The best way to read manga on iPhone
Fixing the small, hard-to-read screen with a two-device spread
An iPhone lets you read manga anywhere, but one page is only about 60% of the width of a printed volume, and a landscape spread makes the text unreadable.
This page sorts out the ways to read, the real page size by model, and how to get a bigger spread without replacing your iPhone.
Three ways to read manga on an iPhone
- 1. Store apps
- Kindle, MANGA Plus, and similar apps from the App Store. You buy or subscribe in the app or on the service site and read one page at a time in portrait.
- 2. Browser versions
- Kindle Cloud Reader and other web readers opened in Safari. Nothing to install, and books you already own open as they are. These browser versions are what MIHIRAKI uses for a two-device spread.
- 3. Your own scanned files
- PDF, ZIP, or CBZ files you scanned yourself, read in a reader app. How to get them onto an iPhone and which apps to use is on the page below.
How big is one page on each iPhone?
Calculated for a manga page (about 1 : 1.42) filling the screen. For reference, a printed manga volume is about 112 × 174 mm per page and a paperback 105 × 148 mm. Screen dimensions are derived from the diagonal size and resolution on Apple's official specs.
| iPhone screen | Upright (one page) | Landscape (one page of a spread) |
|---|---|---|
| 4.7-inch iPhone SE (3rd gen) |
about 59 × 83 mm 60% of a paperback's width |
about 41 × 59 mm smaller than a business card |
| 6.1-inch iPhone 17e and others |
about 65 × 92 mm 60% of a paperback's width |
about 46 × 65 mm a little larger than a business card |
| 6.3-inch iPhone 17 / 18 Pro and others |
about 67 × 95 mm 60% of a printed volume's width |
about 47 × 67 mm a little larger than a business card |
| 6.5-inch iPhone Air |
about 69 × 98 mm 60% of a printed volume's width |
about 49 × 69 mm a little larger than a business card |
| 6.9-inch iPhone 18 Pro Max and others |
about 73 × 104 mm 70% of a paperback's width |
about 52 × 73 mm about 1.3 business cards |
Even on the largest 6.9-inch model, an upright page is 70% of a paperback's width. In a landscape spread each page is about the size of a business card, and you have to zoom to read the dialogue. "Hard to read" is not about your eyes or your settings; it is the physical size.
Making a single iPhone easier to read on
- Hold it upright, one page at a time
- A landscape spread halves the width of each page. On one device, an upright single page is the largest view, and most apps default to it.
- Zoom into panels
- Pinching to zoom makes the text readable, but zooming and panning on every page breaks the rhythm of reading.
- Move to a bigger or foldable model
- Even at 6.9 inches an upright page is 70% of a paperback's width. The foldable iPhone Duo opens to 7.6 inches, and each page of its spread is about the size of a 4-inch-class phone.
Can a foldable phone show manga as a spread? (real page sizes by model)
Keep your iPhone. Add a second device and get a spread at upright size
Give My Regards to Black Jack / SHUHO SATO
The free app MIHIRAKI splits a spread across two devices, one showing the right page and the other the left, and turns both together. Each device shows one page, so the upright page size becomes the spread, with about twice the page area of a landscape spread on one device.
The second device does not have to be an iPhone. The iPhone left over from your last upgrade works, and so does an inexpensive Android phone.
- Your current iPhone stays in use. Your reading setup and purchased books are untouched; you only add a second device.
- An old iPhone works as the second device. MIHIRAKI runs on iOS 15.5 or later, which covers iPhone 6s and later and every iPhone SE.
- iPhone and Android pair fine. Syncing goes over the internet, and you do not need to share an Apple ID or Google account.
- Any combination works. Two iPhones, an iPhone and an Android, or a phone and a tablet all pair. Start with whatever devices you have to see how it works, then pick a second device with a screen width close to your iPhone for a matched spread.
Spread size compared with a printed volume
An iPhone in landscape, and two iPhones side by side, drawn to the same scale as a printed manga volume.
A single phone in landscape gives a spread less than half the width of print. Two phones side by side keep each page at upright size, so the spread is about 1.4 times as wide and about twice the area of a landscape spread on one phone. Spread width includes the seam between the two devices.
Compare foldables, large tablets, and two devices side by side
Setting up an iPhone and a second device as one spread
-
STEP 01
Install MIHIRAKI on both
Free from the App Store on the iPhone and Google Play on an Android. If the second device is an old iPhone, install it from the App Store there too.
-
STEP 02
Pair them with a QR code
Choose "Show QR code" on one device and "Scan QR code" on the other. The device that showed the code takes the right page, the one that scanned it takes the left.
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STEP 03
Open a title on the main device
Pick a service on the main device and open a title. The browser versions of Kindle and MANGA Plus are supported, along with your own files from Dropbox, Google Drive, or a NAS. The second device follows, and both turn together.
FAQ
- Can the iPhone from my last upgrade be the second device?
- Yes. MIHIRAKI runs on iOS 15.5 or later, which covers iPhone 6s and later and every iPhone SE. A phone without a SIM works as long as it is on Wi-Fi.
- Does an iPhone and Android pair work differently?
- No. Either can be the main device, and the second follows when you turn the page.
- What if the two screens are different sizes?
- It works, but if the pages differ in size the spread looks off. Pick a second device with a screen width close to your iPhone.
- Can I read books I bought on Kindle as a spread?
- Yes. MIHIRAKI uses the browser version, so signing in with your account opens the books you already own across the two devices.
* To read books you have bought, you need to sign in on both devices. - Is it free?
- The basics are free. The free plan shows ads and allows up to 30 minutes of spread reading per day. Premium ($2.99/month) removes the limit and the ads.
Keep your iPhone, add a second device, read as a spread
The app is free to download. If there is an old phone in your drawer, you can try it today.
Download for free and enjoy the two-page spread experience
