How to Zoom the Screen on Android

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You have no trouble viewing the screen of your Android device, but sometimes you squint and struggle with tiny text or small details.

What to do? Use Android’s triple-tap to magnify gesture.

This is actually an accessibility feature, but it’s very handy also for general use. Enable the gesture in the Android system settings under Settings > Accessibility > Magnification > Magnify with triple-tap > On.

Now, each time you can’t read or see something on the screen, triple-tap on it. Here’s what the tiny text of a street name in the Google Maps app looks like when magnified:

The Google Maps screen magnified with the triple-tap gesture plus pinching on a Pixel 2XL phone.
The Google Maps screen magnified with the triple-tap gesture plus pinching on my Pixel 2XL phone.

Android magnifies — effectively a digital zoom — whatever is at the spot you triple-tap on. Pinch to magnify even more. Drag with two fingers to scroll and pan. You know the screen is magnified because there’s an orange frame around the edges. Triple-tap again to turn off the magnification and go back to the default screen. Here are all the actions you can take:

The triple-tap to zoom magnification settings screen of Android 10 on a Pixel 2 XL phone.
The triple-tap to zoom magnification settings screen of Android 10 on my Pixel 2 XL phone.

This simple gesture makes my Android experience much better. Try it!

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