How to change the font size in Android

To a visually impaired person, the modern miracle of a smartphone comes with acute challenges. Not the least of these is that the phone is heavily text-centric and is meant to be used on the go. Android allows you to enlarge or shrink the default font size for quicker, more comfortable phone use. You can also turn on screen magnification, which lets you pinch-zoom in and out of your screen as if looking at a photograph. Both are easy to use and adjust if you know where to look. We discuss how to change the font size in Android in this quick how-to below.

Pro tip: In addition to changing the font size, there are some other accessibility features you might want to consider, including changing the font type to something easier to read. For more tips, check out our guide to the Android Accessibility Suite.

How to change the font size in Android

Start by opening your Settings menu. Then select Accessibility > Text and display > Font size. You will see a slider that will let you adjust the font size. Slide it to the left and right until the font is the size you are looking for. Then just exit the page; there is no need to save the new setting.

How to change the display size in Android

This is a very similar process to changing your font size. Open the Settings app on your Android device and proceed to Accessibility > Text and display > Display size. You will see a similar slider as above, but for display size. Slide it back and forth until you have the setting you want, and then just back out of the menus.

How to turn on and use the Android screen magnification

How to turn it on

Once again, start in your Settings app and move through Accessibility > Magnification and tap on the Magnification shortcut. Choose from one of the three options: Accessibility button, Hold volume keys, or Triple-tap screen. Of the three ways of turning on magnification, we recommend the button because the triple-tap option will slow down your phone’s operation as single taps take longer, and holding down both volume buttons feels very awkward. When you back out of the menu to your home screen, you will see the accessibility button at the lower right of your screen.

Tap on the Accessibility button, and an orange rectangle will surround the active area of your screen.

Tapping anywhere within the rectangle will magnify the screen, centered on where you tapped. Tapping near the Calendar icon yields a magnified image. Dragging with two fingers will let you scroll around the page, and pinching with two fingers will increase or decrease the zoom level. To end the magnification, tap on the Accessibility button again.

How to use it

To magnify more temporarily, press the Accessibility button, then tap and hold it anywhere on the screen. Now you can drag your finger around to change the magnified area. Just lift your finger off the screen to stop the magnification.
Use the Magnify typing option to have text magnified for you as you type. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Magnification to access this feature.

Things to remember about magnification

• If you open or close an app while the screen is magnified, you will zoom out to full view. To magnify again, use your chosen magnification shortcut.
• The maximum magnification is 8x.
• Single taps take longer when you choose a triple-tap as your magnification shortcut because the OS is waiting to see if the tap is part of a triple-tap.

Need help with changing the font size on other applications? Check out our guide to adjusting fonts for Google Docs and Chromebooks.

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