Foldable Screen Magnifiers

A bigger picture that packs away

A foldable screen magnifier is a clear lens with a stand behind it for your phone, made to fold flat when you are not using it. Opened out on a table, it makes the picture on the phone look several times bigger; the makers of those here give three to four times. Folded, it slips into a bag, a drawer or a suitcase.

That suits anyone who wants a bigger picture away from home: on holiday, in a caravan or a hotel room, or on a long visit to family. Like every magnifier, it needs no power, no battery and no app.

The kinds in this range

• A foldable 3D stand with an adjustable angle. The stand tilts the phone to suit where you sit, and the makers describe a zoom setting that changes the size of the magnified picture.
• A foldable box magnifier. A light PP plastic box of about 22 by 17 by 16.6cm opened out, weighing about 150g, in black, white or red. It has "projector" in its name, but it is a magnifier like the rest: it does not throw the picture onto a wall.
• A 12-inch curved foldable magnifier. A larger curved lens in black plastic, about 25.5 by 16.5cm, that folds down for carrying.

How to choose a foldable magnifier

Decide first how much the size of the picture matters against the size in the bag. The 12-inch curved one gives the biggest picture here; the box magnifier is the lightest and smallest. If you will always use it in one place, a magnifier made to stay out may be steadier: see screen magnifiers with a stand. For curved lenses that also act as a desk stand, see 3D screen magnifiers.

The makers describe these as fitting most smartphones. If the phone sits crooked, take it out of its case.

Using and looking after one

Sit straight in front of the lens. Seen from the side, the picture bends out of shape, so a magnifier works best for one or two people sitting close together. Turn the phone's brightness up, and dim the room if you can: the picture is easier to see without light falling on the lens.

Start the film before you put the phone in place, because the lens sits in front of the screen. Fold the magnifier away when you have finished, so the lens is not knocked or scratched in the bag, and wipe it with a soft, dry microfibre cloth from screen sprays and cloths when it gets fingerprints.

Questions people ask about foldable screen magnifiers

Does a foldable magnifier need power?

No. It is a lens and a stand. The sound still comes from the phone, so a small Bluetooth speaker helps in a noisy room.

Is it good for reading messages?

A magnifier makes anything on the screen bigger, but it is made for watching from a little way back, not for tapping and typing. For messages, menus and web pages, the phone's own settings make the words bigger at the source. On an iPhone they are under Settings, then Accessibility, in Display & Text Size and in Zoom. On a Samsung Galaxy they are under Settings, then Accessibility, then Vision enhancements, where Font size and style and Magnification sit; the menu names vary a little between models.

More to look at

• All screen magnifiers
• 3D screen magnifiers
• Screen magnifiers with a stand
• Foldable phone stands
• Travel kits