LiDAR performance differs this much! iPhone 15 Pro vs 12 Pro — the surprising gap in surveying accuracy

Table of Contents

• What is LiDAR? The groundbreaking technology built into smartphones

• The LiDAR sensor first introduced in the iPhone 12 Pro

• LiDAR performance updates in the iPhone 15 Pro

• Surveying accuracy comparison: iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro

• Evolution of on-site LiDAR measurement (case studies)

• What is simplified surveying using LRTK

• Conclusion

• Frequently Asked Questions

LiDAR technology built into smartphones has been evolving year by year. Especially when focusing on the iPhone 12 Pro and 15 Pro differences, you can see that a remarkable gap in surveying accuracy produced by the LiDAR sensor has emerged. In this article, we first explain the basics of smartphone LiDAR and compare the performance of the LiDAR first introduced on the iPhone 12 Pro with the performance updates on the latest iPhone 15 Pro. On top of that, we specifically introduce the differences in actual surveying accuracy and usability, and finally touch on the simple surveying system LRTK that utilizes smartphone LiDAR.

What is LiDAR? A groundbreaking technology built into smartphones

LiDAR (Lidar) is an abbreviation of "Light Detection and Ranging", a technology that uses laser light to measure the distance to objects and capture surrounding shapes in three dimensions. It works by emitting a laser and measuring the time it takes to hit the target and return, thereby calculating the distance, and its accuracy is very high. Originally, LiDAR was used in large systems such as sensors for autonomous vehicles and aerial surveying, but when Apple incorporated it into smartphones in 2020, it suddenly became much more familiar. Even a small LiDAR built into a smartphone can instantly measure distances of up to about 5 m (16.4 ft), enabling various new features such as 3D room scanning in AR (augmented reality) apps and faster camera focusing in low-light conditions.

With the arrival of smartphone LiDAR, 3D measurement—which previously required professional surveying equipment—has become possible in a palm-sized form. Because advanced technology is now available to anyone through apps costing a few thousand yen or built-in features, its range of uses has expanded to general users as well as industries such as construction and interiors. However, smartphone-mounted LiDAR, because of its compactness, also has limits in measurement range and accuracy. Below, we will take a look at LiDAR performance by iPhone model and explain in detail the differences and their impact on surveying accuracy.

LiDAR sensor first introduced on the iPhone 12 Pro

iPhone 12 Pro was a landmark Apple smartphone that first included a LiDAR scanner. At launch, this small LiDAR attracted attention and brought the industry the shock that "laser scanning can be done on a smartphone." The iPhone 12 Pro's LiDAR sensor can measure distances inside rooms and to objects with high accuracy up to about 5 m (16.4 ft). Users who actually used the iPhone 12 Pro to measure furniture dimensions or scan interiors reported responses such as "more accurate than expected" and "I don't need a tape measure anymore." For example, when measuring the distance from wall to wall with the Measure app, errors are often within a few centimeters (a few in), which provides sufficient accuracy for everyday measurements.

A well-known example of LiDAR use on the iPhone 12 Pro is AR Measure and 3D Scan. The AR Measure feature lets you measure distances and lengths simply by specifying points on the screen, making it easy to check furniture sizes and measure dimensions when moving. Also, using 3D scanning apps you can capture an entire room layout or turn small objects into three-dimensional models. For small-scale objects (for example, boxes or chairs on the order of several tens of centimeters (several tens of cm (several tens of in))), the dimensional error of the resulting 3D models is generally said to be around ±1 cm (±0.4 in), which is very high accuracy compared with traditional photogrammetry.

That said, early-generation smartphone LiDAR had several limitations. The measurable range was limited to about 5 m (16.4 ft), and targets farther than that could not be captured as point clouds. In outdoor environments with strong direct sunlight, the infrared laser tended to scatter, introducing noise into the sensor and sometimes reducing accuracy. Furthermore, the iPhone 12 Pro had 6 GB of onboard memory and limited processing power, so when continuously scanning a wide area the amount of data would grow and there were cases where processing became sluggish partway through. Even so, the introduction of the iPhone 12 Pro produced the astonishment of "Can a smartphone measure this much?!" and applications for simple on-site surveying and equipment inspection began to be tried in many places.

iPhone 15 Pro LiDAR Performance Update

Several years later, the iPhone 15 Pro arrives with further advances in its LiDAR sensor and related technologies. Externally, like the 12 Pro, it only shows a small black sensor near the rear camera, but the internals have been significantly updated. First, the iPhone 15 Pro series' LiDAR adopts parts from a new manufacturer, which has enabled power savings and performance improvements. Specifically, by incorporating Sony's latest LiDAR module, battery consumption for the same ranging tasks is reduced, making long-duration AR use possible. In addition, LiDAR usage for Night mode photography and autofocus assistance has been enhanced, improving ranging accuracy in low-light and complex environments.

