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Did You Know iPhones Can Measure a Person's Height? Here's How

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iPhones equipped with a LiDAR Scanner have a useful trick: they can be used to measure a person's height. In order to take advantage of this feature, you will need an iPhone Pro or Pro Max model released in 2020 or later.

iPhone-Measure-Height-Contact-Shadow.jpg

Below, we outline how to measure a person's height with an iPhone.

How to Measure

The ability to measure a person's height is built into Apple's pre-installed Measure app.

  1. Open the Measure app on a compatible iPhone (see list below).
  2. Make sure the person is visible on your iPhone's screen from head to toe.
  3. Wait a moment, and a line should appear at the top of the person's head with their height measurement.
  4. To take a photo of the measurement, tap the shutter button (filled-in white circle) in the bottom-right corner of the app.
  5. To save the photo, tap the screenshot in the bottom-left corner of the screen, tap Done at the top, and tap Save to Photos.

Tips


  • The app measures a person's height from the ground to the top of their head or hair. However, if the person is wearing a hat, the height measurement will be from the ground to the top of the hat.
  • You can also measure a person's seated height.
  • You can switch between imperial (feet and inches) and metric (centimeters) in the Settings app under Measure → Measure Units.
Here are some additional tips from Apple's website:

  • Make sure that you're in a place with good lighting.
  • Avoid dark backgrounds and reflective surfaces.
  • Check that the person you're measuring has nothing covering their face or head, like a face mask or sunglasses.
  • Try to step back from the person you're measuring. You might be standing too close.

Compatible iPhones

The feature requires an iPhone with a LiDAR Scanner next to the rear camera. This sensor is typically used for augmented reality purposes, but its ability to measure a person's height is a useful bonus that many people don't know about.

  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 13 Pro
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 14 Pro
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
  • iPhone 15 Pro
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • iPhone 16 Pro
  • iPhone 16 Pro Max
The feature is not available on any other iPhone models.

Article Link: Did You Know iPhones Can Measure a Person's Height? Here's How
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/02/07/iphone-measure-persons-height/
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Great article, well-written, thank you!

Macrumors should do this more often. There are so many iPhone details that most people don’t know about.
America can still be proud of companies like Apple.

If MR wants to showcase how impressive and sometimes superior Apple devices are, articles like this are the way to go. It would also help MR retain more visitors, especially those who enjoy learning about the amazing features of Apple products in a way that makes them feel informed and connected.
 
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iMac The Knife said:
You have two options:

1. Be a creepy weirdo and scan someone's height without their knowledge.
2. You can ask the person (who I would hope is either friend or family) how tall they are.
Click to expand...
Most people don't know it themselves. That's my experience.
And they think it's great when you ask them if you can measure them. Just have the courage to ask politely!

The world is full of options, usually more than 2.
 
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This is one where I prefer a non tech approach

Measure yourself on the wall ... keep an area to measure the whole family as folks grow

It's a fun thing to do and look back on

I love looking at those walls in homes to see the hand writing and dates and when the big jumps happen for growing kids. It's a small little pleasure in life that shows some visual history

In the house I grew up in we even had guests added to the wall sometimes - ha!
A fun conversation starter and activity when they'd come over for dinner

A visual journal of sorts
 
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ThomasJL said:
Has anyone tested the accuracy of this feature? If so, what is the margin of error?
Click to expand...
Try it out and let us know!

There are also many apps for the iPhone that can be used to measure complete interiors. These apps are also used commercially. LiDAR is very accurate.

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology on recent iPhones has significantly enhanced the device's ability to measure distance and depth. The system works by emitting laser pulses and measuring how long it takes for the light to return after hitting an object. This enables highly accurate 3D scanning and environmental mapping, providing improvements in photography, augmented reality (AR), and other applications. On the iPhone 12 Pro and later models, the LiDAR sensor has an impressive accuracy, detecting objects with sub-centimeter precision in ideal conditions. In AR applications, it allows for faster and more accurate placement of virtual objects in real-world environments. The LiDAR sensor is also useful for improving autofocus in low-light conditions, providing quicker and sharper focus. While it works best in well-lit settings, its performance can be slightly reduced in extremely dark or reflective environments. However, even in such cases, the sensor remains highly reliable compared to other methods. Additionally, the LiDAR's range typically extends up to about 5 meters, which is more than enough for most everyday tasks. Overall, the integration of LiDAR in iPhones has proven to be a major step forward in mobile device sensing technology, offering a wide range of practical benefits.
 
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Morgenland said:
Most people don't know it themselves. That's my experience.
And they think it's great when you ask them if you can measure them. Just have the courage to ask politely!

The world is full of options, usually more than 2.
Click to expand...
Most people don't know their own height and think it's great when you ask them to measure them...what? I don't know where you hangout, but I think you should broaden your horizons. No offense intended of course. I've never met a person it my life that didn't know their own height, and I hope I never do. I mean, outside of a child who doesn't know any better, but I'm not going around asking kids how tall they are either.
 
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Doing a lot of CAD work I've used this feature a lot. It's a great tool for approximate measurements but don't rely on it like a measuring tape or laser measurement tool. It can be out by a few inches over 4 or 5 feet depending in the angles and so on. But with that said, it's pretty cool and I still use it in the right situations.
 
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iMac The Knife said:
Most people don't know their own height and think it's great when you ask them to measure them...what? I don't know where you hangout, but I think you should broaden your horizons. No offense intended of course. I've never met a person it my life that didn't know their own height, and I hope I never do. I mean, outside of a child who doesn't know any better, but I'm not going around asking kids how tall they are either.
Click to expand...
You speak for yourself, just dare to ask people. I live in a very communicative environment, and that's fun.
 
ddtmm said:
Doing a lot of CAD work I've used this feature a lot. It's a great tool for approximate measurements but don't rely on it like a measuring tape or laser measurement tool. It can be out by a few inches over 4 or 5 feet depending in the angles and so on. But with that said, it's pretty cool and I still use it in the right situations.
Click to expand...
There are apps of different qualities for room measurement. In some cases, you will be extremely pleasantly surprised at what is possible today.
I also use CAD, and LiDAR is simply fantastic for many topics in the field of architecture and 3D modeling.
Apple App Store is well stocked with apps for this purpose.
 
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Morgenland said:
You speak for yourself, just dare to ask people. I live in a very communicative environment, and that's fun.
Click to expand...
I agree that living in a very communicative environment is a good thing, I just don't go around asking people if I can measure them to see how tall they are. It's of no consequence to me how tall people are. To each their own though.
 
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Plutonius said:
There would be many unhappy people if the iPhone could also measure a person's weight :).
Click to expand...
Anyone remember those wild early iPhone days? There was this app that promised to weigh things up to 20 grams. The genius idea? It used the vibration alarm and somehow calculated the damping of the iPhone's gyro when mass was added. Sounds cool, right? I thought so too, so I immediately bought it.

But of course, the accuracy was... well, let’s just say, not exactly NASA-level. Imagine trying to weigh yourself by sitting on your iPhone. Yeah, not the best method for determining your body mass! 😂 But hey, it was a fun idea while it lasted.

I'm also unsure whether the iPhone can better determine something like crowd size than some guys. Even the iPhone has limits.
 
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Would be interesting to see how people's fabrication of their actual height compares to AI trying to guess as well. Most people don't know their actual height because it hasn't been measured in decades they just guess. My guess is I am 6'3" last checked in the 1900's LOL. Being Dutch I am the shortest person in my family.
 
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