Accessibility · GrandKeys
How to make the keyboard bigger on iPhone and Android
On iPhone, turn the phone sideways for a wider keyboard, turn on Display Zoom to magnify the whole screen, and turn off Show Lowercase Keys so every key shows a capital letter. On Android, raise Display size and Font size in Settings; Android 16 can also magnify the keyboard. A big-key keyboard app is the other route.
Why the keyboard deserves its own setup
Owning a smartphone is no longer the hurdle it was. In its 2025 survey, the Pew Research Center found that 78 percent of US adults aged 65 and older own one. Typing on it is a separate question, and it is the one this guide covers: how to make the keys themselves easier to see and to hit, and what to do when a hand is not as steady as it was.
Help usually comes from family. A 2017 Pew Research Center report found that around three-quarters of Americans aged 65 and older said the statement "When I get a new electronic device, I usually need someone else to set it up or show me how to use it" described them very well (48 percent) or somewhat well (25 percent). If you are that someone, go through the settings below together, with the phone in their hands rather than yours, so they see where each switch lives.
On iPhone: make the keys bigger and clearer
The quickest change costs nothing: turn the phone sideways. Apple's iPhone User Guide notes that rotating iPhone to landscape gives a larger keyboard for typing in many apps, including Mail, Messages, Notes and Safari.
Display Zoom is the lasting version. In the current guide it sits under Settings, Appearance, Display Zoom, where you choose Larger Text and confirm with Use Zoomed. Apple describes it as magnifying the entire iPhone screen, and says it increases the size of interface elements such as icons and buttons as well as text.
Capital letters are easier for some people to read. Under Settings, Accessibility, Keyboards and Typing, turning off Show Lowercase Keys makes the onscreen keyboard display only uppercase letters, according to Apple.
Hover Typing helps with reading what has been typed rather than the keys. Under Settings, Accessibility, Hover Text, Hover Typing, iPhone shows a larger copy of the text being typed in its own window. Apple lets you place that window near the cursor, at the top of the screen or directly above the keyboard, and choose its font, size and colors.
On iPhone: help for shaky taps and for hearing each letter
Apple built Touch Accommodations for people who, in Apple's words, have difficulties with hand tremors, dexterity or fine motor control. Go to Settings, Accessibility, Touch, Touch Accommodations and tap Set Up Touch Accommodations to follow a guided setup. The options include Hold Duration, which sets how long a touch must last before iPhone responds; Ignore Repeat, which treats several touches in quick succession as a single touch; and Tap Assistance, which makes iPhone use either the first or the last place a finger touched.
These settings change how the whole touchscreen responds to taps, swipes and touch-and-hold gestures, not only the keyboard. Try them in a few apps before you leave the phone with someone. Apple puts Recalibrate and Reset options on the same screen if the result feels wrong.
iPhone can also speak what is typed. Apple's guide says that even with VoiceOver turned off, iPhone can read typing aloud character by character or word by word. In the iOS 18 edition of the guide these are the Typing Feedback options under Settings, Accessibility, Spoken Content. The current edition groups spoken options under Accessibility, Read and Speak, which is also where you choose the voice and the speaking rate.
On Android: display size, font size and the magnifier
Google's Android Accessibility Help describes two sliders. In the Settings app, search for Font size and move the slider to change text size, or search for Display size to make everything on screen larger or smaller. Google notes that the font size setting does not apply to some apps, and that the Font Size tile in Quick Settings can take text up to 200 percent. Bold text is under Settings, Accessibility, Display size and text.
Android 16 adds a keyboard option to the magnifier. After turning on the Magnification shortcut under Settings, Accessibility, Magnification, the Magnify keyboard setting lets full-screen magnification zoom into the keyboard to find letters and emoji. Follow typing, which Google says was previously called Magnify typing, keeps the magnified area on the text as you type.
For accidental long presses, Settings, Accessibility, Touch and hold delay offers Short, Medium and Long. Google explains that a longer delay means the finger has to stay in the same place for longer before a tap becomes a touch and hold. In Gboard, key sounds and vibration are under the keyboard's Settings, Preferences, Key tap, which Google's Gboard Help describes as the place to choose sound, volume and vibration.
Common mistakes
Changing everything at once. Change one setting, let your parent type a short message, and keep what helps. If you switch on five things together, you will not know which one made typing easier or which one made it worse.
Leaving touch settings untested. Touch Accommodations on iPhone and the touch and hold delay on Android change every tap on the phone, not just typing. Try a call, a photo and a message before you leave, and show where the reset is.
Turning on Full Access because a keyboard asked. Third-party keyboards on iPhone can request Full Access, and Apple's developer documentation says that when users enable it, their keystrokes are available to the keyboard's developer. Apple's App Review Guidelines require keyboards to keep working without it, so leave it off unless a feature you need depends on it.
Not warning about password screens. On iPhone, any third-party keyboard is replaced by the system keyboard in password fields and phone number fields, according to Apple's developer documentation. Mention it in advance, so the small standard keyboard on a sign-in screen does not look like something broke.
When the built-in options are not enough
A third-party keyboard changes the keys themselves rather than the whole screen. On iPhone, after installing one, go to Settings, General, Keyboard, Keyboards, tap Add New Keyboard and choose it from the list; while typing, touch and hold the keyboard-switch key to move between keyboards. On Android, Google's Gboard Help lists on-screen keyboards under Settings, System, Keyboard, On-screen keyboard.
GrandKeys is one keyboard built around a family member doing that setup. It walks the helper through key size, high-contrast colors and a steadiness setting on the parent's phone, ends on a handover screen in large type, and does not ask for Full Access.
These are phone settings, not treatment. If shaking or eyesight changes suddenly or gets worse, talk to a doctor.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest way to get a bigger keyboard on iPhone?
Turn the phone sideways. Apple notes that landscape orientation gives a larger keyboard in many apps, including Mail, Messages, Notes and Safari. For a lasting change, turn on Display Zoom, which magnifies the whole screen.
Can iPhone read out each letter as I type?
Yes. Apple says iPhone can speak typing character by character or word by word, even when VoiceOver is off. Look for the typing feedback options in the spoken content settings under Accessibility.
Is there an iPhone setting for shaky hands?
Touch Accommodations, under Settings, Accessibility, Touch. Apple describes it for people with hand tremors or fine motor difficulties, with options such as Hold Duration, Ignore Repeat and Tap Assistance. It affects every tap on the screen, not only typing.
How do I make the keyboard bigger on an Android phone?
Raise Display size in Settings to make everything on screen larger, and raise Font size for text. On Android 16 and later, the magnifier's Magnify keyboard option can zoom into the keyboard while full-screen magnification is on.