Not only hardware performance, but the advances in chip performance and software should not be overlooked. The iPhone 15 Pro uses the A17 Bionic chip as its processor, and processing speed has increased compared to the previous generation. Furthermore, memory capacity has been increased in some models, improving stability when handling vast point cloud datasets. As a result, for example when scanning an entire large room at once, the iPhone 15 Pro tends to operate more smoothly than the iPhone 12 Pro and can measure more extensive areas continuously. Apple’s native AR engine has also been improved year by year, and on the iPhone 15 Pro, self-position estimation (SLAM) during spatial scanning has become more precise, making object position drift less likely even during long scans.

The sensor's basic specifications (effective ranging distance) are officially still around 5 m (16.4 ft). However, internal improvements appear to have increased the practical effective range and sensitivity. Users report that when using the iPhone 15 Pro, the distance at which distant objects can be captured as points has slightly increased. For example, there are cases where a wall 6–7 m (19.7–23.0 ft) away that previously appeared completely black was faintly captured as a point cloud on the 15 Pro (though with reduced accuracy). This is thought to be due to improved sensitivity of the LiDAR module and stronger software corrections. However, some point out that because the latest model is more sensitive it can also pick up noise from empty space (areas with nothing), and as a side effect of performance improvements it may sometimes detect unnecessary points. Overall, the iPhone 15 Pro's LiDAR has been tuned to be more efficient, faster, and more stable in ranging compared to the first generation, bringing smartphone 3D measurement closer to a practical level.

Comparison of Survey Accuracy: iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro

Now, let's specifically compare the main topic, the difference in surveying accuracy between the iPhone 12 Pro and the 15 Pro. Both models use LiDAR in the same basic way, but the hardware and software advancements mentioned above lead to differences in the accuracy of the data obtained.

Distance measurement accuracy: At short range (1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft)), both models fall within errors on the order of a few millimeters to a few centimeters. For measuring the dimensions of small objects, both the 12 Pro and the 15 Pro are accurate enough that differences are imperceptible to the naked eye. However, differences emerge as distance increases. For example, consider measuring the distance to a wall about 5 m (16.4 ft) away. With the iPhone 12 Pro, because this is near its stated maximum range, measurements often include errors of several centimeters. By contrast, on the iPhone 15 Pro, even at the same 5 m (16.4 ft) distance, sensor improvements and enhanced computational algorithms tend to keep errors smaller. In measured tests, at 5 m (16.4 ft) distance, the 12 Pro showed deviations of ±3–5 cm (±1.2–2.0 in), while the 15 Pro stayed within about ±2–3 cm (±0.8–1.2 in). It may seem like a small difference, but an improvement of a few centimeters at 5 m is a significant advance for smartphone-based surveying.

Point cloud density is also a point of comparison. The iPhone’s LiDAR acquires point clouds (point cloud) via an illumination pattern, but because the 15 Pro has higher processing performance, it can capture more points when scanning while moving. Even in scenes that tended to have sparse points when quickly walking around with the iPhone 12 Pro, the 15 Pro’s tracking is better and it more easily yields point clouds with fewer holes. This is especially noticeable when scanning indoor spaces: when circling the same room, the 12 Pro’s point cloud had some misses at the wall–floor boundary, whereas the 15 Pro was able to reproduce the shape with almost no seams. Because higher point-cloud density makes it easier to take measurements later and verify details, the 15 Pro is even more suitable for creating 3D models for on-site documentation.

Stability and reproducibility are also important accuracy factors. With LiDAR scanning on the iPhone 12 Pro generation, long scans could cause the app to crash due to device heating or memory load, and there were reported issues where the scale (scale factor) would shift slightly mid-scan, distorting the entire model. On the iPhone 15 Pro, thanks to hardware efficiency improvements and increased memory, longer continuous scans can be carried out more stably. As a result, the reproducibility of measurement data (whether repeated measurements yield the same value) has also improved. With the 12 Pro there were cases where scanning the same subject several times produced slight differences, but with the 15 Pro it is easier to obtain almost the same result each time, increasing reliability.

