Image recognition apps are getting smarter and smarter. They allow users to identify objects, learn about them, and receive valuable suggestions based on image search. We checked what’s in stock and share our selection of the ten impressive applications that gear up your phone’s camera with image recognition IQ.
Long gone are the days when browser-based Google image search was the sole visual search engine on the market. Powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, computer software has become stunningly efficient in recognizing objects – and it keeps evolving!
Image recognition applications are increasingly popular with people seeking information and inspiration through mobile phones. They provide users with more relevant search results and make it easier for them to navigate both the digital world and physical reality.
Image recognition – a feature or a stand-alone solution
The advancements in the image recognition field brought excellent results for end users and companies seeking new opportunities in digital marketing.
In recent years, many social apps, like Snap or Pinterest, added an image recognition feature to their platform.
On the other hand, Google rolled out a fantastic stand-alone app for image recognition and keeps tweaking it.
All those apps provide users with a seamless identification experience and help brands with their marketing efforts.
Picture recognition app with “special skills”
Some companies implementing image recognition in their software offer competing solutions. Others use the same technology – or a similar one – for different purposes.
With dedicated apps, you can now identify plants (in case you want to make sure they’re not poisonous), rocks (a great help if you’re looking for gold nuggets), or even antique coins you accidentally came across in your grandma’s attic.
But there are also general-use image recognition apps that help you identify all sorts of things – even though they may not be equally competent in handling specific types of objects.
Image recognition app for spot-on suggestions
Image recognition apps are not only efficient tools for identifying things. Some are clever enough to provide suggestions based on the uploaded content. One of the common use cases is matching clothes.
For example, if you’re looking for a jumper that will go with your olive trousers, instead of performing a random search via Google images, you can fire up an image recognition app to find far more relevant results.
10 image recognition apps to check out this year
Below you can find our selection of awesome image recognition apps you should check out this year. They are ordered by their Google Play score – or presented in alphabetical order in the case of a tie.
Google Lens: identify objects and learn about them
This widely acclaimed image recognition app is a powerful machine learning-driven system “translating” the physical world into digital objects on your device.
Google Lens image recognition software allows you to identify and learn about most things you come across in your daily life: buildings, gadgets, cars, articles of clothing, plants, animal breeds, jewelry, and even artwork. A notable exception is people.
The app proves helpful as an educational tool and an immense help for visually impaired users. It has a slew of neat features that make your life easier and the user experience more entertaining.
For example, it can extract text from pictures, read it aloud, Google-search it or send it in a message, scan barcodes for product information, suggest similar images, schedule events in your calendar based on relevant details from images (e.g. a flyer).
Google constantly improves the picture recognition capabilities of the app and adds new mind-blowing ingredients to the brew. Recent enhancements include homework tools for students and an AR showroom experience for exploring cars.
Google Lens is definitely among the best image recognition apps on the market.
Google Play score: 4.6
Number of reviews: 1.63 M
Downloads number: 1 B+
Pinterest Lens: an image recognition app with aesthetic insight
Pinterest is a well-known visual search platform where you can explore recipes, clothes, interior design, and all sorts of other inspirations. It also works as a virtual pinboard allowing you to save your discoveries for later use.
In 2016, the company deployed computer vision technology for automatic image recognition and detecting objects within a picture. The feature became known as Pinterest Lens and is an integral part of a Pinterest app.
When a user takes a photo and taps on the specific object in the picture, the algorithm will come up with thematically similar recommendations, e.g. recipes or clothing suggestions.
Pinterest’s image recognition technology is powered by a neural network called PinSage, developed with deep learning frameworks, and is leveraging an enormous database of images pinned by the users.
Despite nominal similarity (and temporal coincidence: both brand names were coined in 2017), Pinterest’s feature offers a different approach to image recognition than Google Lens, with visual search focused on aesthetic similarities.
Google Play score: 4.6
Number of reviews: 9.39 M
Downloads number: 500 M+
PlantNet: a plant identifier for nature lovers
An image recognition app for gardeners, florists, herbalists, and all nature lovers.
Pl@ntNet is an indispensable tool for anyone keen to find out the names and properties of the precious weeds, wild fruits, bushes, or trees that are anonymous to many of us.
Pl@ntNet’s botanical database covers tens of thousands of species and contains millions of images. The app analyzes the photography uploaded by the user and suggests similar images of the same plant. It’s up to the user to decide if Pl@ntNet has come up with the correct answer and then confirm or reject the results.
The software provides stunningly correct answers, even though the quality of the uploaded pictures can make a difference (a clear, static image is highly preferred).
The app constantly evolves. In 2021, Pl@ntNet shared a dataset for machine learning researchers who want to contribute to perfecting plant-related image recognition technologies.
It’s worth mentioning that the Pl@ntNet is also a project supported by Agropolis Foundation, dedicated to promoting biodiversity and sustainable development.
Google Play score: 4.6
Number of reviews: 219 K
Downloads number: 10 M+
Vivino: identify the best wine on the menu
Having trouble choosing between a chardonnay and sauvignon to match your meal?
Stay calm and consult Vivino. The photo identifier app is a must-have for wine lovers with discerning taste buds.
