This Wired guide explains that while modern phone screens are large and bright, they aren't always optimised for long reading sessions, prompting many people to reach for a dedicated e-reader or a physical book instead. It outlines several built-in and third-party adjustments users can make on iPhone and Android devices to reduce eye strain and clutter, bringing the experience closer to that of a Kindle without needing separate hardware.

The suggestions include tweaking display settings such as font size, boldness and dark mode (via Display size and text on Android or Display & Brightness on iOS), and enabling night reading modes like Night Light or Night Shift to warm the screen's colours. It also recommends using built-in browser reading modes in Chrome, Safari or Firefox to strip away clutter and highlight article text, as well as installing dedicated read-it-later apps such as Instapaper to import and sync articles for easier reading.