8 really cool ways I use LiDAR on my iPhone and iPad - and you can too

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• LiDAR unlocks new iPhone AR experiences.
• Scan rooms, measure spaces, and preview furniture.
• Try LiDAR apps for 3D scans and fun AR games.

Your iPhone Pro and iPad Pro may have a helpful and powerful feature you might not know about. Built directly into the last few generations of devices, the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanner emits a laser to measure the distances of surrounding objects. This feature provides a few key benefits.

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First, LiDAR helps the camera take sharper photos, particularly in dark conditions. Second, the scanner taps into AR, or augmented reality, to combine the real and virtual worlds, acting as an AR virtual tape measure, showing you how new furniture ...