The iPhone has a built-in magnifying glass app.
Unlike the flashlight app, however, it’s an option you need to turn on in settings.
Apple’s iPhone has a built-in magnifying glass that can help you read small text. It’s perfect if you’re in a dark restaurant and forgot your glasses. While most people seem to know about the flashlight option on the iPhone, the magnifying feature, which uses the phone’s camera to zoom in on text, seems a little less well known. That’s because it’s buried in the settings menu.
The iPhone’s magnifying feature is easy to activate, and here’s how to use it:
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Choose “General.”
- Select “Accessibility.”
- Choose “Magnifier.”
- Toggle the option for Magnifier to “on.”
Here’s how to use magnifier when you need it:
- If you’re using iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Plus or iPhone XR, just triple tap the button on the right side of the phone. If you have an older iPhone, tap the home button three times to bring up the magnifying app.
- Tap on the screen to focus, much like you would with the camera app.
- Tap the lock button to lock the focus in place, or use the filter button (the one on the bottom right) to apply various filters that might make it easier for you to read.
- Now tap the center button to capture a picture, that’s it.
