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I don't get why no barcode scanner app is shipped with Android. It's such a basic functionality. Edit: apparently it IS shipped on iOS and at least my Lineage O

by est31 6y ago

I don't get why no barcode scanner app is shipped with Android. It's such a basic functionality. Edit: apparently it IS shipped on iOS and at least my Lineage OS default camera app has a QR code reader too.

the_only_law 6y ago
I don’t think my past two phones (one Android, one iOS) have built in QR scanning, or at least it’s not very discoverable. No fun to have to find something in an App Store when it all looks like 7 year old malware.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- srgpqt 6y ago
  You can point the builtin Camera app on iOS to any QR code, it will pick it up just fine.
  - astura 6y ago
    Same with Android
- other_herbert 6y ago
  Try your plain camera... this seems like such a hidden anti-feature though... no one I know has tried just the camera
  - shadowofneptune 6y ago
    I discovered this week when fooling around with QR code makers that the Android camera app, at least the one released on Samsung phones, does not read QR codes. That was very surprising to me.
- lstamour 6y ago
  On iOS, you can use the Camera app on your iPhone or enable the Code Scanner button on the Control Panel: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/iphe8bda8762/ios https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/iphe8bda8762/io... It would be interesting if Apple added support articles or how-to videos for built-in features to their App Store search results though…
renewiltord 6y ago
Switch to Google Lens in the Camera app. It's way less reliable but it usually gets the job done.
- usr1106 6y ago
  What do you mean by way less reliable? While Google will not start any overly obnoxious ad-serving, who tells you they will not upload all or a bit more stealthily some pictures for some AI user profiling thingie? Cannot happen? They collected WiFi access points when doing Streetview back when their motto was "Don't be evil".
  - renewiltord 6y ago
    Sometimes it decides that I'm actually searching for pictures of QR codes and gives me Google Search results for similar pictures of QR codes, which is kind of useless. As for the second part, that's your personal risk tolerance so I'm going to leave that to you. Google is generally a high-trust brand in America, so most people will find the risk tolerable. If you don't find it tolerable, you shouldn't use it.
    - usr1106 6y ago
      > Google is generally a high-trust brand in America, so most people will find the risk tolerable Sure, nobody doubts that. Whether the trust is deserved, that's another story. They scan your email to find out where you traveled and what you bought. I guess most people don't know and many are shocked once they find out. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19942219 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19942219
- prof18 6y ago
  The problem is that not all the people knows that. And I don't know why Google does not "advertise" it. Anyway, for my parents' old phone I built one simply QR Reader without any crap. If you need one -> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prof18.secureqrreader https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prof18.sec...
wiml 6y ago
My boring AndroidOne phone does. If there's a clear QR code in the field of view of the camera app it'll recognize it.

by est31 6y ago

the_only_law 6y ago

I don’t think my past two phones (one Android, one iOS) have built in QR scanning, or at least it’s not very discoverable. No fun to have to find something in an App Store when it all looks like 7 year old malware.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
srgpqt 6y ago
You can point the builtin Camera app on iOS to any QR code, it will pick it up just fine.
- astura 6y ago
  Same with Android
other_herbert 6y ago
Try your plain camera... this seems like such a hidden anti-feature though... no one I know has tried just the camera
- shadowofneptune 6y ago
  I discovered this week when fooling around with QR code makers that the Android camera app, at least the one released on Samsung phones, does not read QR codes. That was very surprising to me.
lstamour 6y ago
On iOS, you can use the Camera app on your iPhone or enable the Code Scanner button on the Control Panel: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/iphe8bda8762/ios https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/iphone/iphe8bda8762/io... It would be interesting if Apple added support articles or how-to videos for built-in features to their App Store search results though…

renewiltord 6y ago

Switch to Google Lens in the Camera app. It's way less reliable but it usually gets the job done.

usr1106 6y ago
What do you mean by way less reliable? While Google will not start any overly obnoxious ad-serving, who tells you they will not upload all or a bit more stealthily some pictures for some AI user profiling thingie? Cannot happen? They collected WiFi access points when doing Streetview back when their motto was "Don't be evil".
- renewiltord 6y ago
  Sometimes it decides that I'm actually searching for pictures of QR codes and gives me Google Search results for similar pictures of QR codes, which is kind of useless. As for the second part, that's your personal risk tolerance so I'm going to leave that to you. Google is generally a high-trust brand in America, so most people will find the risk tolerable. If you don't find it tolerable, you shouldn't use it.
  - usr1106 6y ago
    > Google is generally a high-trust brand in America, so most people will find the risk tolerable Sure, nobody doubts that. Whether the trust is deserved, that's another story. They scan your email to find out where you traveled and what you bought. I guess most people don't know and many are shocked once they find out. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19942219 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19942219
prof18 6y ago
The problem is that not all the people knows that. And I don't know why Google does not "advertise" it. Anyway, for my parents' old phone I built one simply QR Reader without any crap. If you need one -> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prof18.secureqrreader https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prof18.sec...

wiml 6y ago

My boring AndroidOne phone does. If there's a clear QR code in the field of view of the camera app it'll recognize it.