How To See Phone In The Sun

Taking photos outside – and seeing what you're capturing – could be a challenge. Bump up the brightness on your phone to combat the sun's shining rays.

How'due south this for irony: you reach for your phone to capture fun summer moments outside, merely you lot can't see the screen clearly enough to take the photo.

Or you lot go an important email from the boss while walking the dog, but you lot're squinting horribly just to make out the words.

Worse, your phone overheats while at the beach, so you can't use information technology at all until it cools downwardly.

Bottom line: Smartphones and tablets don't generally work well in bright environments. But in that location are a couple of things you can exercise to brand them easier to utilise while outdoors on a hot, sunny twenty-four hours.

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Increment brightness

The brighter you tin can make your screen, the better you'll be able to run across information technology in sunlight.

Both iOS and Android have a "quick settings" feature to enable it – past swiping up from the lesser on iPhone or swiping down from the tiptop on Android – and yous can and so slide the effulgence bar all the way to the right.

Note: the brighter your backlight, the worse it is on the battery and the more it could crusade middle strain, so don't keep this on all the fourth dimension. Those who wear polarized sunglasses may have added disadvantage, then play with brightness settings that work best for you.

Alternatively, you lot can enable "automobile brightness" on your device, and so that it recognizes the amount of lite around you and automatically adjusts the screen brightness accordingly.

Anti-glare covers, screens

Anti-glare screen protectors might work if they've got a

Some smartphone users – especially amongst those who work in the field – like to use an anti-glare cover. Around $x or so, these modest covers physically shield the phone's screen from sunlight.

Just like when you purchase a smartphone case, you'll likely need to buy one that fits your exact model, though some are adjustable to fit models anywhere from 4.5 to 5.2 inches. About fold downward apartment for easy storage, while others are meant to suction to a windshield.

These might be tougher to observe at retail, merely the products are available online at Amazon and marketplaces like eBay.

Also, while you're probable enlightened of screen protectors meant to reduce the odds of a scratch or crack, some products merits to reduce sunlight glare, too. Starting at about $5 for older models and $10 for newer ones, these "matte" screen protectors stick on top of your existing screen, so you'll need to buy ane that fits your exact telephone.

Play with 'Accessibility' settings

Inverting the text on your smartphone – by reading white text on a black background – may help you see the words easier in sunlight.

When in directly sunlight, some phone users find it easier to read text – such as emails, text messages, or ebooks — when it's white words on a black screen. It's worth a shot, if you oasis't tried it. Enter your phone'south Accessibility settings to opposite the text color. It might be a tab you can touch called White on Black On/Off.

There are other Accessibility settings you may want to experiment with, such as Color Tint and other visual tweaks, along with the option to have text read to y'all if y'all're having problem reading it in the sun.

And don't forget: you can dictate messages using your vox – utilizing personal assistants similar Siri or Google Assistant – if yous're having trouble seeing the phone's keyboard. Just exist sure to double-check what's transcribed on the screen before you hit "Send." (Funny story: I in one case had a cold and said hi to my friend Mitch in a text message, but the words "Hi Bitch" was typed out and sent. Sigh.)

Ameliorate screens for outside

Cover your phone with these accessories that shield the screen from sunlight. This one is from TFY Universal.

A few factors contribute to how piece of cake a screen is to read exterior, including the type of screen information technology is (IPS, AMOLED, and so on), and how brilliant the backlight is (the larger the number of "nits," the brighter it gets).

That said, you're not likely to buy a smartphone that's meliorate to look at outside, merely some are amend than others. Newer and premium devices typically have higher-quality screens and with college brightness.

And and so there are phones designed to work in harsher environments. These "ruggedized" phones – such as the CAT S60, Sonim XP7, and Kyocera DuraForce — are waterproof and drop/shock-proof, and some annunciate its anti-glare screens can too be used with gloves for those who work in the field.

Outside of phones, electronic volume readers with "e-ink" screens are far ameliorate to read outside than backlit tablets. The new Kobo Aureola H20 ($179) is besides waterproof, as the proper noun suggests.

Some devices, like ebook readers, are much easier to read in direct sunlight, compared to tablets and smartphones. This Kobo Aura H20 is waterproof, too.

Exit of the sunday

From the "duh" department, sit in a shaded area if yous desire to run across your telephone's screen clearly.

If there'due south an important e-mail you lot must read and reply to, sit down under a tree or lean confronting a building and under an awning, until yous're washed.

On a related note, if you're looking at photos or videos yous took on your smartphone, never delete unwanted ones from the phone when you're out. Why? Wait until you meet the shot bigger on a computer monitor equally it may be better than you think. Plus, deleting media from your phone eats abroad at the battery. Since you likely take lots of room on your telephone, simply do it afterward from abode or the hotel room.

Follow Marc on Twitter: @marc_saltzman. Email him at askmarcsaltzman@gmail.com .