Overall, there is no doubt that the iPhone 15 Pro has achieved a marked improvement in surveying accuracy compared with the 12 Pro. In particular, the 15 Pro’s advantages become apparent in scenes such as measuring distant targets and scanning large spaces. However, it should be noted that no matter how much the 15 Pro’s performance has improved, smartphone LiDAR accuracy remains centimeter-level (inch-level) and does not reach the millimeter-level precision (≈0.04 in) required for exact surveying. This is the distinction from professional stationary laser scanners (millimeter accuracy, ≈0.04 in), and smartphone LiDAR is positioned primarily for simple surveying. Nonetheless, within that realm of simple surveying, accuracy has steadily improved year by year, giving us the sense of surprise that “you can measure this much with a smartphone.”

Evolution of On-site LiDAR Measurement (Case Examples)

Let's look at some examples of how the LiDAR performance differences between the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro can be experienced in actual work sites and everyday life.

Example 1: Measuring Room Dimensions Consider a case of measuring the size of a room at a construction site. With the iPhone 12 Pro, assume you measured the four corners of the room in order with an AR measuring tool and noted the dimensions. In that case, each side’s measurement error could be a few centimeters, so, for example, a wall that is actually 5.00 m (16.40 ft) might be measured as 5.05 m (16.57 ft). This is fine for grasping the general size, but with the iPhone 15 Pro the same wall tends to measure closer to the true value, around 5.01 m (16.44 ft). Also, for the automatic room modeling feature, the 12 Pro could get confused by small furniture and produce distorted wall shapes, whereas the 15 Pro, by acquiring a higher-density point cloud, has improved wall and opening recognition accuracy and can automatically generate an almost accurate floor plan. In other words, the gap between the old and new models has narrowed from a level that required later manual correction to a level that can be used almost as-is.

Example 2: Surveying elevation differences of roads and sites Experiments have also been conducted outdoors using smartphone LiDAR to measure ground elevation differences. On the iPhone 12 Pro, LiDAR tended to perform poorly under direct sunlight, so it was necessary to choose mornings, evenings, or overcast conditions. Even then, points on the ground more than 5 m (16.4 ft) away could not be acquired, and on large sites it was necessary to move around and stitch scans together in sections. Thanks to improved sensor sensitivity and noise processing on the iPhone 15 Pro, more point cloud data can be acquired outdoors during the daytime than before. In one experiment, with a 15 Pro fixed to a tripod and aimed at the ground, a terrain cross-section up to about 6–7 m (19.7–23.0 ft) away was captured in a single pass (of course, there are still limitations for full outdoor surveying). Reading elevation differences from the resulting point cloud data, the reproduction of bumps and depressions was smoother than in the 12 Pro era, and accuracy verification captured elevation differences with errors of around ±5 cm (±2.0 in). Traditionally, if this level of accuracy was acceptable, people had to measure multiple spots with tape measures or stadia rods, so being able to roughly scan with just a smartphone is a major efficiency improvement. You can see that the latest models increasingly offer this kind of practical-level usability.

Example 3: On-site equipment inspection and renovation LiDAR also proves useful for recording the positions of small fixtures such as piping and pillars. One equipment technician scanned wiring routes in a ceiling cavity with an iPhone 12 Pro, but the point cloud was coarse and partly discontinuous. Thin cables and slim pipes caused points to drop out and not form continuous lines, so when viewing the data later there were areas where it was hard to tell where the wiring ran. When tried with an iPhone 15 Pro, it was not perfect but reportedly became less prone to dropouts and made it easier to follow the shapes of linear objects. This is likely the benefit of a higher-sensitivity sensor that can capture finer targets. Also, on renovation sites, smartphone LiDAR is used to check wall and floor distortions, and with the 15 Pro the accuracy of analyzing wall deformation from the captured point cloud improved, allowing the detection of tiny steps that the 12 Pro had missed. As a tool that provides on-site "insights," LiDAR-equipped smartphones have become increasingly reliable companions with each generation.

As shown above, real-world examples make it clear that the LiDAR performance improvements in the iPhone 15 Pro come into play in the field of surveying and measurement. Of course, smartphone LiDAR alone doesn't complete everything, and there are areas where it falls short of professional laser scanners and surveying instruments in terms of accuracy. Even so, the significance of an era in which someone with the need of "I want to measure this roughly right now, on the spot" can pull a smartphone from their pocket and immediately perform 3D measurement is considerable. On the latest iPhone, the quality of that instant measurement and instant sharing has improved further, and it can be said to have begun functioning as a productivity tool rather than merely a gadget.

