QR & Barcode Scanner

A scanner should get out of the way, and this one does. Point the camera at a code and it reads automatically. There is no shutter button to find, no photo to take and no zoom slider to fiddle with while the person behind you in the queue waits. The scan happens as soon as the code is in frame. It handles both QR codes and traditional barcodes, and it recognises what the code actually contains rather than dumping raw text at you. A web address gives you a button to open it. A contact card offers to save the details to your address book. A calendar entry offers to add the event. Wi-Fi credentials offer to join the network, which saves typing a long password from a router sticker. Product codes, ISBN numbers for books, email addresses, phone numbers, geographic locations and plain text are all understood, and in each case you get the actions that make sense for that type and not a generic menu. Discount coupons scan the same way, so redeeming an offer at a till takes a couple of seconds. It is the sort of small utility that lives on a phone for years without being thought about, because it does exactly one thing and does it immediately.