{"id":70338,"date":"2021-01-22T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=70338"},"modified":"2021-01-26T08:25:43","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T14:25:43","slug":"magnifier-iphone-ipad-accessibility-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/70338-magnifier-iphone-ipad-accessibility-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Magnifier: A Useful and Underused iPhone & iPad Accessibility Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’ll be the first to admit it: my eyes aren’t quite as sharp as they used to be. Sometimes I really struggle to read the small print on menus, boxes, and forms. Fortunately, there’s a handy accessibility tool on iPhone and iPad that can help out. Magnifier<\/strong> is a powerful utility that acts as a digital magnifying glass. Let’s take a look at this accessibility assistant from Apple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Revealing the Magnifier App<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you look for the Magnifier app on your iPhone or iPad, you won’t find it. It’s an accessibility option and isn’t revealed until you enable it in Settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Launch Settings<\/li>
  2. Scroll down to Accessibility and tap it<\/li>
  3. Under Vision, tap Magnifier, then tap the Magnifier button to enable the app (the button turns green)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"Tap<\/a>
    Tap the button at the right of Magnifier to enable the app<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Launching Magnifier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"iPhone<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Now that you have unhidden the Magnifier app, you can launch it and start using it. As with most things Apple, there are several ways to do this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Find the Magnifier app (see app icon at right) and tap it<\/li>
    2. Ask Siri to “Launch Magnifier”<\/li>
    3. Triple-tap the power\/sleep button<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Note that the third option may display a dialog with a choice of accessibility options. For example, I have hearing aids so my iPhone asked if I wanted to access Hearing Devices or Magnifier (see screenshot below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"You<\/a>
      You may see more than one option for Accessibility Shortcuts<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      You can also add the Magnifier to Control Center, where it is displayed as a small magnifying glass icon with a plus sign ( + ) in it. To add it to Control Center:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Launch Settings<\/li>
      2. Scroll down to Control Center<\/li>
      3. Find the control for Magnifier. It may be listed under “Included Controls” if it is already in Control Center. If not, look below under “More Controls” and tap Magnifier to add it to the controls.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \"The<\/a>
        The Magnifier in Control Center (highlighted in red box)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
        \n\n\n\n

        Using Magnifier<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Once Magnifier is launched, you see whatever the iPhone or iPad rear camera is looking at as well as a set of controls. Let’s go through these controls (seen below) one by one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"<\/a>
        Magnifier app controls<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        The slider with the yellow dot seen at the top of the screenshot is the zoom control. Sliding it right towards + increases magnification, sliding it back toward – decreases magnification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n\n\n\n

        The Middle Row of Controls<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        In the next row from left to right, we find:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Brightness<\/strong>: displays another slider that makes the image brighter or darker. When the slider is moved left or right, the brightness button turns yellow. To bring the brightness back to default (center), just tap on the center tick mark. Tap the button again to make the slider disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Contrast<\/strong>: increases or decreases contrast with a slider. Less contrast reduces the difference between black and white, more contrast increases that difference. Most people find higher contrast text easier to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"Filters<\/a>
        Filters available in the Magnifier app<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        Filter<\/strong>: The next button displays an array of color filters that can be applied to the magnified image (see image aboveO. Various eye ailments can make it easier for someone to read text that is inverted (white letters on black background, for example) or another color. The available filters include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n