Smartphone cameras are becoming excellent with the launch of every new handset across brands. High-resolution camera-based mobile phones are also becoming affordable and globally available. Apart from almost-professional photographs or quick social media posts, the smartphone camera has another great utility. You guessed it right! You can scan important documents like business cards, certificates, bills, and many more. AI image processing and text analysis also improve the image transcription process. However, choosing an appropriate Android or iOS mobile scanner is tricky since you will see numerous apps on Google Play or App Store. Continue reading this article to find the list of the best mobile scanner apps.
What Is a Mobile Scanner App?
Mobile scanner apps work differently than the usual scanning machines. The document scanner app utilizes your mobile’s camera and flashlight as the content capturing hardware. However, the most vital is app programming that converts a photograph into a scanned PDF. The app’s algorithm comes with various technologies like optical character recognition (OCR), AI image processing, image enhancing, etc. A few smartphone PDF scanners are so powerful that they can create editable documents.
Why Should You Use a Mobile Scanner App?
There are numerous reasons to use a smartphone app for document scanning and PDF conversion. Here are some advantages of a mobile phone scanner over dedicated scanning devices:
Often mobile scanners are free to use, so you do not need to bear the scanning costs.The smartphone is highly portable than a conventional scanning device. Thus, you can take your pocket scanner anywhere.App-based scanners save the data on smartphone storage, and therefore the process is suitable for application in rural areas.Mobile scanning apps are self-sufficient since they do not need a computer for image processing.You can access your scanned files from your phone or upload them to Google Drive or OneDrive for cloud access.
There are various possibilities with mobile scanner apps for both the users and app developers. The following trending smartphone apps for document scanning will help you with your scanning tasks. If you are an app developer, you can get some development inspiration too.
Adobe Scan
Adobe Scan is a powerful portable scanning program. It is available for both Android and iOS devices. You do not need to travel with physical documents if you start using this app right away. The app utilizes an AI-enhanced scanning technology for clearer and cleaner PDF documents. Like average scanning apps, you do not need to sit on a computer to enhance the quality of your scanned document. Its AI programming automatically adjusts the shadow and flashlight glare. Adobe Scan also manages the sharpening effect of printed or scanned images. With careful scanning in a well-lit area, you can get high-quality PDFs that will easily give tough competition to scanning machines. Its popular features are:
Scan important documents and save them on your phone.Acrobat Reader app integration helps you to sign scanned docs.Save your scans as a JPG file.Content search on scanned files.Delete imperfections on your scanned PDF or JPG files.Extract text from scanned file using OCR.
The app is free for iOS and Android devices. Some in-app purchases and subscriptions give you access to premium features like exporting documents or multiple PDFs in one file. Download on Android | iOS
iScanner
iScanner is another popular AI-powered document management and scanning app. It comes with premium deep learning features, and these are:
Scan QR-codes for URLs, contacts, hotspots, etc.Calculate or measure area.AI-based object recognition helps you in counting shapes or items.Resolve mathematical problems.
In the free version of the iScanner app for Android, you get the following functionalities:
Scanning and editing documents/photos/receipts/ID cards.Use of digital signature.Ability to send a document in a convenient messenger.
Limitations for Android users of the free version are:
You can only export 5 documents per day.OCR feature is unavailable.The math feature is unavailable.Count feature is unavailable.
So for the last three features, you need a subscription. For iOS users, the limits are the same, but multi-page scanning is additionally unavailable. You can, however, enjoy the full functionalities with a paid subscription. The cost for the iScanner app for iOS and Android users are similar. Download on Android | iOS
Photo Scan App by Photomyne
If you want to convert polaroids and printed photos into digital files, you can give Photo Scan App by Photomyne a try. It offers quick conversion of physical images to digital ones and social media sharing. Its advanced AI programming offers various image processing like photo enhancements, resizing, cropping, colorizing photos, etc. You can also insert metadata like dates, locations, and names. The app lets you create digital albums, photo collages, shareable links, and slideshows of memorable events. If you use the basic app for free, you can enjoy the features like saving, sharing, and enhancements with limitations. However, you can upgrade to a 2-year subscription plan to enjoy unlimited scans and premium AI features. Download on Android | iOS
Supersense
Supersense is the ideal mobile scanner for visually impaired and blind individuals. It utilizes an AI algorithm to scan and read the content you put in front of its scanning viewfinder. Thus, you can easily understand the invoice value, currency denomination, or document text through a smart voice assistant. On top of that, the app lets you explore your physical surroundings. You can open the app through voice commands and then point it in different directions to know the objects around you like computers, chairs, cars, people, and many more. Its free plan has limited features like Quick Read, Import, Magnifier, and Read History. If you want to use the premium features, you need to get a monthly or annual subscription. Download on iOS.
