Comment by LeoPanthera

The post says this:

"I know there are accessibility modes, but you don’t want to have to go through all that and spend hours trying to customize the phone."

I don't think the author has actually tried "Assistive Access" mode: https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/abou...

It is ideal for the elderly or those with cognitive disabilities. It removes almost every complex feature and reduces the rest to large clearly labelled buttons. And it doesn't take that long to enable.

I highly recommend it.