GoKawiilRita El Khoury / Android Authority
Android has come a long way since its inception. Back in the day, doing even the most trivial things, like using the LED next to the rear camera as a flashlight, required third-party flashlight apps. However, that has changed over the years: the operating system has evolved significantly, and it now bundles many advanced features and apps to reduce reliance on third-party apps.
That said, many Android users still download third-party apps for various things. Some users do it out of habit — having been installing them on their phones for years. Meanwhile, others aren’t aware that their phones can handle such tasks natively.
Whichever boat you’re on, though, you should stop installing these apps on your Android phones.
Which of these features do you use on your Android phone? 20 votes Document scanner and OCR 15 % QR code scanner 35 % Clipboard manager 10 % Blue light filter 0 % Caller ID and spam protection 40 %
Document scanner and OCR
Yash Wate / Android Authority
For the longest time, digitizing physical documents on an Android phone required third-party document scanner apps. You also need these apps or dedicated OCR apps if you wanted to copy text from an image or real-world object. However, if you use a phone running Android 14 or later, you no longer need either app, as your phone’s stock camera app can do both.
To scan a document, place it on a flat surface. Then, open the Camera app and point it at the document. The Camera app should automatically detect the document and display a button labeled Scan or similar. Tap it, and it will scan the document. On a OnePlus phone, go to the More tab and select Doc Scanner to use the feature. Once you’ve scanned a document, you can either save it or scan more pages by tapping the appropriate option on the screen. You can even edit the scanned copy before saving it.
If you want to extract text from an object in the real world, such as a pamphlet or banner, it’s easy, too. On a Samsung phone, open the Camera app and point it at the object. Tap the T button that appears on the screen, and it will process and display the text. Tap the text to select, copy, translate, or share it. You can also use the feature on existing photos
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