One of my favorite features of iOS 10 is the built-in magnifying glass, super useful if you need to read some small print or get a close-up look at something tiny.
Before iOS 10’s Magnifier, to get a close-up look at some small print, say, I would open the camera, do my best to focus close in, take a picture, then hop over to Photos, and pinch out to zoom in on the details. That is now no longer necessary.
If you’ve got access to the iOS 10 beta, give this a try:
– Go to Settings > General > Accessibility. You should see an item called Magnifier.
– Tap Magnifier, tap the switch to turn it on, then exit settings.
– Now, triple click the home button to launch Magnifier (You might also see an alert asking you to choose between Assistive Touch and Magnifier – Tap Magnifier).
Just like a magnifying glass, move your iPhone or iPad over the thing you’re trying to magnify. Magnifier will keep the focus sharp and close in. The interface allows you to turn on the flash, slide to zoom in and out, and even grab a still image.
This is a brilliant addition to iOS. Very glad to have it around.
iOS Accessibility section has become a treasure trove of interesting features.
Features such as Magnifier, Button Shapes, Reduce Transparency, Reduce Motion, On/Off Labels, and Rest Finger to Open can be useful whether you are impaired or not.
This does seem like a cool feature, and it would be to have it on Control Center (which seems more “accessible” than triple clicking). I really wish Apple would allow customization of Control Center. I would rather have the magnifier than Night Shift, Calculator, or Clock. On the “plus” models of the iPhone, there is room for more icons as well.
How is this different from Pinch to Zoom?
Magnifier activates the camera to let you zoom real life subjects.
Zoom is for whatever is on iPhone’s screen.
Open camera app, pinch to zoom, lets you zoom real life subjects.