Magnifying glass is closer than you think!

Tiny bank deposit slips. Teeny type on prescription bottles. Evil menus with small words.

You can read them all with the magnifying glass that is built into your smart phone, but a little bit hidden. On both iPhone and Android, the magnifying apps use the phone’s camera.

On the iPhone, turn on the magnifying glass by going to Settings>General>Accessibility>Magnifier. Once you turn it on, all you have to do is triple-click the home button. The camera will load and you can aim it at tiny type.

Current versions of Android phones have a similar operation. To turn it on, go to Settings>Accessibility>Vision>Magnification Gesture. When you want to magnify, click on the camera icon and tap the screen three times to turn on magnification. Three taps turn it off.

You can also search app stores for magnifiying glass apps. Many versions are available and they can be useful in those situations when even your readers don’t help. Or if you forget your readers. Sure…that never happens.