All the ways you can make reading on your phone easier

Phone screens are Better than ever — bigger, clearer, brighter — but they don’t always make the best displays for extended reading sessions. If you have a lot of text to read, you may find yourself turning to a Kindle instead, or even a good old physical book.

There are ways to modify the screen configuration on your iPhone or Android phone, to make it more convenient for reading. These changes will reduce the chance of causing eye strain while reducing clutter to create a more enjoyable reading experience. You won’t be able to turn your phone into something that rivals an e-reader or printed page, but you can certainly come close.

Modify display settings

You actually have more control over the font sizes, styles, and colors your phone uses than you might realize — you can make reading text easier and create a Kindle-like experience with just a few taps via the main settings panel.

If you’re using Android, the menu labels will vary from model to model, but on Pixel phones head over there Display and text size. The next screen allows you to adjust the default font size and other on-screen elements to make the text bolder, and there is also Dark topic An option you may find reduces eye strain.

Adjust font size on Android.Courtesy of David Nield

On iOS, open Display and brightness From Settings: Here you will find Text size Slider bar that you can adjust, as well Bold text Toggle switch. As in Android, the dark mode option is here via the theme selector at the top of the screen, select it dark To dim the colors throughout the iOS interface.

Both Android and iOS also have a night reading mode that reduces the blue light emitted by your phone and makes the entire screen warmer, providing a more enjoyable reading experience. On Android Pixel phones, choose View and touch > Night light From Settings, choose iOS Display & Brightness > Night Shift. Either way, you can enable the feature manually or via a schedule.

Use your browser’s reading mode

Most of the reading you’ll do on your phone will be done through its web browser, and most modern mobile browsers come with a dedicated reading mode you can use. These modes will reduce on-screen clutter, simplify the color scheme, and bring main article text to the fore.

If you’re using Google Chrome as your default browser on Android, tap the three dots (top right), then Show reading mode To switch views of the article you’re currently reading. Swipe up on the panel at the bottom of the screen to change font and color options. Tap the reading mode icon (to the right of the address bar) to return to the normal view of the browser.