Design a mobile-optimised portrait view of your report for phone users
Power BI reports are built for desktop by default — wide, landscape layouts. But many business users check reports on their phones. Power BI lets you create a separate mobile layout (portrait, phone-sized) for each report page, where you rearrange visuals specifically for a small screen.
The mobile layout is optional but valued in professional reports — it shows you think about the end user, not just the desktop view.
Example
Create a mobile layout
STEP 1 — Switch to Mobile layout:
View tab → Mobile layout
(A phone-shaped canvas appears)
STEP 2 — Add visuals:
A panel shows all visuals from the desktop layout
Drag visuals onto the phone canvas
Resize to fit the narrow portrait width
STEP 3 — Arrange for mobile:
Key metrics (cards) at top
Most important chart below
Slicers at bottom (or use the phone's filter pane)
Less is more — show 3-4 visuals max on mobile
STEP 4 — Test:
Power BI Mobile app (iOS/Android) → open the report
→ Automatically shows mobile layout on phones
→ Desktop browser always shows desktop layout
TIPS:
Keep font sizes larger (minimum 14pt) for readability
Use tap-friendly slicer buttons, not small dropdowns
Cards and KPIs work best on mobile
Complex matrices are hard to use on phone — simplify
Key Points
✓Mobile layout is per-page — each page has its own mobile arrangement
✓Visuals on the mobile canvas are the same visuals — not copies
✓Power BI Mobile app auto-switches to mobile layout on phones, desktop layout on tablets
✓Slicers work on mobile — users can tap to filter
✓If no mobile layout is set, Power BI Mobile shows the desktop layout scaled down
Practice Question
Where in Power BI Desktop do you access the Mobile layout editor?