Apps Changed Your Phone. Now They Are Changing Your Photocopier.

Think back to 2007. The first iPhone launched and it could make calls, send texts and browse the internet. Useful, but nothing revolutionary. It was basically a better telephone.

Then the App Store arrived. Suddenly that same device could navigate you across the country, manage your bank account, translate a foreign language in real time, scan documents, edit photos and run your entire business from your pocket. The hardware did not change. The apps changed everything.

Your office photocopier has been through exactly the same evolution. And most businesses have no idea.

More Than a Photocopier

If you have a modern Xerox device with ConnectKey technology, you are not just sitting next to a printer. You are sitting next to a touchscreen computer that connects to the internet, runs apps and can automate tasks that your team currently does by hand.

Xerox ConnectKey devices come with a built in app platform, and Xerox has its own App Gallery where you can browse, download and install apps directly onto the machine. Think of it as the App Store for your photocopier.

Just like an iPhone without apps is just a telephone, a ConnectKey device without apps is just a printer. The real power is in what you add to it.

The Xerox App Gallery: Your Printer’s App Store

The Xerox App Gallery is a collection of Xerox approved apps that you can download straight to your device. Some are free, some are paid, and they cover everything from cloud storage and scanning to translation, security and AI powered document summaries.

You browse the gallery on the device’s touchscreen, tap to install and the app is ready to use in minutes. And just like your phone, you can add, remove or swap apps whenever your needs change. There is no hardware upgrade required. It is all software.

Apps That Actually Change How You Work

Here are some of the most useful ConnectKey apps and what they do in plain English.

Scan to Cloud Storage. Apps like Xerox Connect for Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Box let you scan a document at the machine and send it straight to a cloud folder. No emailing files to yourself, no USB sticks, no saving to a shared drive and then moving it later. Scan it, pick the folder, done. Your team can access it instantly from anywhere.

Scan to Cloud Email. A free app that gives you a simple and secure alternative to the traditional scan to email setup. Particularly useful for businesses moving to OAuth with Microsoft 365, as it provides a straightforward way to keep scanning to email without the authentication headaches.

Xerox Easy Translator. Scan a document in one language and print it out in another. It supports up to 35 languages using machine translation. If you work with international clients or suppliers, or if you receive documents in other languages, this saves hours compared to manual translation.

Xerox Auto Redaction. This app automatically detects and removes sensitive personal information from documents before they are shared. Think national insurance numbers, email addresses, phone numbers and other personally identifiable information. For law firms, accountancy practices and healthcare providers handling confidential data, this is a game changer for GDPR compliance.

QR Code App. Scan a QR code from your phone to instantly pair with the printer. No hunting for the printer on the network, no fiddling with drivers. Just scan and print. It sounds simple, but for businesses with visitors, hot deskers or multiple devices, it removes a constant source of frustration.

Xerox Summarizer. This AI powered app scans a document and creates a summary for you, right at the machine. You can view it on screen, print it or share it. Perfect for quickly getting the key points from a long report, contract or policy document without reading the whole thing.

Print from Cloud. The flip side of scan to cloud. Browse your Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Box account directly on the printer’s touchscreen and print what you need. No computer required. Walk up, log in, find your file and print it.

The iPhone Lesson

When Apple launched the iPhone, nobody predicted that the real value would come from third party apps. The phone itself was the platform. The apps were what made it indispensable.

The same is true for your Xerox ConnectKey device. The hardware is excellent. It prints, copies, scans and faxes reliably. But the apps are what turn it from a piece of office equipment into a genuine productivity tool that saves your team time every single day.

And just like your phone, the apps keep evolving. Xerox and third party developers are constantly adding new apps to the gallery. Your device gets more capable over time, not less.

Most Businesses Do Not Know This Exists

The surprising thing is that most businesses with ConnectKey devices have never opened the App Gallery. They are using a smartphone as a telephone. The apps are sitting there, ready to install, and nobody has told them.

That is partly because the devices work brilliantly out of the box. People set them up for printing and scanning and never look any further. But once you start adding apps, you realise how much time your team has been wasting on tasks the machine could handle automatically.

How XOS Can Help

At XOS, we do not just install your Xerox device and walk away. We work with you to understand how your business operates and recommend the apps that will make the biggest difference to your team.

Whether that is setting up scan to cloud so your team can work from anywhere, configuring auto redaction for GDPR compliance, or simply showing you what is available in the App Gallery, we make sure you are getting the full value from your investment.

If you already have a Xerox ConnectKey device and have never explored the apps, get in touch. We will show you what your machine can really do. And if you are still using an older device that does not support apps, this might be the reason to consider an upgrade.

Contact XOS at xos.co.uk or call us to find out which apps could transform the way your office works.