Hi everyone,

I’m an iOS developer, and for the past two years, I’ve been building **Splash Reader**. I originally started by experimenting with comic reading in Mixed Reality, but for the last few months, I’ve been focusing on the iPad version.

My goal was to see if I could add **utility AI tools** to the reading experience, without using AI-generated art or hurting artists in any way. Here are the features I’ve added so far:

* **Automatic Translation:** Detects text on the page and translates it as you turn pages (supports most languages, including Japanese).
* **Reverse Image Search:** Select parts of a page to identify characters, locations, or objects.
* **Smart "Define":** Instantly look up difficult words, historical quotes, or obscure references.
* **Custom Questions:** Ask specific questions about the context of a panel or dialogue.
* **Cross-Device Sync:** All queried information and reading progress are synced between your devices.

---

### Cost & Transparency
The iPad app is **free to download**. Basic features (importing CBZ, CBR, and PDF files and syncing progress) are included at no cost. 

Because the AI tools have per-use costs on the backend, I use a token system. The app comes with **20 free tokens** so you can try everything out. Tokens are utilized as follows:
* **1 Token:** Custom questions, definitions, or single-phrase translations.
* **5 Tokens:** Full-page translation.
* **10 Tokens:** Identify (reverse image search, similar to Google Lens).

### Pricing & Token Packs
I’ve tried to keep the pricing flexible and offer 1-time purchases in addition to subscription offerings:

| Option | Price | Tokens | Details |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Starter Pack** | $5 | 1,000 | Non-expiring |
| **Value Pack** | $10 | 2,500 | Non-expiring |
| **Monthly Sub** | $3/mo | 1,000 | Refreshes monthly |
| **Annual Sub** | $25/yr | 1,000 | Refreshes monthly ($2.08/mo) |

### What I’m Currently Experimenting With:
* **Personal Annotations:** I’m currently reading *East of West* and really want a way to tag every reference to "The Message." I'm building a feature to add searchable, taggable personal notes to specific pages.
* **AI Generated Translation Logic:** I’m considering adding full AI page translation (overlaying text). However, I’m hesitant because it involves processing whole pages, which feels borderline to me. **I’d love the community’s thoughts on this.**
* **Organization:** Adding automatic metadata retrieval and support for OPDS, Google Drive, and other cloud services.

### Privacy
I want to be fully transparent: No personal data is collected.
* **Reading Content:** Synced via Apple CloudKit (only Apple sees this data).
* **Analytics:** I use Firebase and Mixpanel to see which features are popular, but this is aggregated and anonymous.
* **AI Queries:** Image selections are sent directly to Google's AI tools without being saved on my end.
* [Full Privacy Policy](https://splashreader.com/privacy-policy.pdf)

[App Store link](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/splash-smart-comics-reader/id6757821463)

---

### A Note on Rules
I know r/comics is strictly anti-piracy and has clear self-promotion rules. I am the app developer, and my affiliation is clear. 

Screenshots are used to showcase features. They are real screenshots taken from the app. The art is taken from East of West ((c) Hickman & Dragotta) and Saga ((c) Vaughan & Staples).

**Splash Reader does not support piracy or AI-generated art.** I’m working on my apps full-time, so I’m committed to frequent updates. I welcome any sort of feedback. Please share any suggestions or features you’d like to see!

[OC] I built an iPad comic reader with utility AI (translation, character identification). I'd love your feedback!