What is simplified surveying with LRTK

With improvements in smartphone LiDAR performance, a new surveying method using a system called LRTK has been drawing attention. LRTK is a simplified surveying system that combines the LiDAR function of a smartphone (such as an iPhone) with high-precision GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). LiDAR alone on a phone tends to produce point cloud data in local coordinates (a coordinate system limited to that site), but in LRTK, by attaching a dedicated compact GNSS receiver to the phone, the location information of the measured place can be associated with map coordinates with centimeter-level accuracy (half-inch accuracy). In other words, it is a system that can give the point clouds captured with a smartphone accurate coordinates on the Earth.

By using LRTK, it becomes easy to overlay point clouds scanned with LiDAR on devices like the iPhone 15 Pro directly onto real-world survey maps and CAD drawings. For example, if you scan the current state of a building at a construction site with a smartphone and process that data on the LRTK cloud, you can instantly obtain a 3D point cloud model aligned to the global coordinate system. This enables the alignment work that previously required specialized surveying equipment and complex post-processing to be performed almost automatically.

The LRTK system also integrates with photogrammetry using a smartphone camera, enabling rough wide-area captures to acquire terrain up to 50 m (164.0 ft) away while measuring details with LiDAR at short range within 5 m (16.4 ft), allowing hybrid surveying. This means one unit can handle both "roughly capture distant areas with photos and capture nearby areas in detail with LiDAR." By switching between photo mode and laser mode according to site conditions, a single operator can simply walk around and collect detailed terrain maps and dimensional data of structures.

Traditionally, performing high-precision 3D surveying required laser scanners and survey-specific equipment costing on the order of several million yen. However, with LRTK, you can carry out relatively low-cost and rapid 3D surveying using a handheld smartphone + small GNSS device + dedicated app. For example, even if you need to quickly record the shapes of objects affected by a disaster at a disaster site, with LRTK you don’t need to haul heavy equipment—you simply hold up your smartphone and walk. Because of that ease of use and cost advantage, municipalities and construction companies have begun adopting it.

In short, LRTK is a solution that elevates "smartphone × LiDAR surveying" to the next level. With the proliferation of high-performance LiDAR-equipped models like the iPhone 15 Pro, the usefulness of simple surveying using this LRTK has increased dramatically. LRTK complements and enhances the accuracy and wide-area surveying that standalone smartphone LiDAR could not achieve. If you own a recent iPhone and are thinking, "I want to measure more precisely, including positions," or "I want to use survey data in my work," then it's well worth considering the use of LRTK.

Summary

Focusing on the LiDAR performance comparison of iPhone 12 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro, we looked in detail at surveying accuracy using smartphones. After several generations since its initial introduction, smartphone LiDAR has steadily improved. As a result, the measurable range, accuracy, and usability have improved to the point that you might be surprised at how different LiDAR performance can be. On the iPhone 15 Pro, distances can be measured more accurately even to targets 5 m (16.4 ft) away, point cloud density has increased, and the stability of continuous scanning has also improved. This means that the quality of simple surveying and 3D scanning achievable with smartphones has come closer to a level that is practical for professional use.

That said, no matter how much performance improves, smartphone LiDAR still does not match specialized equipment in terms of absolute accuracy. For millimeter-level (mm) accuracy (≈0.04 in) or precise measurement of large spaces more than 10 m (32.8 ft) away, professional equipment is often necessary. However, for everyday use, preliminary inspections, and rough surveying, it’s certain that the latest smartphone LiDAR has become a "more than sufficiently useful tool." When you need to grasp the current situation with a small team and in a short time, or when you want to instantly create a 3D model and share it with stakeholders, the iPhone in your pocket can step in and be of immediate use.

Solutions like LRTK can further strengthen such smartphone surveying. Combining high-precision positioning information with smartphone LiDAR makes it possible to achieve both accuracy and convenience. By maximizing the iPhone 15 Pro's excellent LiDAR performance and streamlining surveying workflows with LRTK, you can significantly reduce the effort and time previously required for surveying.

