# Smart Comic Reader — Easily move between panels

> Automated comic panel detection and navigation for optimized mobile reading. (iPhone/iPad app by Onne van Dijk.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-comic-reader/id1511175212 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Onne van Dijk](https://appshunter.io/developer/1511175211)
- Category: Books, Entertainment
- Price: $2.99
- Rating: 4.90/5 from 539 App Store ratings · 217 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 18.3 · 54 MB
- Languages: American English, Chinese (Simplified, China), Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)
- Released: 2020-10-28
- Data updated: 2026-08-30
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-comic-reader/id1511175212/reviews.md

## What is Smart Comic Reader?

A different kind of comic reader that offers a better way to read comics on a smaller screen.

How it works:
    1. Import any comic into the app.
    2. Double tap on a panel and watch the app automatically detect its boundaries and zoom in on it.
    3. Tap on the side of the screen to easily move to the next panel. If needed, the app will rotate the comic to make maximum use of your screen space.

Key Features
============
Smart Reader:
    - Automatically zoom in and move between panels for a smooth reading experience.
    - Works with any comic, western or manga, no matter the art style. Panels do not need well-defined edges to be detected.
    - Always stay in control, let the app guide you over the page while you can always manually zoom and pan.

Comic Collection:
    - Import comics from anywhere and organize your comic collection.
    - Comics are stored in iCloud to save storage space and keep your collection in sync across devices.
    - Your Smart Comic Reader collection is a regular folder on your iCloud Drive that you can access and manage from any iCloud connected device, like a Mac, or a Windows device using iCloud for Windows.
    - Also works locally if iCloud is disabled.
    - Supports comics in CBZ/ZIP, CBR/RAR and PDF formats.

And many more features to come!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to send them to: support@vandijk.dev.



Comics in video and screenshots:
“Pepper&Carrot”, David Revoy, CC-By
“Plastic Man”, Quality Comics, Public Domain
“Say Hello to Black Jack”, Shuho Sato

## Key features

- Automatic panel detection and zoom
- Seamless panel-to-panel navigation
- Optimized viewing for small screens
- Comic import from any source
- iCloud sync and local storage options
- Supports CBZ, CBR, and PDF formats

## Chart rankings

- #46 in Top Paid · Book (US App Store)

## What do users think of Smart Comic Reader?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Panel-by-panel reading mode
- 👍 Seamless iCloud integration
- 🔒 No ads or data collection
- 👍 Clean, minimal UI
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Handles various comic formats

**Cons**

- 🐛 Occasional issues with panel detection
- 🔀 Difficulty exiting panel view
- 🔀 Inability to adjust cover size in grid view

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Deleted user's entire comic collection
- iCloud sync not working for some users
- Freezing/crashing issues on iPad

**Most requested features**

- Page marking/bookmarking function
- Built-in dictionary/translation tool
- Vertical scrolling mode for webtoons
- Ability to manually arrange reading order
- Live Text integration for dictionary lookup
- Widgets for quick access

## Recent user reviews (10 of 217)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smart-comic-reader/id1511175212/reviews.md

### 5/5 — The best reader experience

*2026-06-12, version 2.0.0*

It does everything it says, and does it so well. Clean and simple interface, iCloud integration that just works and I love the panel by panel reading experience on my iPad. As a bonus I can use it on my MacBook now also, so cool to have my books with me wherever I go.

### 2/5 — Lack basic features and crashes on large imports

*2026-05-07, version 2.0.0*

For a paid app, it definitely is disappointing. It lacks some of the basic features relating to importing using OPDS or better ways to import and view your collection. 

Importing a large library will crash the app where the storage space will be used but the library will be empty. Clearly the devs did not test the app thoroughly. For what it's worth, I use an iPhone 14 Pro Max and I was trying to import 7GBs of data at once split in 50ish volumes. 

The smart zoom feature is nothing to write home about either, especially for comic books that will alternative between the layout of each block. You will need to flip your phone constantly and locking the screen orientation simply defeats the whole purpose. There are better apps out there, both paid and free options. 

I regret my purchase and would definitely not recommend for the time being. Not having the ability to try the app prior to purchase is pretty telling.

### 5/5 — Great for reading manga

*2026-04-27, version 2.0.0*

Very glad I took a chance on buying this. Works like a charm for reading manga on iPhone. It goes panel by panel rather than page by page so it’s even easier to read than a physical copy.

### 1/5 — Closing Immediately

*2026-04-23*

As soon as I open the App, it is shutting down immediately . It is used to be good and now it’s closing immediately.

