RIP, Microsoft Lens, a simple little app that’s getting replaced by AI

Generally it’s good to have a easy app that does one factor nicely with out lots of fuss.

Microsoft Lens was that sort of app: a cellular doc scanner that turned paper paperwork, enterprise playing cards, receipts, and anything into simply readable digital recordsdata. Now that app is being discontinued, Microsoft says, because it directs its customers to its Copilot AI chat app as an alternative.

In accordance with a brand new assist doc, Lens will likely be retired from iOS and Android gadgets beginning on September 15, 2025, then faraway from the Apple App Retailer and Google Play on November 15, 2025. Current customers will be capable of proceed to make use of the app’s scanning capabilities via December 15, 2025. After that date, no new scans will likely be potential, however entry to prior scans will stay within the app so long as it stays on the consumer’s system.

First launched in 2015, Microsoft Lens (then often known as Workplace Lens) developed from an utility initially designed for Home windows Telephone gadgets. Whereas its core performance was just like different cellular scanning functions, it didn’t attempt to upcharge customers for sure performance or push them right into a subscription — a rarity in immediately’s App Retailer.

As an alternative, it carried out its job of turning any word — handwritten or in any other case — doc, receipt, enterprise card, and even whiteboard scribbles into the file format of your alternative, like PDF, Phrase, PowerPoint, Excel, or photos. It additionally provided quite a lot of built-in filters to boost the ensuing picture, lighten the doc, flip it right into a sharper black-and-white copy, and extra.

You possibly can then save the file to certainly one of Microsoft’s apps, different on-line companies, or your digital camera roll. It was easy, and it labored nicely.

The app’s impending shutdown was first noticed by the positioning Bleeping Pc, which factors out that customers are being directed to the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, which lacks all of the performance present in Lens. Whereas Copilot can deal with scanning, it doesn’t assist saving these scans on to OneNote, Phrase, or PowerPoint, nor does it save enterprise card scans to OneNote. It additionally lacks Lens’ accessibility options like read-out-loud and Immersive Reader integration, the positioning notes.

Regardless of its age, Lens stays pretty widespread, having pulled in over 322,000 downloads on the App Retailer and Google Play over the previous 30 days, based on knowledge from app intelligence supplier Appfigures. Since January 2017, it has been downloaded 92.3 million instances, the agency’s knowledge reveals.

Microsoft has not but responded to a request for touch upon its determination to close down Lens.