How to Make Text Bigger and Easier to Read on Phones and Computers
Simple settings to make text larger, bolder and clearer on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, plus magnifiers and read-aloud features.
Squinting at tiny writing is tiring, whatever your eyesight. Every modern phone and computer has built-in settings to make text bigger and clearer, and they take seconds to change.
iPhone and iPad
- Bigger text: Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size, then drag the slider.
- Even bigger: Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Larger Text unlocks larger sizes.
- Bold text: in the same menu, turn on Bold Text.
- Everything bigger: Display & Brightness > Display Zoom enlarges icons and buttons too.
- Magnifier: the built-in Magnifier app turns your camera into a magnifying glass, great for menus and small print on packaging.
Android
- Bigger text: Settings > Display > Font size (sometimes Font size and style).
- Bigger everything: Settings > Display > Display size (or Screen zoom on Samsung).
- Magnification: search for Magnification in Settings to zoom in on any part of the screen with a shortcut.
Menu names vary between phone makers. Searching Settings for "font" usually finds the right page.
Windows
- Bigger text only: Settings > Accessibility > Text size, then drag the slider and click Apply.
- Bigger everything: Settings > System > Display > Scale, then choose a larger percentage.
- Magnifier: press Windows + + to zoom in and Windows + Esc to turn it off.
- Bigger mouse pointer: Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch.
Mac
- Bigger text: System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Text size.
- Bigger everything: System Settings > Displays, then choose Larger Text.
- Zoom: turn on keyboard shortcuts in Accessibility > Zoom.
Websites
In any web browser on a computer, press Ctrl + + (or Command + + on a Mac) to enlarge the page, and Ctrl + 0 to reset it. On phones, you can usually pinch to zoom or use the browser's text-size setting.
Let your device read to you
If reading is tiring, your device can read text aloud. On iPhone, turn on Speak Screen in Accessibility > Spoken Content, then swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen. Android has Select to Speak, and Microsoft Edge has a Read aloud button for web pages.