Finally: Microsoft catches up to Apple with its integration of OCR in the Windows Photos app – a major leap for accessibility

Microsoft is adding Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to Windows’ Photos app, enabling users to scan and copy text directly from images. This feature will be available on Windows 11 and Windows 10 when it is officially released.

On 22 October 2024, Microsoft announced upcoming updates to its Photos app, some of which are already available for preview to Windows Insiders via Windows 11’s Insider Channel. This allows Insiders to test and provide feedback on the new features before a full rollout.

For Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft also plans to introduce ‘super resolution’ to enhance its Photos app. These updates aim to improve the overall user experience by using AI to enhance and enlarge images by up to 8x their original size through the super resolution feature.

How does OCR work?

OCR will essentially allow users to effortlessly extract text from images. Whether you’re dealing with notes, pictures, documents, or screenshots, the app can automatically detect and copy text straight to your clipboard. This will streamline your workflow by letting you paste the extracted text into other apps, reducing the need for manual data entry.

Using the OCR feature is pretty simple: just tap the icon below an image to extract text. Microsoft designed the tool to make tasks like managing information in images easier and improve productivity. It’s particularly valuable for accessibility, as users with visual impairments or similar disabilities can have text read aloud or converted to formats compatible with screen readers.

The OCR feature can also benefit professionals, students, and researchers by enabling them to copy and paste text from images into emails or documents thus streamlining their work. Additionally, it supports over 160 languages.

Despite Windows 10 reaching its End-of-Life support on 14 October 2025, Microsoft will roll out these features to both Windows 11 and Windows 10 PCs. Microsoft is obligated to provide Windows 10 updates until support officially ends, and the operating system still has a significant user base due to hardware limitations, business needs, and personal preferences. As users eventually transition to Windows 11, they will already be familiar with many of the new features.

More improvements incoming for Windows users

There are additional updates coming too, like bug fixes for the Restyle image features on Copilot+ and Image Creator designed to improve overall image quality. If users want these new features, they’ll need to update their Photos app to version 2024.11100.17007 or higher via the Microsoft Store.

These features aren’t fully available yet, but Insiders are encouraged to send feedback to Microsoft. Their feedback can help resolve any issues and refine the features before they’re fully rolled out. For example, it was due to user feedback that Microsoft announced it is also introducing single-click support in the Photos app gallery, allowing for more efficient navigation.

While it’s great that Microsoft has introduced OCR to its Photos app, it is long overdue. Accessibility should be at the forefront of any modern app, especially given that leading tech companies like Apple integrated similar features, such as Live Text in iOS 15, quite some time ago. Features like this, along with other accessibility tools, should be standard across all platforms, not only to improve general productivity but more importantly to support users with disabilities.

Hopefully, this is a sign that Microsoft will make a greater effort to prioritize accessibility in the future, with more tools and updates designed with inclusivity in mind.

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