At Home with Tech

My new iPhone, sporting a black Tech21 case proudly displays how to increase its text size using iOS 8. (Yes, some of us can’t pick out every period in a paragraph as accurately as we used to…)

I’m a newbie to the phablet world.
Just got myself my iPhone 6 Plus and so far… I’m a happy customer.

The slim giant hasn’t yet fallen out of my pocket or my hands, and I’ve really been digging the larger real estate of the 5.5” screen.

And all this, despite the fact that some of my friends who own older iPhones are making fun of that ‘huge thing’ I’ve got pressed up to my ear.
(Give them a little time… Big is clearly becoming the new small.)

But actually, all is not perfection in Florin. And I’ve got something to get off my chest…

I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed to admit this, but one of the major reasons I chose to supersize my iPhone 6 purchase has to do with the reality I’ve recently started wearing reading glasses.

How uncool is that?!
But hey, it happens to a lot of us at a ‘certain age’…

And to be honest, it stinks always having to schlep around your reading glasses everywhere you go.  But you kind of need them every time you make a move towards your smartphone’s home button.

Widen Your View
Life would be a lot easier if the screen’s displayed print could simply become a little larger, and Apple has good news here…

• With iPhone 6 Plus and iOS 8, you can easily adjust the text size in ‘Settings’ under ‘Display & Brightness.’
• There’s actually an entire ‘DISPLAY ZOOM’ section, which includes a ‘Text Size’ option.
• You also get to goose the size of your app icons a bit if you select ‘Zoomed’ over ‘Standard’ when you tap on ‘View.’
  (Note that activating this setting nixes your iPhone’s ability to display your home screen in landscape mode. For me, that’s more of a parlor trick anyway.)

Sure, the DISPLAY ZOOM mode is also available on the standard iPhone 6, but you can’t see as much at one time on the smaller screen…
Thus, my reason for coveting my Plus.

More Zoom Options
Of course, Apple didn’t stop with only a couple of zoom settings. If you dig a little deeper in iOS 8, you’ll find a whole host of flexible options…

You can activate a ‘zoom mode,’ which allows you to zoom part of or the entire screen with a three-fingered double tap.

To set it up, go to:

• Settings
• General
• Accessibility
• Zoom

There, you’ll find other useful zoom choices, including ‘Follow Focus’ for your text cursor.

I Can See Again!
Apple has clearly put a lot of thought into text readability on iPhone screens…

Along the way, I’m sure someone at Apple said, “Hey, let’s market the Plus to all those millions of unfortunate middle-aged folks who can’t read the menu at the restaurant anymore.”
(happened to me again last Tuesday)

But Apple’s ‘culture police’ probably squashed that strategy quicker than Siri can say, “What?”
Instead, the glorious Retina HD display exists for more exciting uses:

• To extend your gaming pleasure
• To immerse you deeper in your movie viewing
• To better display your magnificent photos

To be clear…
No one’s hiding the zoom functionality in iOS 8… but it’s not getting any real headlines either.

For me, regaining the ability to skim what’s on my iPhone without my reading glasses is news that goes above the fold.

And that’s not embarrassment…
It’s empowerment!