ScanWow vs Microsoft Lens: Which Is Better for iPhone Users?

Microsoft Lens was a reliable free option for iPhone scanning, but Microsoft has retired it. The app was removed from the App Store on February 9, 2026, and it can no longer create new scans after March 9, 2026. Here's how it compared with ScanWow, and what to use now.

The short version

If you lived inside Microsoft 365 and scanned mainly to send things to OneDrive or Teams, Microsoft Lens made that frictionless. Microsoft now points former Lens users to the scan feature in the OneDrive app. If you want better OCR quality, privacy-first processing, and a dedicated scanner app that is still being developed, ScanWow is the cleaner choice for iPhone users.

Here's the full breakdown.

Feature comparison

OCR: on your device

Both apps extract text from documents.

ScanWow runs OCR on-device with Apple's built-in text recognition, so your receipt content stays on your phone unless you tap Magic Enhance, and it works in airplane mode or on a job site without cell service. A few languages may need to download their language data the first time, so that first scan needs a connection.

For most standard documents (typed text on white paper) both apps produce clean output. For receipts on thermal paper, angled shots, or faded text, try B&W or Gray mode and check the result before you rely on it.

ScanWow also supports 17 languages with the same on-device approach. If you're scanning receipts from a business trip, legal documents in Spanish, or shipping invoices in Japanese, pick the document's language in Settings and test a few pages first.

Microsoft 365 users: what Lens did well

If your workflow ended in Microsoft 365 (you scanned a document and immediately needed it in OneDrive, Teams, or as a Word file) Lens was genuinely hard to beat for that specific path. The integration was native and fast, and the Word export (converting a scan directly to an editable .docx) is something ScanWow doesn't offer.

For enterprise IT departments managing a team on Microsoft licenses, Lens was also the path of least resistance because it didn't require employees to create accounts in another system.

That path has now closed. Microsoft retired the standalone Lens app in 2026 and recommends the scan feature in the OneDrive app instead. Microsoft notes that OneDrive does not support saving scans locally on your device.

The privacy angle

ScanWow reads text on your iPhone, so for text work a page goes to a server only if you tap Magic Enhance on it, and you can turn that off in Settings. For tax forms, medical records or legal papers, that is a simple rule to explain to a client or a compliance team.

When ScanWow wins

• You want OCR that stays on your device and works offline for most languages
• You're scanning in multiple languages beyond English
• You need API access to integrate scanning into a workflow or automation
• You want a dedicated scanning app with an active development roadmap
• Privacy around document content matters for your use case
• You don't have or don't want a Microsoft 365 account

When Microsoft's OneDrive scanner may suit you better

• Your entire workflow is inside Microsoft 365 (OneDrive, Teams, OneNote)
• You want every scan saved straight to OneDrive rather than on your device
• You're managing a team already on Microsoft licenses and want zero friction

Switching from Microsoft Lens to ScanWow

The transition is straightforward. ScanWow handles the same core scanning workflows Lens does:

1. Download ScanWow from the App Store: free, no account required to start
2. Point the camera at your document. ScanWow auto-detects edges and captures the scan
3. Choose your enhancement mode: B&W for typed documents, Color or Original for pages with images
4. OCR runs automatically. Tap the text icon to see and copy extracted text
5. Export as PDF to Files, email, or any cloud storage you already use

If you were using Lens specifically for the OneDrive or Teams path, you'll need to add one manual step, sharing the PDF to OneDrive from ScanWow's export sheet. It's two taps instead of one, but you gain on-device processing and a dedicated scanner app that is still being developed.