Smartphones serve as versatile tools in the digital realm, and mobile scanning apps demonstrate their remarkable benefits. With just a phone’s camera, these apps excel at scanning and extracting text from various sources, including documents, whiteboards, and books. They even provide automatic correction for distortion and skew. Here is our selection of document scanner apps that deserve your attention.
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Best Mobile Scanning Apps
#1 Google PhotoScan
What sets Google Photo Scan apart from other photo-scanning apps is its remarkable glare reduction feature. By taking four individual scans of each image and combining them into one, Google Photo Scan produces a sharp and glare-free file. Now, you might assume that this app is exclusive to Android devices. However, here’s the exciting news: you can also download it for free on iOS.
#2 PDF Scanner App by Accordmobi
Do you need to scan docs and prioritize the quality of digital copies? Then you need PDF Scanner App – it’s the easiest and most reliable solution. Additional features of the scanner app include password protection and the ability to transform scans into docs. By the way, with this application, you can scan both docs IDs and various reports with infographics. It handles all types of documents well.
#3 Adobe Scan
Adobe Scan serves as Adobe’s response to Microsoft Lens, primarily utilized for document scanning and conversion into PDFs. However, its functionality extends beyond PDF creation. Adobe Scan enables photo scanning and preservation in JPEG format. Incorporating Adobe Sensei, an artificial intelligence (AI) component, the application automatically corrects document perspective and enhances image sharpness. What sets this app apart is its ability to eliminate glare and shadows, particularly useful when handling glossy prints.
#4 SwiftScan
SwiftScan offers paid versions, such as SwiftScan Pro for Android and SwiftScan VIP for iOS, that come with enhanced features and customization options. These include custom folders for better organization, intelligent file naming, seamless synchronization with iCloud, and the ability to automatically upload scans to your preferred cloud storage services. With an impressive capability to produce high-quality scans across various document types, SwiftScan can also perform optical character recognition (OCR) in multiple languages without requiring you to upload your documents to the cloud.
While the accuracy of its text recognition is commendable, it is worth considering the subscription model, which entails a monthly fee of $5 or an annual fee of $25 for Android users, and $8 per month or $40 per year for iPhone users. We believe that the subscription is most suitable for individuals who will make regular use of the additional features provided by SwiftScan.
#5 Filmbox
Photomyne offers exceptional photo scanner apps for both Android and iOS devices. That’s why we’ve included two of their products on this list. In addition to their all-in-one scanner (mentioned below), they also offer Filmbox—an app specifically designed to scan and digitize color and black-and-white film negatives. Filmbox conveniently converts film strips into positive prints that can be viewed directly on your phone. However, what sets Filmbox apart is its ability to also scan regular images and slides. Moreover, Filmbox provides all the necessary features to edit and color-correct your scanned photos. This ensures that your digitized files accurately represent your physical pictures.
#6 Clear Scanner
What sets Clear Scanner apart as one of the top photo scanner apps? Its user-friendly interface is a key factor. Moreover, unlike other alternatives, you won’t have to pay to access all of its features. This makes it an excellent choice for students in need of a reliable scanner. Clear Scanner supports the scanning of both images and documents. Despite being free, it boasts an advanced feature that automatically detects photo edges. You can easily convert your files to PDF or JPEG format, and conveniently share them via various platforms such as Dropbox and Google Drive.
#7 Microsoft Office Lens
If you appreciate Adobe Scan’s simplicity and free cost but spend a significant amount of time using the Microsoft Office suite, then Microsoft Lens (for Android and iOS) is an alternative worth considering. While its user interface is similarly minimalist, it offers the advantage of creating Word documents and PowerPoint slides as well as PDFs. Although its scans may not be as pristine as those from Adobe Scan, Apple Notes, or SwiftScan, its exceptional text recognition and well-formatted output compensate for any shortcomings. Additionally, while its sharing options may be somewhat limited, the overall performance makes it a valuable choice.
Conclusion
And there you have it! Our hand-picked selection of top-notch photo scanner apps cater to both iOS and Android users. These all-inclusive scanners offer unparalleled functionality, making them the ideal choice. Now, it’s simply a matter of finding the one that suits your preferences.
