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iPad mini Just switched from iPad Air to iPad mini - how do I increase all font and icon sizes?

J

jclin10

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 1, 2009
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I just switched from iPad Air to iPad mini. How do I increase font and icon size throughout my iPad mini? That includes text, the time on the top right corner, the font under each icon, etc.

In other words, rather than fiddling with changing the font size in multiple places, can I make everything on the screen (font, icon, etc.) bigger all at once?
 
Thanks!

What about the bar on the top with time, battery life, etc? (I can’t remember the name of that bar)
 
I forgot about Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size before. See if that helps with the Status Bar (and maybe with the other settings you mentioned, too).
 
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I just did the same thing: switch from Air to mini and I’m sorry to tell you that the text on the top edge of the screen as well as text of the icon labels can’t be changed. I’ve increased text size to max and switched to large icons and they have no effect. Unlike windows where display scaling increases everything on iPadOS it’s hit or miss.

My solution is a bit more low tech: put on my +2.00 reading glasses
 
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Ha!

I switched over to the mini mostly because I realize that I was using the air just like I would use my MacBook and I already have a MacBook. The mini allows me to hold the device and read in one hand.

Is there a way to change the spacing of app icons on the screen? On the first page that has widgets, it is four icons across but on other pages, it is five icons across. I prefer four icons across.
 
I believe once you put a widget on the screen you can only do 4 icons across. If you remove the widget you can get 5 icons across…. Why? Who knows, it’s a hair brained decision in my opinion.

This might help a bit: go to settings-home screen and App Library. Turn on large app icons. It makes the 5 across app icons more legible.
 
One would think that years after forking iPadOS from iOS things like UI scaling would have been better addressed by now but issues still remain, and arguably the Mini best demonstrates that. From the issues identified above to the ridiculous amount of wasted screen space in the Today View and Control Center panels it's painfully obvious that there is a lot more for Apple to improve upon with iPadOS. Sadly despite adding widgets 4 iterations of iPadOS ago there has not been much improvement in Home Screen UI to make more efficient use of screen space and to give users who want to use the screen to its maximum potential the flexibility to do so. On the Mini with its already large bezels for a device its size having large Home Screen margins is silly, especially in landscape mode.
 
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Yeah, it feels a bit like an afterthought. For what I need it for, namely reading and watching content, it's perfectly fine when I'm in the app itself. It's just all of the other stuff that is hard. My iPad Air didn't have any of these scaling issues, but it was heavier than I prefer :)
 
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As I got older and my reading vision got worse, I switched over to the 12.9" iPad Pro. I used to have a mini but absolutely no way can I use a mini without reading glasses.

For those wanting to hold an ipad of any size indefinitely for reading, I would recommend getting a case with a ring on it. I slide my four fingers through the ring with my thumb on the oppsite side and I can comfortably hold my 12.9" iPad pro indefinitely whether I'm standing or laying in bed or any position. My fingers don't grip any part of the ipad and never gets fatigued.
 
It’s not an ideal solution, but for any text you can’t resize but still need to read you can turn on a gesture to zoom into the screen. On mine it’s double tap with three fingers
 
AlterZgo said:
As I got older and my reading vision got worse, I switched over to the 12.9" iPad Pro. I used to have a mini but absolutely no way can I use a mini without reading glasses.

For those wanting to hold an ipad of any size indefinitely for reading, I would recommend getting a case with a ring on it. I slide my four fingers through the ring with my thumb on the oppsite side and I can comfortably hold my 12.9" iPad pro indefinitely whether I'm standing or laying in bed or any position. My fingers don't grip any part of the ipad and never gets fatigued.
Click to expand...
That's sort of where I am. I thought the iPad mini would be easier to read with than the iPad Air that I already have. And of course, because it is smaller and lighter, it is easier to hold for a long period of time. But while I can change the size of the text that I'm reading, I can't change the font size for the apps or the status bar font size, so it's hard to read stuff when I'm moving between apps (even if I can see what I need to in the app itself).

Maybe one easy solution is to keep using my iPad Air, carry it around without a case and get rid of the super heavy Magic Keyboard that is attached to it!
 
jclin10 said:
I just switched from iPad Air to iPad mini. How do I increase font and icon size throughout my iPad mini? That includes text, the time on the top right corner, the font under each icon, etc.

In other words, rather than fiddling with changing the font size in multiple places, can I make everything on the screen (font, icon, etc.) bigger all at once?
Click to expand...
Best solution for bigger icons: switch back to the Air
 
jclin10 said:
That's sort of where I am. I thought the iPad mini would be easier to read with than the iPad Air that I already have. And of course, because it is smaller and lighter, it is easier to hold for a long period of time. But while I can change the size of the text that I'm reading, I can't change the font size for the apps or the status bar font size, so it's hard to read stuff when I'm moving between apps (even if I can see what I need to in the app itself).

Maybe one easy solution is to keep using my iPad Air, carry it around without a case and get rid of the super heavy Magic Keyboard that is attached to it!
Click to expand...
There you go! Use iPad like a tablet, instead of a pretend laptop.
 
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😂

That's what I did. I returned the mini, set aside my Magic Keyboard and got a folio cover for my iPad Air.
 
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I don't recall. I think the iPad mini on its own is like 2/3 pound. The iPad Air is like 1 pound.
 
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