Google’s new Magnifier app, which was shown off at the Google Pixel 8 launch event, is making its way to the Play Store, so you can download and use it now if you have one of the more recent best Pixel phones – which is won’t be the new Google Pixel 8 or Google Pixel 8 Pro (although it isn’t currently available on the Pixel Fold).
The main purpose of the Magnifier app, as the name suggests, is to magnify things in your daily life. Can’t read the date on your carton of eggs? The app can make it bigger for you. Is that over-the-counter menu too far away to read? The app allows you to zoom in and show everything that is on offer.
But it goes beyond just making text bigger, with a few useful extra features that make it more than a simplified camera app.
First, there’s the flashlight control. Instead of simply turning your phone’s flashlight on or off, this feature lets you adjust its brightness so, for example, you don’t have to shine a bright light in a dim restaurant when you just need a little lighting to navigate the menu. to read .
There are also useful tweaks you can use to make signs easier to read. Tap the settings icon at the bottom left of the screen and you’ll open a range of options for changing the live feed of what the Magnifier app sees.
Filters allow you to change the color of the text and the background on which it is written. The options are Inverted, Grayscale, Inverted Grayscale, and then red, yellow, or blue text on a white or black background, plus the inverse of these options (white or black text on a blue, yellow, or red background). You can also adjust the contrast and brightness of the image feed by tapping various tabs in the adjustment menu.
Finally, the Magnifier app has Google Lens built in, so you can copy, listen to, and use Google Search for the text you highlight on the image you’ve enlarged.
An app you need to download
The Magnifier app isn’t stunning by any means, but we can see it being a useful tool for anyone with a Pixel phone; and even if you feel like you don’t need the app, it might be useful to install it to give a family member or friend a helping hand.
To download and use the new Magnifier app, you’ll need a Google Pixel 5 or later, according to the app’s page. The Google Pixel Fold and Google Pixel Tablet are also not currently supported. You can find it in the Play Store by searching for ‘Magnifier’ and downloading the app of the same name, made by Google LLC. The icon is a simple white magnifying glass floating above a gray square on a blue background.