Comparison

Seeing AI vs Smallish

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

Smallish

Features
Read full description

Smallish isn't for organising your day. It's for when everything is already written down and you still can't start. Most planners help you see your day. Smallish helps you begin it. — Break something down when it feels too big. One tap, and the thing you've been avoiding becomes a list of small moves. — Before the clock starts, Smallish suggests something small. Get a glass of water. Stand up and stretch. The motion that makes the work possible. — Say it out loud instead of typing. Speak, check it, and it saves. — Simple mode strips the screen down to one thing, for the days when the app itself is too much. Nothing piles up. No streaks, no counters, no badges. Smallish never marks what you didn't do. Everything stays on your phone. No account, no sign-in. Terms of Use: https://smallish-proxy.guztdesign.workers.dev/terms Privacy Policy: https://smallish-proxy.guztdesign.workers.dev/privacy

Screenshots

Seeing AI4 screens
Smallish4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Seeing AI at none against Smallish's 2. Seeing AI also leads on chart position (#205 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). Smallish's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. Smallish sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Seeing AI asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Seeing AI ships an update every 2 months, Smallish every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Seeing AI versus Smallish: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSeeing AISmallish
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (626 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews68.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings626 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#205 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size309 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationGUSTAVO GONZALES LIMA

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

Smallish

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Seeing AI

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Smallish

Subscriptions2
  • Smallish Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Smallish Pro7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Seeing AI free?
Seeing AI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smallish free?
Smallish is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Seeing AI or Smallish have ads?
Neither Seeing AI nor Smallish shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Seeing AI or Smallish?
Seeing AI ships an update every 2 months, and Smallish every 2 weeks. Most recently, Seeing AI was updated on October 14, 2026 and Smallish on October 9, 2026.

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