### 5/5 — So geht das - ist sensationell gut

*2026-03-03*

… und könnte für die gebotene und mit den letzten Update nochmals angehobene Qualität gut und gerne ein paar Euro kosten. Sollte es vielleicht auch, um die Weiterentwicklung zu unterstützen. Die bei Comixology einstmals bewunderte und offenbar gar nicht so leicht zu realisierende Panel-für-Panel-Funktion funktioniert hier perfekt. Smart Comic Reader ist mE konkurrenzlos.

### 4/5 — Well worth the price

*2026-02-28, version 2.0.0*

It’s simple and makes it easier to organize the books on my phone. Love that it zooms in on frames. However I’d love to see more customization added into the future. Would love to see more options for horizontal reading to stay zoomed in while flipping pages, and options to read comics vertically by scrolling up as well; (WEBTOON style comics). 

I’ll be using this app for a long time.

### 5/5 — What happened? Part 2

*2026-02-24, version 2.0.0*

Hello again. I recently posted a review saying that the new update didn’t work. I want to apologize and let you know just in case others have the same issue. I deleted the app, then I reinstalled it and it works fine. I see and like the improvements. I think it is actually faster and more responsive. Thank you so much for your hard work.

### 5/5 — Endlich

*2026-02-24*

Zu guter Letzt ist sie doch noch gekommen, Jahre später, die Galleryansicht. Das macht Smart Comic Reader um so vieles besser! Endlich kann man wieder gut durch große Comicsammlungen blättern! Vielen lieben Dank!

### 5/5 — Ничего удобнее не видел!

*2026-01-13*

Идеально подстраивается под панели, пролистывается с красивой анимацией – это сильно изменило опыт чтения, надеюсь разработчик и дальше будет поддерживать это приложение

### 5/5 — ЛУЧШАЯ!

*2026-01-12*

Это самая лучшая читалка для комиксов! Обладает облачной синхронизацией, очень удобно, что распознает панельки и автоматически зумирует их по нажатию! Комиксы читать - одно удовольствие, не нужно постоянно приближать/отдалять, напрягать глаза. А на айпаде - вообще шикардос!

## Frequently asked questions about Smart Comic Reader

### What does Smart Comic Reader do?

Smart Comic Reader provides a unique way to read comics on smaller screens by automatically detecting comic panels and zooming into them. It allows for easy, tap-based navigation between these panels, ensuring a smooth and optimized reading experience. You can import your comics and organize them within the app.

### How does the automatic panel detection work?

The app intelligently analyzes each page of your comic to identify individual panels. Once detected, a double-tap zooms into the panel, and subsequent taps on the side of the screen move you to the next detected panel. This feature works with various comic styles and does not require strictly defined panel edges.

### Is Smart Comic Reader free to use?

Yes, the application is available for free. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned, suggesting a completely free experience for users.

### What comic file formats does the app support?

The app supports several popular comic file formats, including CBZ/ZIP, CBR/RAR, and PDF. This broad compatibility allows you to import a wide range of your digital comic collection into the reader.

### Can I use this app on multiple devices?

Yes, the app leverages iCloud for storing your comic collection. This means your comics are saved to save storage space and can be synced across all your iCloud-connected devices, such as iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Windows PCs with iCloud for Windows.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.0.0 — 2026-02-24

* Improved Gallery:
    - Folders are now displayed in a grid with large cover images.
    - Ability to change the size at which cover images are displayed in the grid.
    - Titles underneath covers can now span two lines.
* Updated icon with support for Dark, Clear and Tinted appearance.
* Additional UI updates and bug fixes.

### 1.11.0 — 2024-09-17

Automatic panel detection and zooming is now available on Macs with Apple Silicon.

### 1.10.3 — 2024-03-18

Fixed a few UI bugs.

### 1.10.2 — 2023-08-19

* Added warning when the app gets logged out of iCloud and can't display your iCloud Drive comics anymore.
* Fixed a rare crash on startup.
* Improved reliability of operations involving a lot of files.
* Fixed bug where outdated comic metadata would be displayed in certain cases.

### 1.10.1 — 2023-03-05

* Added a workaround for when you're having problems importing from Google Drive, you can find it in the Help section.
* Fixed a crash that could happen on startup.

## Apps similar to Smart Comic Reader

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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## Related topics

[smart comic reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/smart-comic-reader) · [comic reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/comic-reader) · [comic reader cloud](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/comic-reader-cloud) · [panels comic reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/panels-comic-reader) · [panel comic reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/panel-comic-reader) · [panels](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/panels) · [pdf comic reader](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/pdf-comic-reader)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-30.*