Enhanced reading mode is one of Xiaomi’s initiatives to make reading more pleasant by optimizing the device screen settings. In non-Xiaomi smart devices, this feature goes by names such as Eye Care, Reader View, or Automatic Reading Mode. Reading mode became popular in smartphones within the past decade as a means of improving user experience.
Xiaomi’s enhanced reading mode can be used while reading eBooks, browsing social media pages, chatting with friends, reading the news, etc. Xiaomi’s friendly, easy-to-use user interface helps you access the reading mode feature without a problem.
In the yet-to-be-released MIUI 12, there are rumors of an enhanced reading mode similar to an e-ink display.
Who Is Xiaomi?
In case you haven’t heard about the company or product, Xiaomi is synonymous with Xiaomi Corporation, an electronics company headquartered in Beijing, China. Xiaomi offers products ranging from smartphones, laptops, fitness bands, and smart shoes, to name a few. Xiaomi is the fourth-largest market share in the smartphone industry, just behind smartphone giants Samsung, Apple, and Huawei.
Why is Enhanced Reading Mode Used?
In the era of portable smart devices, users find it more convenient to have information on the go, making more and more people read on their phones and tablets. Enhanced reading mode is employed in smart devices for the following reasons:
- To ensure that the user can read for more extended periods.
- Enhanced reading mode ensures that colors are warmer to reduce eye strain.
- To reduce eye fatigue.
- Eye strain and headaches resulting from screen glare are common among those who work with computer or smartphone screens.
- To act as an inhibitor of blue light.
- Blue light is a visible spectrum of light ranging from 380nm to 550nm. Blue light exposure hampers the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone. It can negatively impact a user’s sleep cycle. Prolonged exposure to blue light at close range can also lead to age-related eye problems, such as macular degeneration. Macular degeneration may lead to vision loss if not remedied.
- To improve readability by focusing on the content the user wants without distractions.
How to Enable Enhanced Reading Mode
Xiaomi offers an enhanced reading mode for a reason: to protect your eyes and make reading comfortable for you. So let’s set it up, shall we?
Step 1
Power on your Xiaomi device by pressing and holding the power button. You can skip this step your device is already on.
Step 2
Navigate to the Applications menu and select Settings. The Settings menu can also be accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen.
Step 3
Within the Settings page, click on the Display tab situated between the Lock Screen tab and the Sound & Vibration tab.
Step 4
Within the display, navigate to the Screen group. The Screen group has four tabs, namely:
- Brightness Level
- Reading mode
- Colour scheme and
- Dark mode
Reading mode offers a display with warmer colors that helps your eyes relax while reading. By the right of this tab, you will see a status indicator for Reading mode: On or Off. If the status is Off, click on Reading mode. It will take you to a list of customizable options
Dark mode makes use of a darker color palette for compatible apps and system backgrounds. It can also help relieve eye strain when the device is being used in dark places or at night. Like Reading mode, the status is displayed by the right side of the tab.
For now, let’s continue to focus on Reading mode.
Step 5
On the Reading Mode page, you can schedule a time to turn it on and off. You can choose to turn on Reading mode every day at sunset by selecting the Good night’s read option. If using Good night’s read, the display will revert at sunrise to its initial brightness.
To manually customize the time, select Custom period.
Just below these options are a brightness bar that can be adjusted to your preferred brightness setting.
Protect Your Eyes Without Enhanced Reading Mode
For general protection against eye strain and fatigue, especially while using computers or smartphones, you can:
- Cover the screen with an anti-glare filter
- Install trusted eye care or reading mode app
- Wear anti-glare glasses (polarized lenses or lenses with color coating)
- Dim the lights around the office or at home (fluorescent lights are a common source of blue light)
- Adjust your TV or computer’s brightness and contrast
- Remember to go for an annual eye examination
- Practice the 20-20-20 rule. Look away from the computer or TV screen at least every 20 minutes at an object at least 20′ away, for 20 seconds.
Final Verdict
If your Xiaomi offers you a Reading Mode feature, make use of it by turning it on. It will protect your eyes in the long run. You can also encourage your friends and family who don’t use Reading Mode on their devices to do so as well.
