Users of the latest iPhone Pro models are just getting to grips with the functions of a mysterious black circle next to the cameras on the back of the latest iPhone models.
A recent Reddit post with 1,400 upvotes saw a user circling the mysterious circle and asking simply, ‘What’s it for?’
The circle is only found in the latest iPhone Pro models and certain iPad Pro models – and it’s actually very useful, enabling some of the device’s coolest apps and features.
The dot, which is built into the camera array, is actually a LiDAR scanner (it stands for Light Detection and Ranging).
Put simply, it’s a depth sensor that uses lasers to work out how far away things are.
It works by targeting an object with a pulsed laser and measuring how long it takes for the light to come back, enabling the iPhone or iPad to ‘build’ a 3D model of the world in front of it.
LiDAR technology has been used to uncover lost cities in the Amazon by ‘digitally deforesting’ the canopy and finding ruins beneath it and is also used in self-driving cars to ‘sense’ the distance to other vehicles.
But in iPhones, it’s used to enable advanced photography and augmented reality apps that ‘sense’ how far away things are – and apps that can automatically measure someone’s height for example.
Apple says: ‘The LiDAR Scanner measures the distance to surrounding objects up to 5 meters away, works both indoors and outdoors, and operates at the photon level at nano-second speeds.’
It enables apps such as Apple’s own Measure app to measure lengths, widths, and area with pinpoint accuracy – and even measure people’s height using the LiDAR sensor.
Apple says: ‘The LiDAR Scanner improves the Measure app, making it faster and easier to automatically calculate someone’s height, while helpful vertical and edge guides automatically appear to let users more quickly and accurately measure objects.
‘The Measure app also now comes with Ruler View for more granular measurements and allows users to save a list of all measurements, complete with screenshots for future use.’
The technology also helps the camera in Pro models take better photos, especially in low-light conditions, and allows autofocus to work faster.
There are also many apps that take advantage of the technology: Polycam is a 3D scanner that rapidly builds virtual models of 3D objects and spaces using the LiDAR sensor, and can be used to capture 3D objects for fun, or for room planning.
The technology also enables augmented reality apps where virtual objects interact with the ‘real’ world.
Apple says that LiDAR enables apps to, ‘Have virtual content interact with the physical environment realistically, for example, by bouncing a virtual ball off a real-world wall and having the ball follow the laws of physics.’
IKEA Place, for example, uses augmented reality to place IKEA furniture such as sofas, lamps, and bookcases within your home to see how well they would fit.
