Cantonese Keyboard vs DcScan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cantonese Keyboard
This keyboard app provides a fluent and accurate way to type Cantonese using the LSHK Jyutping romanization system. It helps users improve pronunciation and offers various input methods, including reverse lookups and emoji suggestions. The app is free, open-source, and works offline for enhanced privacy.
- Jyutping romanization input
- Abbreviated and tone-accurate typing
- Reverse lookup with Pinyin, Cangjie, Stroke
- Traditional and Simplified Chinese support
- Emoji suggestions based on Cantonese words
- Offline functionality
- Open-source and ad-free
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Jyutping is a Cantonese input method that is intuitive and efficient—making typing fast, accurate, and effortless. Type Cantonese just as you speak it — naturally and fluently. Every input reinforces your pronunciation. The more you use Jyutping, the more familiar you become with Cantonese. Ready to use right out of the box, with virtually no complicated setup. Open source, ad-free, and fully offline — no privacy concerns. Based on the Jyutping romanization scheme developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK), and compatible with various spelling habits. You can perform reverse lookup of Jyutping using Mandarin Pinyin, Cangjie, Quick (Sucheng), Stroke input, and character decomposition. Detailed explanations are available within the app. Keyboard feature highlights: • Standard Jyutping input, e.g. neihou → 你好 • Abbreviated Jyutping input, e.g. nh / nhou / neih → 你好 • Tone input support for greater accuracy, helping learners master Cantonese tones and pronunciation • Candidate words display corresponding Jyutping syllables, making typing easier while reinforcing correct pronunciation • Supports both Traditional and Simplified Chinese characters, with Traditional characters distinguishing between Hong Kong and Taiwan standards • Reverse lookup via Mandarin Pinyin: prefix with R (e.g. rlin → 林) • Reverse lookup via Cangjie or Quick (Sucheng): prefix with V (e.g. vdd → 林) • Reverse lookup via stroke input: prefix with X (e.g. xwsad → 木) • Reverse lookup via character decomposition: prefix with Q (e.g. qmukmuk → 林) • Emoji suggestions that match Cantonese expressions, e.g. daai cung (大蟲) suggests the tiger emoji • A rich vocabulary tailored to Cantonese usage and grammar for smooth, natural typing • Includes common English vocabulary for seamless bilingual input • Multiple keyboard layouts available: 26-key QWERTY, 26-key triple-spell, 10-key (T9), 14-key, 18-key, etc. • Fully supports light and dark modes, with adjustable keyboard height • Convenient editing tools: copy, cut, paste, and cursor movement • Optional sound and haptic feedback, with adjustable vibration intensity The main app provides extensive Cantonese resources for convenient learning and reference: • Detailed guides for using all Jyutping keyboard functions • Jyutping scheme tables of initials, finals, and tones • Common Cantonese phrases and expressions • Pronunciations of commonly used Cantonese words • Cantonese pronunciation lookup and dictionary search • Text-to-Jyutping conversion • Cantonese text-to-speech We respect user privacy and do not collect any personal information. This app is fully open source on GitHub: https://github.com/yuetyam/jyutping To learn more about Jyutping and Cantonese keyboards, visit our official website: https://jyutping.app
DcScan
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What Is DcScan? DcScan turns your iPhone into a portable document scanner. Snap a photo, or pull in an image from your library or any app that shares images — WhatsApp, Messages, Mail, Safari, you name it. The app automatically straightens, crops, and polishes it into a clean, print-ready scan. Then share it however you like, with the text inside the document already recognized and embedded. --- ## Three Ways to Bring In a Document ### Tap the Shutter Open the app and point your camera at any document. DcScan's built-in viewfinder highlights the edges in real time — no need to line things up perfectly. Just snap. ### Pick From Your Photo Library Already snapped a photo earlier? Pull it from your library. The app detects the document inside the image and cleans it up just the same. ### Receive From Any App This is where it gets powerful. In WhatsApp, Photos, Mail, Safari, Files, or any app with a share button — tap **Share**, choose **DcScan**, and it opens right there ready to scan. No switching apps, no saving-then-reopening. The scan happens inline and the cleaned-up version can be sent back to wherever you came from. --- ## What Happens After You Scan ### Auto-Straighten & Crop The app's AI finds the edges of your document — even if they're skewed, folded, or in uneven lighting — and squares it up to a flat, straight rectangle. Like a desktop scanner, but with one tap. ### Fine-Tune the Edges If the auto-detect didn't quite get it right, you can drag any corner or edge yourself. Eight draggable handles give you total control. The app darkens everything outside the document so you see exactly what you're keeping. ### Read the Text (OCR) DcScan reads the words inside your scan. It supports English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese out of the box — add more languages in Settings. The recognized text travels with your scan so it's searchable later. --- ## What You Can Do With the Finished Scan ### Save to Your Photo Library One tap saves a clean, cropped JPEG to your camera roll. The recognized text is baked into the file's metadata, so apps like Photos and Files can search it. ### Share Anywhere Tap share and pick your destination: - **Mail** — sends a nicely formatted email with the scan embedded and the recognized text in the body - **Print** — sends it straight to any AirPrint printer - **Messages / WhatsApp / Any App** — sends a clean JPEG with embedded text - **Copy** — copies a rich text version with the image and text together ### Hand Off to Shortcuts / Siri Say "Scan document with DcScan" to Siri, or use the **Scan Document** action in the Shortcuts app. You can build automations — like "scan and save to a specific folder" or "scan and email to accounting" — without opening the app at all. --- ## Input Sources Summary | You Have an Image... | Do This | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | | In front of you right now | Open DcScan → point camera → snap | | Already in your camera roll | Open DcScan → tap gallery button → pick it | | Sent to you on WhatsApp | Tap the image → Share → DcScan | | In an email attachment | Long-press attachment → Share → DcScan | | On a webpage in Safari | Long-press image → Share → DcScan | | In the Files app | Long-press file → Share → DcScan | | Any app with a share button | Share → DcScan | DcScan appears in the same share menu you already use to forward, copy, or AirDrop — so the workflow is already familiar.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Cantonese Keyboard at Free against DcScan's $1.99. Cantonese Keyboard also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Cantonese Keyboard is free to download; DcScan costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Cantonese Keyboard ships an update every 2 weeks, DcScan every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cantonese Keyboard | DcScan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 4.9 (46 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 46 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 107 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 兵 张 | NING SZE OTTO TO |
In-app purchases
Cantonese Keyboard
No in-app purchases
DcScan
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cantonese Keyboard free?
Is DcScan free?
Do Cantonese Keyboard or DcScan have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cantonese Keyboard or DcScan?
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