Smartphone LiDAR will continue to evolve, and with every new model such as the iPhone 16 and 17 we can expect further performance improvements. The act of "measuring" will become easier, and an era in which anyone can handle spatial information is imminent. I hope many people will experience the improvement in surveying accuracy that the iPhone 15 Pro makes tangible and the new possibilities enabled by LRTK beyond that — this astonishing difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can LiDAR on a smartphone really be used for surveying? A: Yes, LiDAR on a smartphone can be used for simple surveying. The LiDAR built into the iPhone can measure distances with centimeter-level accuracy (half-inch accuracy), making it practical for many uses such as measuring building dimensions and calculating room areas. However, for the millimeter-level precision surveying performed by professional surveyors, or for large-scale detailed surveys, smartphone LiDAR alone may not provide sufficient accuracy. For that reason, depending on the application it is recommended to use smartphone LiDAR for rapid preliminary measurements and to supplement parts that require high precision with conventional instruments.

Q: How much difference is there between the LiDAR performance of the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro? A: Broadly speaking, the iPhone 15 Pro's LiDAR shows measurement range and accuracy that have improved somewhat compared with the 12 Pro. Specifically, at distance measurements of around 5 m (16.4 ft) the error, which was several centimeters (a few in) on the 12 Pro, becomes smaller on the 15 Pro, and the point cloud density is also higher. In addition, the 15 Pro offers greater stability during long scans, and noise reduction is improved even in bright outdoor environments. While it's not a dramatic difference, comparing measurement results often gives the impression that the 15 Pro is indeed more accurate and easier to use, and the difference is especially noticeable for professional use and advanced AR applications.

Q: How accurate is smartphone LiDAR measurement? A: The accuracy of smartphone LiDAR depends on conditions, but generally consider it to be about ± a few centimeters (± a few inches). At close range it can reach accuracy approaching a few millimeters (a few hundredths of an inch), but in general, at distances greater than 1 m (3.3 ft) errors of about 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) can occur. At 5 m (16.4 ft) deviations of about 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) may appear. However, this is also influenced by the target material and ambient light. Surfaces like glass or mirrors produce larger errors, while dark indoor environments tend to improve accuracy. The latest iPhone 15 Pro is more accurate than the previous generation, but note that millimeter-level accuracy (millimeter-level, ≈ 0.04 in) cannot be guaranteed. For important dimensions, it’s reassuring to make final corrections using a scale (actual measurement).

Q: What is LRTK? How is it related to smartphone LiDAR? A: LRTK is the name of a smartphone-based simplified surveying system. Specifically, it combines a LiDAR-equipped smartphone like an iPhone with a high-precision GNSS unit to provide accurate position coordinates in real time to the acquired point cloud data and photos. Smartphone LiDAR alone produces measurements in a relative coordinate system, but by using LRTK you can turn the data into information that includes "where the measured object is located on a map." In other words, it is a platform for tying 3D data obtained with smartphone LiDAR to survey coordinates. By leveraging LRTK, you can immediately convert point clouds scanned with a smartphone into drawings and correctly overlay multiple measurement results.

Q: What are the benefits of using LRTK? A: The biggest advantage of using LRTK is that, while retaining the ease of smartphone LiDAR, it can greatly improve surveying accuracy and reliability. Specifically, thanks to the positioning accuracy obtained through GNSS integration (a few centimeters or less (< ~1.2 in)), data collected with a smartphone can more easily be used as official surveying deliverables. Also, because a single person can survey a wide area in a short time, manual spot-measurement work and post-processing are reduced, and work efficiency improves dramatically. There's no need to carry heavy equipment. For example, LRTK is powerful in situations where you need to quickly capture 3D data, such as disaster-site documentation, construction as-built verification, and surveys of farmland or forest conditions. In summary, the major advantage of LRTK is that it can "raise smartphone surveying to professional-level accuracy, thereby saving cost and time." If you own a recent iPhone, it's worth trying a system like LRTK to fully leverage its capabilities.

Q: Should iPhone 12 Pro users upgrade to the 15 Pro? (For LiDAR purposes) A: For LiDAR purposes, if you require higher-precision, higher-performance measurements, upgrading to the iPhone 15 Pro has significant advantages. The 15 Pro offers improved rangefinding accuracy compared to the 12 Pro, and greater stability and speed for large-scale scans. If you use 3D scanning professionally or want to create highly detailed models as a hobby, you will especially feel the benefits of the newer model. However, if you don’t make much use of LiDAR in daily life or only need simple dimensional measurements, the 12 Pro still covers the basic functionality. Considering the cost of upgrading, the key criterion is whether you plan to actively perform surveying or point-cloud measurements with your smartphone. If you might use advanced surveying systems like LRTK in the future, having the latest 15 Pro will let you use them comfortably for longer.