Using Google's Assamese OCR support on Android and iOS devices

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is an effective way to convert printed text into digital text for use on the internet. Google has OCR support for multiple languages, including Assamese. You can use this feature to convert an image of printed Assamese matter into Assamese digital text. Google provides this support on Android devices (smartphones and tablets) and on iPhone/iPad. This post details the steps necessary to enable and use Google's Assamese OCR feature on these devices.

• Instructions for Android devices 
• Instructions for iPhone/iPad

Instructions for Android devices

Step 1: Ensure Google Lens is on your device

Ensure that you have the latest version of the Google Lens app installed on your Android phone or tablet. If you don't have Google Lens installed on your device, you can install that free app from the Google Play Store. Here is the direct link.

Step 2: Get an image of the printed Assamese text

You can use your device's camera to take a photo of the printed Assamese text you wish to convert using OCR. If you already have a photo of the printed text on your device, you can skip this step

Step 3: Open the Google Lens app

1. From the list of photos shown in the app, tap the thumbnail of the photo with the printed Assamese text that you wish to convert using OCR
2. The screen will change with your photo opened to a larger size. At the bottom of the image, tap on Text
3. You should see a message below it saying 'Text found in image'
4. Tap on Select all as show in the example screenshot below
   
   
   
5. You should now see Copy text as shown in the example screenshot below. Tap on it
   

The OCR-converted text is now copied to your device. You can now paste that text into any app you can type in, e.g. Gmail or WhatsApp, just like you paste any other text in the app. 

Instructions for iPhone/iPad

Step 1: Ensure Google Photos is on your device

Ensure that you have the latest version of the Google Photos app installed on your iPhone or iPad. If you don't have Google Photos installed on your device, you can install that free app from the App Store. Here is the direct link.

Step 2: Get an image of the printed Assamese text

You can use your device's camera to take a photo of the printed Assamese text you wish to convert using OCR. If you already have a photo of the printed text on your device, you can skip this step.

Step 3: Open the Google Photos app

1. From the list of photos shown in the app, tap the thumbnail of the photo with the printed Assamese text that you wish to convert using OCR
2. The screen will change with your photo opened to a larger size. At the bottom of the image, tap on Copy text from image
3. You should see a blue overlay showing the selected text
4. Adjust the selection to cover all the text you want to extract from the image
5. After you are satisfied with your selection, click on Copy text at the bottom as shown in the example screenshot below
   

The OCR-converted text is now copied to your device. You can now paste that text into any app you can type in, e.g. Gmail or WhatsApp, just like you paste any other text in the app.