sales tax. This exemption substantially reduces the net cost to end users, especially when combined with financing and trade-in credits.

Canadian Revenue Agency guidance confirms that “portable electronic telecommunication devices with capabilities for individuals with a hearing disability” and “portable communication devices that enable people with a hearing or speech impairment to communicate” may be zero-rated, provided the features and marketing clearly support that use.

See Disability Tax Credit Certificate Canada  (T2201) - :https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/t2201.html.  Note: Verify with your Accountant.

Accessibility Programs, Funding, and Provincial Support

The RAZ Memory Phone is increasingly supported by local and regional assistive device funding programs as part of broader efforts to facilitate aging in place, community integration, and health equity. Funding resources, grants, and equipment donation programs include:

• Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP): While ADP currently does not explicitly cover smart phones or general cellphones, it does support communication aids; local Alzheimer societies, Lions Clubs, and March of Dimes Canada can provide additional financial assistance for those facing financial barriers26.
• Alberta Aids to Daily Living, Saskatchewan Aids to Independent Living, and similar provincial programs—each with their own catalogs and approval processes for communication and assistive devices (see provincial government assistive device portals for eligibility).
• Charities and Community Organizations: Easter Seals Canada, Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, Neil Squire Society, Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and more provide direct equipment funding or bridge support for eligible families.
• Veterans Affairs Canada: Offers device funding and subsidies to veterans and their families for qualifying communication devices.
• Service Clubs (Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Shriners): Many Canadian families report successful funding requests for assistive technology through local service organizations.

Specialized resellers like Special Needs Computers work directly with government, long-term care providers, and home care agencies to facilitate procurement for institutional, B2B, and bulk orders, meeting public tender and accessibility documentation requirements.

Privacy, Security, and Location Tracking Compliance

Canadian users of the RAZ Memory Phone benefit from robust privacy protections that meet or exceed PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act), Québec’s Law 25, and relevant provincial privacy regulations for medical and personal information29. Key compliance highlights include:

• User location data (for emergencies and caregiver monitoring) is shared only with explicitly authorized caregivers through TLS-encrypted connections via the RAZ Care app.
• No third-party advertising platforms or external analytics are embedded in the device’s core software or app, avoiding the risk of unnecessary data harvesting.
• All emergency and SMS alerts are restricted to user-designated caregivers, with direct consent collection during the device and app setup process—in both English and French, supporting national language duality requirements.
• Data minimization and storage limitation by design—the phone retains only essential communication history locally, without continuous cloud-based surveillance.
• Device-specific privacy policies and plain-language disclosures provided for all caregiver and user accounts, with ongoing updates as Canadian privacy law evolves.

Recent updates in Canadian privacy law, particularly in the handling of geolocation and sensitive health information, reinforce the importance of transparent consent and user control—the RAZ Memory Phone’s approach aligns with best practices as highlighted in Privacy Commissioner reports on mobile device use and tracking in Canada29.

Real-World Impact: Canadian User and Caregiver Testimonials

“We got the RAZ Memory Phone for my mother in long-term care after she struggled with her old smartphone. The picture-based calling finally kept things simple, and now I get a text whenever she forgets to charge it or is about to call an emergency number. It’s been a huge relief for our family—no more mystery missed calls and worries about spam.” – [Ontario daughter and caregiver, August 2025]

“As a care home administrator in Saskatchewan, the remote management functionality means my staff and our residents’ families coordinate updates and contact lists without the stress of in-person device handling. The monthly plan financing through SaskTel made it an easy choice for our budget.” – [Saskatchewan assisted living manager, July 2025]32

Canadian seniors and caregivers report that the device’s immediate SMS alerts improve comfort, independence, and oversight. Health practitioners highlight the reduction in social isolation, scam vulnerability, and emergency response times. Online reviews and caregiver testimonials further note that the ability to receive low battery, emergency, and activity alerts by text is “a game-changer” for distributed families with loved ones in rural or remote communities814.

Meeting Canadian Seniors Where They Are: The Role of Text Messaging

Text messaging has emerged as a primary—and preferred—communication method for seniors across Canada and North America. National studies confirm:

• 92% of adults over 50 send or receive texts, and nearly 90% of seniors own smartphones.
• Texting is now more popular than email among adults over 65, and usage is increasing every year9.
• Text messaging enhances not only social engagement but independence, security, and cognitive stimulation for seniors—and is frequently leveraged for remote medical appointment reminders, fraud alerts, and medication management.9

The RAZ Memory Phone’s device-centered approach to text-based caregiver notifications fits seamlessly into these patterns, allowing care partners to stay “in the loop” without overwhelming the user with unfamiliar SMS threads or chat app confusion. For seniors not accustomed to regular texting, the device’s voice calls and reminders reinforce familiarity and reduce learning friction, while caregivers receive real-time status updates that support proactive intervention.

With optional voice-to-text capabilities in the management app and a design philosophy of “fewer, smarter, safer” messages, the RAZ Memory Phone delivers highly effective digital inclusion—rather than aiming for maximal feature parity with modern, distraction-filled smartphones.

Senior-Friendly Use Cases: Everyday Scenarios from Canadian Homes

1. Protecting Against Scams and Unwanted Calls By default, incoming calls are limited to caregiver-curated contacts, and unknown or predatory numbers are blocked. Caregivers can add exceptions using the Allow List for trusted professionals. This reduces the risk of seniors being targeted by phone scams—a growing problem in Canada that costs seniors millions annually.

2. Aging in Place with Confidence For seniors living alone in rural or urban environments, automatic low battery and emergency text notifications mean that families can check in before a critical need arises. The ability to geolocate the phone using time-stamped GPS pins allows real-time monitoring for those with wandering tendencies, supporting aging in place, independent travel, and safe community engagement3.

3. Enhancing Wellness and Routine Remote medication, appointment, and wellness reminders can be sent directly to the screen as sticky notes (visual) or audio prompts, without interrupting the user’s focus or requiring text handling. Missed call and loneliness alerts prompt caregivers to check in—empowering proactive community and mental health support.

4. Managing Repetitive Emergency Calling For users prone to confusion and repeated 911 calls—a common behavioral symptom of dementia—the RAZ Emergency Service provides an alternative alert that enables caregivers to cancel unneeded calls while still ensuring prompt action during real emergencies.

Partnerships and Industry Collaboration

RAZ Mobility collaborates with Canadian distributors, health authorities, and technology standards organizations to continuously refine device accessibility and expand reach. Partnerships include:

• SpecialNeedsComputers.ca: National and provincial online retail partner, supporting direct-to-consumer shipping and B2B sales.
• Canadian Accessibility Advocates: Input into best practices for device accessibility, mobile app compliance, and translation/localization support for French Canadian users18.

Ongoing research and user engagement inform continual updates and ensure that the RAZ Memory Phone remains the most accessible and intuitive seniors’ communication device available in the Canadian market.

About RAZ Mobility

Founded with a mission to bridge the digital divide for the aging and disability communities, RAZ Mobility provides best-in-class assistive technology solutions that reinvent what “easy-to-use” means. The company’s flagship products are distributed throughout North America, serving seniors, people living with dementia, low vision, Parkinson’s, and anyone seeking communication clarity and safety. RAZ Mobility is privately held and operates with dedicated customer support, online training resources, and a commitment to affordable innovation.