IOS: How to change text size in app or otherwise read covered part

applicationsios

A certain app displays a number in a large font, and it happens that if the digits are too wide (eg. there are no narrow digits like "1" in the number, but only wide ones), the number is cut off at end and ellipsis are showed instead of the last two digits. So instead of displaying 02345678 it shows 023456….

The app support recommends to reduce the font size, but that does not help. I changed the size under Settings app → Display & Brightness → Text Size to all possible values, but it seems the app ignores that settings (I also rebooted in-between, as suggested by the support).

Is there any other way to see the entire displayed number? Some kind of zoom? Hack? Anything?

I am using an iPhone SE running iOS 12.2.

Best Answer

Is there any other way to see the entire displayed number? Some kind of zoom? Hack? Anything?

If the text is selectable, you can try by long pressing to see if there's a view that reveals the entire number. Depending on the app implementation, you may also end up getting the Cut, Copy options using which you can copy the number, paste it elsewhere and read the value.


It's most likely a bug in the app which is preventing it from either honouring system wide dynamic font size or simply not handling the display correctly.

You should consider reporting it as a bug to the developer of the software, quoting your experience so far with the support team.

Possibly the QA team has either skipped or not exhaustively tested it on a 4" screen sized iPhone, as most current users generally use larger screen sized iPhones.

If it's feasible for you (i.e. if you have a spare iPhone handy), consider running (and logging in if required) the app on an iPhone with larger screen. You'll likely be able to read the value.

If you do not have a second iPhone, but happen to have an iPad, it could work too. You can run the app on any iPad in iPhone compatibility mode (simply install the app normally). iPhone compatibility mode runs the app on an iPad simulating 4.7" iPhone screen size (iPhone 6/6s/7/8).