Phones like Samsung’s Galaxy S20 Ultra and Galaxy Note 10 Plus have time-of-flight (ToF) sensors that a measure how long it takes infrared light to bounce back to the sensor. That allows for greater depth sensing.
So you might ask why a LiDAR scanner is needed on the current iPad Pro and likely the iPhone 12 Pro? Well, the latest LiDAR systems use multiple laser pulses to effectively scan parts of an environment very quickly, whereas ToF sensors tend to use a single beam of infrared light.
As a result, LiDAR systems effectively scan more stuff and take in more data pertaining to the scene the scanner is being pointed at. Better range and more scanning potential means LiDAR is better at detecting an object in front or behind of other objects. Known as ‘occlusion,’ this process allows for LiDAR to build a richer picture of the environment being scanned.
(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)
And thanks to the use of computer algorithms and computational photography, LiDAR could deliver photos with a deeper sense of depth. But this isn’t something we’ve seen in the iPad Pro, which doesn’t even support a portrait mode with its rear-camera array.
Really, LiDAR on the iPad Pro is more about improving augmented reality experiences and apps. The greater scanning potential means virtual objects are more realistically superimposed over a real environment, and the ability to digitally measure objects more accurately.
While we found the LiDAR scanner in the iPad Pro to work well with some AR apps, like IKEA Place, it doesn’t allow 3D objects to be scanned with enough accuracy to say, send that data to a 3D printer for replication, something that would certainly make the iPad Pro more ‘Pro.’And the range of apps that can tap into the LiDAR tech on the iPad Pro is pretty slim. The developers of the Halide camera app did a deep-dive into the iPad Pro’s LiDAR system and noted there are no APIs to allow developers to access the data below that provided by what’s scanned at 3D surface level.
Apple does have its ARKit to provide developers with a framework to create AR apps for its devices. But so far AR apps don’t seem particularly prolific.
