iPhone 13 Pro So what’s the function of LIDAR on the 13 Pro?

[Benz63amg]

I upgraded to the 13 Pro from 11 Pro and I now have LIDAR on my iPhone, what’s the use of it exactly? Any apps to utilize it or is it just something the camera uses in low light automatically to improve photo quality?

 

[JakeT85]

I'm in construction and our estimating software uses it to measure rooms. It's pretty awesome, and a huge time saver. Take a pic of each wall in a room and it draws the room with dimensions.

Theroetically you could do the same creating a 3d room model in your house and then use AR to change paint color, drop a piece of furniture or a wall hanging in and see how it looks before purchasing.

 

[sviato]

Measure your friends' height to correct them that they're not 6 feet tall

 

[Boyd01]

I believe the LIDAR scanner is used to get very accurate focus measurements for the camera, this may be used in conjunction with the Cinema and Portrait modes to isolate foreground objects from the background. Don't recall the details, but it was discussed in the reviews of the 12 Pro Max when it first appeared.

But it has some very cool capabilities if you get an app that can make full use of the scanner. Here's an example I posted last year after playing with it on my 12 Pro Max.

Fun with LIDAR on my new iPhone 12 Pro Max

I'm surprised that there has been so little discussion of the full capabilities of the LIDAR scanner on the 12 Pro/Pro Max - it was one of the main reasons why I got mine! You need a third party app to really use the scanner and this was my first try with the Polycam app. Not much documentation...

forums.macrumors.com

And another scan I did of some 100-year-old ruins in the woods near my home. Have been meaning to do more, but just haven't had the time yet.

Belco Ruins #1 - Download Free 3D model by ostroff

Ruins at the Atlantic County Park at Estell Manor, NJ. LIDAR scan with an iPhone 12 Pro Max Created with Polycam.ai - Belco Ruins #1 - Download Free 3D model by ostroff

sketchfab.com

 

[BSoares]

It can also measure how tall someone is pretty quick and fairly accurate. I hear it also helps with focus in really dark environment.

 

[parseckadet]

I'm in construction and our estimating software uses it to measure rooms. It's pretty awesome, and a huge time saver. Take a pic of each wall in a room and it draws the room with dimensions.

Theroetically you could do the same creating a 3d room model in your house and then use AR to change paint color, drop a piece of furniture or a wall hanging in and see how it looks before purchasing.

Magicplan is a great app that does this. The Ikea app will do the furniture placement piece.

 

[doolar]

I use it to create 3D spaces of building interiors at work. I don’t have to bring a big, heavy 3D camera on a tripod all the time. Yes, the proprietary 3D camera is better. But I can always and easily use my iPhone 13 Pro and get excellent results on the spot. I assess fire damages, so a big camera on a tripod is difficult to work with in all the debris.

It was the main selling point for me to justify my phone upgrade from a XS from a business standpoint.

 

[JakeT85]

I use it to create 3D spaces of building interiors at work. I don’t have to bring a big, heavy 3D camera on a tripod all the time. Yes, the proprietary 3D camera is better. But I can always and easily use my iPhone 13 Pro and get excellent results on the spot. I assess fire damages, so a big camera on a tripod is difficult to work with in all the debris.

It was the main selling point for me to justify my phone upgrade from a XS from a business standpoint.

Same line of work. Check it out in Xactimate Mobile to sketch it's a game changer. Matterport is still much more high detail and quality for tours but for a sketch the iPad is what I use now. All of it beats the old fashioned graphing paper and pencil. The newbies in the industry are spoiled these days.

 

[sjperformance]

Measure your friends' height to correct them that they're not 6 feet tall

This is exactly what I've done with it since the 12PM. I've confirmed to my bestfriends they aren't taller than me lol

 

[Chafka]

Normally LIDAR is a mapping tool that identifies the distances to objects. This becomes useful on a phone for AR related applications and uses. Using LIDAR allows the phone to accurately represent objects within the viewport of the phone so it appears as if it is part of the scene. Unfortunately, I don't believe that most software has taken advantage of it and has instead done the VR route (except for Pokemon that is). I would imagine that Apples look around feature in Maps takes advantage of the LIDAR functionality too.

Personally, I would have loved to have something that would turn my phone into a mobile survey machine (even with so so accuracy) so I could do landscaping projects in CAD (I am talking small retaining walls and stuff).

 

[Benz63amg]

It can also measure how tall someone is pretty quick and fairly accurate. I hear it also helps with focus in really dark environment.

how do i measure someone's height with LIDAR on the 13 pro?

 

[alpi123]

how do i measure someone's height with LIDAR on the 13 pro?

There's an app called Measure (from Apple)

 

[Deb13]

Same line of work. Check it out in Xactimate Mobile to sketch it's a game changer. Matterport is still much more high detail and quality for tours but for a sketch the iPad is what I use now. All of it beats the old fashioned graphing paper and pencil. The newbies in the industry are spoiled these days.

JakeT - do you take photos with Xactimate Mobile as well? I'm been using it on my iPhone 11 and just upgraded to the 13. I cannot get the camera to focus correctly and it's making me nuts. Just wondering if there is a setting I should adjust. Many thanks!