Is a Police Scanner app just a good as buying an actual scanner?
As long as cellular service is working, it should be OK. If cellular service is interrupted, you scanner phone app may not work at all. With a real scanner, you by-pass this issue.
“Is a Police Scanner app just a good as buying an actual scanner?”
Nope. I have found that the online police scanner channels are not always accurate. On one that I monitor, there have been many repeats of exciting car chases and standoffs...the scanner apps are fed by individuals who port a real scanner to the nets, but they can also feed recorded audio to the app feed.
I see them as entertainment, not sources of critical information. The fun part is listening to an event in Cleveland when I’m in El Segundo, but I have to realize that the radio talk might not be real.