MAKE THE MOST OF iOS ACCESSIBILITY

ADJUST DISPLAY ZOOM 01

Want content bigger on your iPhone Plus? In ‘Display & Brightness’, scroll down to View and tap Standard. In the Display Zoom page, you can preview Standard and Zoomed modes. Select Zoomed, tap Set and confirm to restart.

INCREASE TEXT SIZE 02

You can alternatively adjust text alone. In Text Size (or ‘Settings > General > Accessibility > Larger Text’), drag the slider. In apps that support dynamic type, such as Mail and Facebook, text size will grow accordingly (or shrink, if you wish).

MAKE TEXT BOLDER 03

The option below Text Size (or Larger Text in Accessibility) is Bold Text. This emboldens text throughout iOS, including app names and interface buttons. Unlike Text Size, it requires you restart your iPhone to apply the changes.

USE SMART INVERT 04

In ‘General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations’, you could always invert colours; but Smart Invert now reverses interface colours but not media. Alas, while it works for Photos, it doesn’t work for images in Safari.

AUTO-BRIGHTNESS 05

The iOS auto-brightness toggle used to be in Display & Brightness. Apple now thinks you should leave it on, so has hidden it. If you ‘think different’, you can now find it in ‘General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations’.

TURN ON SPEECH 06

Few people use speech on macOS, but it’s great for proofing your written documents. We suspect even fewer realise iOS is capable of the same. Go to ‘General > Accessibility > Speech’, and turn on Speak Selection to get started.

READ OUT A SELECTION 07

Use the Speaking Rate slider to preview how fast the OS will talk. Then switch to another app, select some text and tap Speak. Note how the current sentence is underlined, and words are highlighted as they are spoken.

INCREASE CONTRAST 08

If you have trouble dealing with the semi-transparent interface elements peppered throughout iOS 11, you can make them look more solid. In ‘General > Accessibility’, tap Increase Contrast, and then Reduce Transparency.

REDUCE MOTION 09

Had your fill of iOS 11’s dizzying animations, such as folder zooms, and the app switcher? Most of them can be stilled by turning on Reduce Motion in ‘General > Accessibility’. Auto-playing Messages effects are toggled separately.

TYPE TO SIRI 10

If you want to use Siri somewhere you have to be quiet, turn on ‘General > Accessibility > Siri > Type to Siri’. When Siri is activated, you now type in your query. Note, however, that this entirely overrides voice input functionality.

FINE-TUNE 3D TOUCH 11

On an iPhone with 3D Touch, go to ‘General > Accessibility > 3D Touch’. In this pane, you can disable the feature entirely if you regularly trigger it accidentally, or you can adjust its sensitivity so that it requires a firmer press before activation.

TURN ON MONO AUDIO 12

Listening out for someone? Want to use just one earbud, keeping the other ear free, without missing half your stereo track? Use ‘General > Accessibility > Mono Audio’ to mix the left and right channels into a mono signal sent to both channels.