Microsoft Lens is the latest victim if AI
Users of Microsoft Lens – originally launched several years ago as Office Lens – have just a few short weeks left to use the tool.
Microsoft has announced that the incredibly popular iOS and Android app is to be “retired” (translation: killed off). Having started life under a different name over a decade ago, the app provides a way to convert images to PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files and much more. But not for very much longer.
Starting in the middle of next month – September 15, to be exact – Microsoft is starting the retirement process. The next key date is November 15, when the app will be removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. If you have the app installed before this removal date, it will be possible to keep using the scanning feature until the middle of December.
Summing this all up in a blog post, Microsoft says:
The Microsoft Lens app will be retired from iOS and Android devices starting September 15, 2025. After November 15, Microsoft Lens will no longer be supported. Users can continue to use the scanning capability in the app until December 15, 2025. After that date, creating new scans in the Lens app will no longer be possible. However, users can continue to access their previous scans as long as the app remains installed on their device.
Microsoft Lens will be removed from App store and Google Play Store on November 15, 2025.
The death of Microsoft Lens
But there will obviously be concerns from existing users about what the retirement means for their data. Microsoft has advice for Android and iOS users alike – in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. For iOS users, Microsoft offers the following instructions:
iOS users
- Cloud files: Open the Create tab and select the folder icon in the top right corner to open My Creations. You can access past scans here.
- Local files: Scans from Microsoft Lens saved locally are not available on the Microsoft 365 Copilot app.
The advice is very similar for those using the app on Android:
- Cloud files: Open the Create tab and select the folder icon in the top right corner to open My Creations. You can access past scans here.
- Local files: To access locally saved scans, grant All Files Access permission to Microsoft 365 Copilot. Then, open the Create tab and select the folder icon in the top right corner to open My Creations. You can access past scans here.
A message posted to the Microsoft 365 admin center says much the same in slightly different wording:
Existing scans will remain accessible in the app's MyScans folder, but this functionality will no longer be supported. Users can continue scanning using the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, which offers similar functionality. Scans saved to OneDrive will be accessible via the MyCreations section in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app
While Microsoft does not give a reason for killing off Microsoft Lens, the fact that the company points to Microsoft 365 Copilot as an alternative would point the finger firmly at the existence of AI alternatives.
While Microsoft 365 Copilot offers much of the functionality of Microsoft Lens, it is not a direct replacement by any means. Features such as a read-aloud option are missing, but this – and other missing features such as integration with Immersive Reader – could be added as Microsoft continues to develop Copilot.
While it is hard to place an exact figure on the number of active users, the sheer volume of downloads for the iOS and Android versions of the app suggests that this closure is going to cause disappointment for a lot of people.