Google Stack
Google Stack is an exclusive mobile scanner from Area 120 by Google. Currently, the app is only available to download from the US Google Play marketplace. With more than 100,000 downloads, the app portrays itself as an easy-to-use document scanner for free. It comes with advanced programming code that identifies vital details from a document. If you are scanning a grocery store receipt, it will automatically organize details like bill date, amount, etc. It is well known as Google Stack since the app saves scanned images in stacks like Bills, Receipts, IDs, Banking, Vehicles, Starred, and House. You can also backup scanned files to your Google Drive account. Download on Android
ABBYY FineReader
ABBYY FineReader PDF is a powerful document management tool for Windows and macOS devices. The application is now available for your iPhone or Android devices too. It is one of the pioneering AI-powered scanner apps that can deliver JPEG or PDF copies of physical documents like certificates, books, invoices, business cards, and so on. Also, it can extract written texts in an accessible format from those scanned files. The app processes the images offline in the local storage of your smartphone. Its neural network can organize your scanned files into 7 categories. These groups are business cards, handwritten cards, A4, books, IDs, receipts, and other documents. The app supports up to 12 formats in 193 languages for the text extraction task. You can also perform a general text search within the scanned images. Download on Android | iOS
PhotoScan
Google Photos is the perfect space for memorable photos and videos. If you also want to put your printed photographs in the same place, you can consider PhotoScan by Google Photos. It is a free app from Google. It has features like automatic cropping, rectangular scans, edge detection, smart rotation, and glare-free scans through AI image processing. The smart app shows 4 guided white bubbles to which you need to match your phone’s camera position. Once you cover all 4 bubbles, the app processes the scanned file into a stunning digital file. You can also scan text-based documents using this app. Download on Android | iOS
Microsoft Lens
Microsoft Lens is a popular productivity app that you should be using at work or home for all scanning-related tasks. Give this app a try if you want to make pictures of documents and whiteboards readable and editable. With this app, you can convert printed texts or photographs into editable content in several formats like Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and PDF. The app can save your scanned files into the smartphone’s internal storage, OneDrive, and OneNote. You can also manage business contacts efficiently on this app since scanning a business card gives you the option to save as contacts. Download on Android | iOS
TapScanner
TapScanner is another trending mobile scanner for converting images to PDF. You can effortlessly scan, share, or print photographs to PDFs through this app. It comes with its own PDF reader and maker so that you can create and view files in one app. It can also help you import scanned files from other apps or phone galleries. Its smart programming code automatically performs the essential document editing like border adjustment, compressing PDFs, applying professional filters, and so on. The app offers in-app subscriptions starting at $4.99. Download on Android | iOS
Genius Scan
Turn your mobile phone to productivity powerhouse with Genius Scan – PDF Scanner App. Manage handwritten notes, business cards, invitations, receipts, utility bills, and many more efficiently from one device. Quickly scan documents using the app and store them in professional quality PDFs. You can also upload scanned files to personal cloud storage or productivity apps for collaborative work. Genius Scan offers a fully-functional scanning app for no charges. However, you can enjoy the pro features like PDF encryption, text recognition (OCR), export to OneDrive or Google Drive with the paid plan. Download on Android | iOS
Fast Scanner
Fast Scanner – PDF Scan App turns your mobile phone into a portable scanning machine through its smart algorithm and AI processing. It automatically converts the files to industry-standard PDF format when you scan one or multiple images. You can also, later on, add more pages to an existing PDF. You can also instantly share a scanned PDF via email. Its OCR technology lets you extract handwritten texts from a physical note and turn that into a digital copy. Moreover, the app supports PDF file storing on Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive with a few taps. If you need to fax the document, you can try the Easy Fax app offered by the same developer. Download on Android | iOS
My Scans
You can also give My Scans mobile scanner a try if looking for high-quality scans similar to any regular scanning device. Along with image scanning and document organization, you get document annotation capability. Therefore, you do not need to import the scanned file into another app for annotation. The app has built-in annotation features like multi-color text highlighting, PDF signing, PDF stamping, text blurring, etc. Its Autocorrect feature adjusts various image quality components like shadow, glare, lighting, and text resolution. My Scans’ Top App cloud lets you backup scanned files to a cloud drive so that you can access your files from any device with the internet. My Scans offer a few basic scanning services for free. There are in-app subscriptions and a one-time purchase option for the scanner app. Download on Android | iOS
Final Words
After knowing some of the best mobile scanner apps inside out, you can effortlessly select the appropriate app for your personal or business use. Depending on your work volume, you can either go for a paid subscription or simply use the free services if your workload is less. Since your mobile phone becomes a reliable and on-the-go device for all important documents, protect your smartphone data with these apps.
