Screen magnifiers

People with low vision may use a screen magnifier or a combined magnifier and screen reader. These enlarge everything on the screen and can track the mouse to give the user control over what they see. Again, there are paid for and free products. Some of the most popular ones are:

ZoomText

ZoomText is produced by Freedom Scientific. It is a powerful magnifier but it also offers a range of visual enhancements to the pointer, cursor and focus indicator. You can change colour schemes to make content easier to see too. The following video shows some of the basic features of ZoomText.

Windows Magnifier

Windows Magnifier is free and is built into all Windows 10 and 11 computers. Although I'm calling it Windows Magnifier, it is more than just one product. On Windows 10 devices, these tools are in the Ease of Access centre, and on Windows 11 devices, they are in Accessibility. These can be accessed via the Settings menu.

The following video shows some of the ways that you can magnify content and change colour schemes, the pointer and cursor, on a Windows device.

Apple Zoom

Apple Zoom is installed on all Apple devices and free to use. It is accessed via the Settings and by selecting Accessibility. As with the other magnifiers, you can amend the pointer and cursor, change the colour scheme, and magnify content. Additionally, Apple provide Hover Text, which allows you to magnify small sections of content.

The following video shows some of the ways that Apple Zoom can help you to access content.

Android Accessibility

Mobile phones and tablets that are on Android will have Accessibility settings built in. I found it easiest to go to Settings and then search for Accessibility. Android Magnifier is very similar to all the others that I've already mentioned, but it does have one additional feature. You can do temporary magnification, which is good for when you only need it occasionally, for particularly small text.

The following video shows some of the tools on an Android mobile phone, that can help make content easier to see. As this video shows a mobile phone in portrait orientation, you may be best to select full screen.