How to Activate Zoom on Your Phone Camera

Open your Camera app, point it at your subject, and look for a zoom control such as “1×” near the viewfinder. Tap a higher magnification option if one appears, or place two fingers on the preview and spread them apart to zoom in; pinch them together to zoom back out.

Start at 1× and increase the zoom only as much as you need to frame your shot, since heavy digital zoom can make details look softer. If your phone shows several fixed options, try them before using the pinch gesture: an available lens option may give you a clearer result than zooming farther between settings.

Make sure you’re in a standard photo or video mode, because some camera modes offer different controls or limit zoom. You can also tap the screen once to reveal controls that have disappeared, then try the pinch gesture; for more on what affects the result, read our guide to phone camera zoom quality.

Check the product’s listed specifications when evaluating if you don’t see a zoom control.

Zoom for video meetings is separate from your phone camera’s zoom feature: open the Zoom app to join or start a meeting rather than looking for it in Camera settings. If the app isn’t installed, you may need to get it from your phone’s app store; the options for joining a meeting can depend on the invitation and how you open its link.