Comparison

Seeing AI vs Lume.

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Seeing AI

This free app uses AI to narrate the visual world for individuals who are blind or have low vision. It describes people, text, and objects, assisting with daily tasks like reading documents, identifying products, and recognizing faces.

Highlights
  • Read text and documents
  • Describe photos and objects
  • Scan product barcodes
  • Recognize people and currency
  • Identify personal objects
  • Augmented reality environment exploration
  • Identify colors and light levels
Read full description

Seeing AI is a free app that narrates the world around you. Designed with and for the blind and low vision community, this ongoing research project harnesses the power of AI to open up the visual world by describing nearby people, text and objects. Seeing AI provides tools to assist with a variety of daily tasks: • Read - Hear text as soon as it appears in front of the camera. Document alignment provides audio cues to capture a printed page and recognize the text along with its original formatting. Ask Seeing AI about the contents to easily find the information you need. • Describe - Take photos to hear a rich description. Ask questions to focus on the information you care about. Explore photos by moving your finger over the screen to hear the location of different objects. • Products - Scan barcodes and Accessible QR codes using audio beeps to guide you; hear the product name and package information when available. • People - Save photos of friends and coworkers so you can recognize them later. Get an estimate of their age, gender, and expression. • Currency - Recognize currency notes. • Find My Things - Teach Seeing AI to recognize your personal objects and follow the audio cues to find them later. • World - An Audio Augmented Reality experience to explore an unfamiliar environment, including hearing objects announced around you with Spatial Audio (requires a device with a LiDAR, and iOS 14+). • Colors - Identify colors. • Light - Hear an audible tone corresponding to the brightness of your surroundings. • Photos and Videos in other apps - Just tap “Share” and “Recognize with Seeing AI” to describe media from Mail, Photos, WhatsApp, and more. • Browse Photos - Hear descriptions of photos and videos saved on your device. Seeing AI continues to evolve as we hear from the community, and AI research advances. Visit http://SeeingAI.com for more details. Questions, feedback or feature requests? Email us at SeeingAI@Microsoft.com.

About

Lume.

Take control of your phone usage and build better digital habits. This app helps you block distracting applications, monitor your screen time, and create custom focus sessions to improve productivity.

Highlights
  • App blocking for distractions
  • Screen time insights
  • Custom focus sessions
  • Focus progress tracking
  • Simple and intuitive design
Features
Read full description

Lume – Focus & Screen Time Control Stay focused, take control of your time, and use your phone with intention. Lume helps you block distracting apps, track your screen time, and build better digital habits. Whether you’re studying, working, or simply trying to spend less time scrolling, Lume gives you the tools to stay on track: Key Features: App Blocking: Set up custom blocks to keep distracting apps out of reach when you need to focus. Screen Time Insights: Get a clear overview of how you spend your time on your phone. Custom Focus Sessions: Create personalized focus blocks that fit your schedule and goals. Focus Tracking: Monitor your progress and see how consistent you are with your focus sessions. Simple & Intuitive: Designed to help you stay on task without overcomplicating your routine. With Lume, you’re in control of your digital habits. Build focus, cut distractions, and reclaim your time—one block at a time. Privacy Policy : https://www.lumeapp.dev/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Seeing AI4 screens
Lume.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Lume. at 5.0 against Seeing AI's 4.3. Lume. also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 69%) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months). Seeing AI's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (626 vs 2). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Lume. sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Seeing AI asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lume. holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Seeing AI has 626 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Seeing AI's written reviews are positive against 100% of Lume.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Seeing AI ships an update every 2 months, Lume. every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Seeing AI versus Lume.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSeeing AILume.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (626 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings626 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.3
Further details — not scored
Size309 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationTyler Tran

Customer experience

Seeing AI

All ratings626 ratings
Positive78.3%
Neutral10.9%
Negative10.9%
Written reviews204 reviews
Positive68.6%
Neutral11.3%
Negative20.1%

Lume.

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Seeing AI

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Barcode scanning not working consistently
  • Document reader sometimes fails to load or process documents
  • Frequent crashes or app becoming unresponsive

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add support for more languages, including Arabic and Chinese
  • Improve accuracy of color and facial recognition
  • Allow users to read digital displays like clocks and appliances
  • Integrate with screen readers like VoiceOver for better accessibility
  • Add an offline mode for using the app without an internet connection
Show 1 more
  • Provide more customization options for voice settings

Lume.

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Seeing AI

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Lume.

Subscriptions2
  • Lume Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Lume Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lume Premium Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Seeing AI free?
Seeing AI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lume. free?
Lume. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Seeing AI or Lume.?
Lume. is rated higher. Seeing AI averages 4.3 out of 5 from 626 ratings, while Lume. averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Seeing AI or Lume. have ads?
Neither Seeing AI nor Lume. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Seeing AI or Lume.?
Seeing AI ships an update every 2 months, and Lume. every 4 days. Most recently, Seeing AI was updated on October 18, 2026 and Lume. on October 12, 2026.

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