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There's an acute problem with using the iPad Mini that no one has yet mentioned here. The text is too damn small unless you have perfect eyesight. For example,

There's an acute problem with using the iPad Mini that no one has yet mentioned here. The text is too damn small unless you have perfect eyesight. For example, Hacker News in Safari on the Mini appears in a super tiny font. If you pinch-zoom, the edges of the page roll off the screen, and you'd be constantly panning left and right. I've tried extensions that increase the font size on web pages -- they all have some failing, like making the letters run together or messing up tables. I'll grant that this is not the fault of the iPad Mini itself. I blame web standards and browsers for not requiring all parts of a page to scale linearly and re-flow cleanly. It is (in theory) a problem solvable entirely by software. However, the reality of the web is what it is. If you don't have perfect eyesight, it's better to buy a large iPad with the same resolution as the Mini, and then everything is nice and legible. It's a shame because I love the portability of the Mini.

mperham 8y ago
There's a fix that every person over 40 eventually learns: Settings > General > Accessibility > Larger Text
- mysterypie 8y ago
  That setting does not increase text size in web pages which was my main complaint. It increases size of text in some menus in iOS (and not even all of them) and not in third-party apps either, and is completely useless for web pages.
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    I think it does if the web page doesn't change the font size (which most do, so it's not that useful…).
  - mstolpm 8y ago
    You could try a browser called iCab Mobile. This app has an option "Increase text size" for web pages that works with HN (just tested it myself).
    - SllX 8y ago
      There’s a name I haven’t heard in a decade. I didn’t realize iCab had a mobile version. Thank you.
- frosted-flakes 8y ago
  The same with Android, which has an annoyingly small default font size. I'm only in my mid-20s and I keep the font size at extra large. There is the occasional layout bug when some apps don't account for large font sizes, but otherwise works great. I bump the browser font size to 125% as well.
Teckla 8y ago
I have the same problem with Hacker News on iPad. The font is crazy small. If you ever find a solution, please, let us know! Thanks!
- perilunar 8y ago
  Here's a bookmarklet I use that works pretty well — copy this line of text into a bookmark URL and add it to your bookmarks toolbar/favourites/... javascript:(function()%7Bvar%20n=window.document.createElement(%22style%22);n.setAttribute(%22type%22,%22text/css%22);n.innerText=%22html%7Bfont-size:1.2em!important;line-height:1.3!important;%7Dbody,table,tr,td,.default,.comment,.comhead,.pagetop,span.pagetop%20b,.c00,.yclinks%7Bfont-size:inherit!important;line-height:inherit!important;%7D.pagetop,.title%7Bfont-size:1.1em!important;%7Dtable%23hnmain%7Bwidth:100%25!important;%7Dbody%7Bmargin:0;%7D%22;window.document.head.appendChild(n)%7D)() It's a work in progress. You can of course tweak the font-sizes to suit yourself.

mperham 8y ago

There's a fix that every person over 40 eventually learns: Settings > General > Accessibility > Larger Text

mysterypie 8y ago
That setting does not increase text size in web pages which was my main complaint. It increases size of text in some menus in iOS (and not even all of them) and not in third-party apps either, and is completely useless for web pages.
- saagarjha 8y ago
  I think it does if the web page doesn't change the font size (which most do, so it's not that useful…).
- mstolpm 8y ago
  You could try a browser called iCab Mobile. This app has an option "Increase text size" for web pages that works with HN (just tested it myself).
  - SllX 8y ago
    There’s a name I haven’t heard in a decade. I didn’t realize iCab had a mobile version. Thank you.
frosted-flakes 8y ago
The same with Android, which has an annoyingly small default font size. I'm only in my mid-20s and I keep the font size at extra large. There is the occasional layout bug when some apps don't account for large font sizes, but otherwise works great. I bump the browser font size to 125% as well.

Teckla 8y ago

I have the same problem with Hacker News on iPad. The font is crazy small. If you ever find a solution, please, let us know! Thanks!

perilunar 8y ago
Here's a bookmarklet I use that works pretty well — copy this line of text into a bookmark URL and add it to your bookmarks toolbar/favourites/... javascript:(function()%7Bvar%20n=window.document.createElement(%22style%22);n.setAttribute(%22type%22,%22text/css%22);n.innerText=%22html%7Bfont-size:1.2em!important;line-height:1.3!important;%7Dbody,table,tr,td,.default,.comment,.comhead,.pagetop,span.pagetop%20b,.c00,.yclinks%7Bfont-size:inherit!important;line-height:inherit!important;%7D.pagetop,.title%7Bfont-size:1.1em!important;%7Dtable%23hnmain%7Bwidth:100%25!important;%7Dbody%7Bmargin:0;%7D%22;window.document.head.appendChild(n)%7D)() It's a work in progress. You can of course tweak the font-sizes to suit yourself.