Just snap a picture of a wine label or restaurant’s wine list to instantly get all the relevant results about the bottle’s contents. Vivino will provide you with wine ratings, tasting notes, user reviews, as well as wine and food pairing tips.
The app stores uploaded labels, so you can access them later on to keep track of your wine selections or refresh your memory about a wine’s rating. Vivino also has a shopping feature allowing you to buy wine from external stores approved by the app.
As an app and a website, Vivino has already attracted over 60 million users worldwide, who help to grow its database. It has an especially strong presence in wine-producing countries like France, Spain, the United States, and Australia.
Google Play score: 4.6
Number of reviews: 171 K
Downloads number: 10 M+
Rock Identifier: image recognition for stones
Hunting for gems? Well, you’ve just found one.
This app is right for you if you have a thing for precious stones or minerals. Just snap a pic of a rock that caught your eye or upload it from your device to get a detailed description of the stone within seconds.
Rock Identifier may not have elaborate features. Nevertheless, it boasts impressive identification accuracy with an extensive database of over 1,000 rock types.
Obviously, the app has its limitations. A single rock may contain many minerals, and it takes an experienced rockhound (and possibly some laboratory stuff) to figure out them all.
However, Rock Identifier is a convenient visual recognition software for amateurs with interest in geology – or jewelry.
Google Play score: 4.5
Number of reviews: 25.4 K
Downloads number: 1 M+
Coinoscope: find out the name of that coin (and its value)
This handy piece of software might not be able to tell the difference between Bitcoin and Ripple, but it will easily identify a Japanese sen or Bulgarian lev from the pre-World War II era. Coinoscope is an AI-powered tool for identifying modern and old coins capable of processing non-Latin scripts.
Just take a picture of a coin and upload it from your gallery to find out its name, origin, the year it was put into circulation, and its current market value.
This last feature makes Coinoscope not only a must-have tool for amateur collectors and an aid for expert numismatists but also a handy guide for investors interested in metal- rather than blockchain-based money.
Google Play score: 4.4
Number of reviews: 5.85 K
Downloads number: 500 K+
Snapchat: an image identifier with a facial recognition feature
Snapchat counts among the most popular mobile apps, with over a billion of downloads. It’s a fantastic and intuitive tool for sharing moments with your family and friends.
The application has evolved from initially supporting short-lived content shared person-to-person to featuring 24-hour-lasting stories that users can post to their feeds.
In 2017, the company started using image identification technology to analyze the picture content and suggest adequate filters for different contexts.
Snapchat also implemented facial recognition algorithms capable of extracting and reshaping facial features.
In 2020, the company announced a range of upgrades related to voice commands and image recognition. As a result of collaboration with third parties, Snapchat enhanced its object identification efficiency in specific areas, such as plants, foods, or dog breeds.
Google Play score: 4.2
Number of reviews: 31.1 M
Downloads number: 1 B+
Calorie Mama AI: the tastiest of the image recognition apps
Finding it difficult to resist another donut?
Just launch this app and get informed about the calorie intake you’re facing, so you can make an educated choice.
CalorieMama leverages image recognition technology to foster user’s knowledge about food and proper eating habits, delivering insight for a happy and healthy life. The app will provide you with nutritional details of your meal as soon as you “feed” it with an image through your smartphone’s camera.
It easily identifies ingredients of complex restaurant dishes as well as packaged foods based on uploaded pictures. Not only does it count calories for you but it also offers meal plans and recipes aligned with your preferred diet.
Calorie Mama’s image classification technology is powered by deep artificial intelligence and is constantly improved with new food pictures added to the database. It is currently one of the best visual content search engines for food lovers on the market.
Google Play score: 4.0
Number of reviews: 749
Downloads number: 100 K+
Image Analysis Toolset: analyze images and facial expressions
A multipurpose image recognition software for image analysis powered by advanced neural networks and deep learning algorithms. Image Analysis Toolset (IAT) identifies objects of uploaded pics and provides online-available information about them.
Like Google Lens, the app combs the web for related images or other matching content. It also allows you to extract and edit text from images.
One of the stunning features is Face Insight. IAT detects faces in a picture and identifies both their characteristics and expressed emotions. It can also assess the similarities in looks, age range, and even… recognize celebrities.
There’s more. Using error level analysis (ELA), the app can spot “tweaked” sections of the picture. It will also find out if you risk being censored or getting banned for uploading a picture to a social network.
The cherry on the cake is the colorimeter function. If you have trouble telling between ecru and beige, IAT will do it for you.
Google Play score: 3.9
Number of reviews: 3.08 K
Downloads number: 500 K+
TapTapSee: a great help for visually impaired users
A magnificent image recognition tool and an audio interpreter with a voice-over function.
TapTapSee was designed for blind and visually impaired users to help them in identifying objects with a smartphone camera.
The software can recognize objects in pictures or videos and describe them aloud. The whole process takes about 7 to 10 seconds. Uploaded photos can be saved for later reuse.
TapTapSee is commonly used for shopping, as it enables the identification of products and brands. The app has an autofocus notification feature. It informs the user with a beep when the object is in focus, and it’s OK to take a photo.
The app can also scan barcodes and QR codes and read the relevant information aloud. Users can share the identified content through social media, e-mail, or text.
Google Play score: 3.9
Number of reviews: 1.61 K
Downloads number: 100 K+
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