rewrite this title Google rolls out the Pixel 8 Magnifier app to older models

What you need to know

• Google’s new Magnifier app, released on the Pixel 8 series, is now being realized on older Pixel models.
• The app, addressing a key accessibility function, designed to increase the readability of text and images.
• Thought the Magnifier app is available on the Play Store, it’s limited to Pixel 5 phones or later. It’s unclear whether Google will expand it to the wider Android ecosystem.

Google’s latest Pixel smartphone lineup includes a valuable accessibility app. The company’s new Magnifier app — which is designed to make small, dimly lit, or distant text easier to read — is now released publicly on the Play Store. 

Making its debut on the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro this week, the app lets users “magnify small text, see object details, or zoom in on faraway text like street signs or restaurant menus behind a service counter.” Now, as noted by Android expert Mishaal Rahman on Telegram (thanks to a tip from Threads user _better_be_me), it looks like the Magnifier app has been made generally available to older Pixel models, specifically to Pixel 5 phones or later.

Pixel’s Magnifier app seems to have a pretty intuitive interface. The default screen features large + and – buttons — which are placed on either side of the app’s round shutter/zoom button — to control the feature’s zoom function. The app’s interface also includes the ability to enable or disable the camera’s flashlight. 

Beyond these core functions, the app supports other features, such as adjustments for color contrast and brightness, as well as the ability to apply color filters to increase the readability of text on images. This last option can be found by selecting the settings button found in the lower left-hand corner of the app. The app also automatically adjusts the brightness of images taken in dimly lit environments.