This is what iPad Pro's LiDAR Scanner sees when it's mapping your home

iPad Pro 2020 Lidar Measure App Hero (Image credit: Rene Ritchie / iMore)

What you need to know

Apple's new LiDAR Scanner is an impressive bit of kit.
It debuted in the 2020 iPad Pro.
And we can see what it sees in a new video.

The big new feature of the 2020 iPad Pro is the addition of a LiDAR Scanner for the first time. Similar to the Face ID scanner on the front, the LiDAR Scanner gives the iPad Pro a better understanding of its surroundings thanks to 3D mapping magic. And now we get to see what the scanner sees, too.

Now that people are starting to receive their iPad Pros, people are starting to dig into what they can do. And that means we're starting to see videos showing the capabilities of that fancy new scanner.

Exhibit A:

First look at the iPad Pro LiDAR Scanner pic.twitter.com/kwkl1YBy2nFirst look at the iPad Pro LiDAR Scanner pic.twitter.com/kwkl1YBy2n— Tim Field (@nobbis) March 25, 2020 March 25, 2020

And if that isn't enough, how about a look at the dots the scanner generates as it works out how far away objects are?

Here is iPad Pro’s LiDAR under infrared. pic.twitter.com/IZkum3nwRxHere is iPad Pro’s LiDAR under infrared. pic.twitter.com/IZkum3nwRx— Faruk 🚀 ᴵᴾᴴᴼᴺᴱᴰᴼ (@iPhonedo) March 26, 2020 March 26, 2020

Are you not entertained?

Apple, understandably, is talking the LiDAR Scanner up as the next big thing in camera technology.

The breakthrough LiDAR Scanner enables capabilities never before possible on any mobile device. 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. New depth frameworks in iPadOS combine depth points measured by the LiDAR Scanner, data from both cameras and motion sensors, and is enhanced by computer vision algorithms on the A12Z Bionic for a more detailed understanding of a scene. The tight integration of these elements enables a whole new class of AR experiences on iPad Pro.

Want to know more? Be sure to check out our full review for all the deets.

Pros for pros

iPad Pro

Faster, better camera, and now with lasers.

After the 2018 iPad Pro revolution, Apple is back to the more standard evolution in 2020: An additional graphics core, ultra-wide camera, LiDAR scanner, iOS 13.4 trackpad support, and a new Magic Keyboard (coming in May).

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.