This article provides instructions for magnifying on the iPhone or iPad using the Display Zoom function or the temporary pinch-and-expand gesture.

What to Know

  • Use Display Zoom: Settings > Display & Brightness > View, then select Zoomed and tap Set; confirm your choice (screen will refresh).Once you enable Display Zoom, it stays active until you set it back to Standard.To temporarily magnify the screen: Place two fingers close together and expand outward on the screen. Pinch in to return to a regular screen.

How Do I Magnify My iPhone Screen?

If you’re tired of squinting at your iPhone or iPad, trying to make out words and images, you might be able to use the Display Zoom feature to make it a little easier to see. Here’s how to magnify on your phone using the Display Zoom feature.

The feature discussed in this article is not the same as the Accessibility Zoom, which you’ll find in the Accessibility settings for your device.

  • Open Settings.
  • Tap Display & Brightness.
  • Scroll down and tap View in the Display Zoom section.
  • Tap Zoomed.
  • Tap Set.
  • Tap Use Zoomed to confirm your selection and wait while you’re screen goes black and then restarts. This can take a few seconds, so be patient.

Once your screen turns back on, everything on the screen should be magnified, including text and images. This setting should also carry over into any apps that you open and use.

Open Settings.

Tap Display & Brightness.

Scroll down and tap View in the Display Zoom section.

Tap Zoomed.

Tap Set.

Tap Use Zoomed to confirm your selection and wait while you’re screen goes black and then restarts. This can take a few seconds, so be patient.

How Do I Turn on Magnifier?

The magnifying glass on iOS or iPadOS is different from a zoomed screen. You can find out how to turn that on in our guide to using the iPhone Magnifier. Magnifying is different from Zooming since it can be called up with a finger gesture and can also be used to magnify things and snag images of them or share them with others.

How Do I Increase the Zoom on My iPhone?

Another way that you can zoom on your iPhone or iPad is to use the pinch to zoom method. To do this, place your thumb and forefinger on the screen close together and then expand them outward without lifting them. Once you’ve reached the desired zoom level, you can release your fingers, and the screen will stay temporarily zoomed.

The problem with using this method to magnify things on your screen is that it only works in some places and has limited zoom capability. However, when you move away from the expanded screen or place your fingers on the screen wide and then pinch them back together, the screen image returns to its original size. Thus this option is great when you need to zoom in on something or magnify your screen temporarily.

  • How do I turn off magnify on iPhone?
  • To turn off Display Zoom, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > View > Standard > Set. To disable Magnifier, go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier.
  • How do I magnify my icons on iPhone?
  • To make your app icons larger, go to Settings > Accessibility > Zoom. To zoom out to normal size, hold three fingers together and double-tap the screen with all three fingers at once.
  • What are the best free magnifier apps for iPhone?
  • The best magnifying glass apps include Magnifying Glass+Flashlight, BigMagnify, NowYouSee, and Reading Glasses. These apps come with more features than the built-in iOS tools.

To turn off Display Zoom, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > View > Standard > Set. To disable Magnifier, go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier.

To make your app icons larger, go to Settings > Accessibility > Zoom. To zoom out to normal size, hold three fingers together and double-tap the screen with all three fingers at once.

The best magnifying glass apps include Magnifying Glass+Flashlight, BigMagnify, NowYouSee, and Reading Glasses. These apps come with more features than the built-in iOS tools.

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