So you want to know how to dim your iPhone and iPad screens for improved night time reading?
Even though we know reading on our phones and tablets can disturb our sleep when we go to bed, we all still do it because we can’t resist a bit of news, a giggle or chat. A lot of us just can’t help ourselves. And have you ever abruptly woken up when your precious device slaps you in the face/nose when you’ve fallen asleep whilst reading? No? Me neither. Ahem.
Well, this little trick won’t help cushion that blow, but it will help your eyes rest better by making the screen darker than the usual default setting – which in darkness is still pretty bright to most people.
What this Accessibility feature does is add a virtual filter over your screen to make it appear darker. You can activate and deactivate it simply by pressing your Home button quickly three times. You will need iOS 8 or later for this to work:
- Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Zoom
- Enable Zoom
- Then tap 3 fingers on the screen (maybe twice) to bring up the Zoom options correctly
- Scroll down to Zoom Filter and select Low Light
- Scroll down to Zoom Region and select Full Screen Zoom
- Then turn Zoom Off at the top
- Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Scroll down to Accessibility Shortcut and set it to Zoom.
Now when you push the Home button three successive times, your entire screen will be dimmed, perfect for reading at night time or in the dark. Push the Home button again three times to get back to your default ‘daytime’ settings.
Let me know how this works for you.
