Why do things look more realistic without my eye contacts in?

This is something I've never understood when wearing glasses and contacts. I'm nearsighted (-3.75 and -4.25 in my right and left eyes) and I currently wear contacts. When I don't have them in (which isn't often, I put them in when I wake up and take them out when I got to bed), things up close look bigger and more realistic, like there's another layer of clarity or something. It's really noticeable with something like my iPhone, because I check that when I wake up. The screen looks bigger and it's almost like I can see more detail? It isn't that things are blurry up close with my contacts, they're perfectly clear, but without my contacts in they have a more realistic look to them. Why is this? Does it have to do with glasses and contacts magnifying things?

Its how you define realistic. You think of things blurred as being "realistic". When they look as they are you don't think of that as realistic. Contacts /glasses don't' magnify, they just focus light clearly. You should be able to see in more detail with them - that is the point, and its their real appearance. You just don't' think of it that way.