The evolution of 3D scanning and positioning accuracy is amazing! In-depth comparison of the iPhone 15 Pro and 12 Pro

Table of Contents

• iPhone 12 Pro that first introduced 3D scanning functionality

• Hardware performance enhanced in the iPhone 15 Pro

• Comparison of LiDAR scanner performance: iPhone 12 Pro vs 15 Pro

• Differences in GPS positioning accuracy: What changes with dual-frequency GPS?

• Other areas of improvement (display, battery, etc.)

• Can the iPhone 15 Pro be used for surveying?

• Simple smartphone surveying enabled by LRTK

• Summary

• FAQ

iPhone 12 Pro: First to Feature 3D Scanning

Released in 2020, the iPhone 12 Pro was a landmark model as the first smartphone to include a LiDAR（ライダー） scanner. LiDAR is a technology that emits infrared lasers and rapidly measures the distance to targets, and the iPhone 12 Pro made 3D scanning of real-world spaces possible. At the time of its release, the availability of LiDAR on an iPhone became a major talking point, drawing attention that professional-grade features had arrived on smartphones.

The LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 Pro has made the previously time-consuming process of AR space scanning astonishingly easy and fast. For example, previously when AR apps detected flat surfaces such as tables or floors, you had to move the device slowly to scan the surroundings. However, with the LiDAR-equipped iPhone 12 Pro, you can obtain depth information of the environment instantly just by pointing the camera, enabling an experience called "Instant AR". AR object placement could also be done immediately, allowing virtual furniture and characters to appear in the real world instantly.

LiDAR scanners proved powerful not only for AR but also in measurement apps. In the iPhone "Measure" app, starting with the 12 Pro it became possible to measure a person's height in an instant, and measurements of object dimensions also became more accurate. LiDAR enabled accurate distance measurements that were difficult with the camera alone, allowing users to take room dimensions in buildings, consider interior layouts, and perform simple 3D measurements with a smartphone. LiDAR also sped up focusing (autofocus) in low-light situations and contributed to improved focus accuracy in nighttime photography.

Enhanced hardware performance in the iPhone 15 Pro

Three years later, the iPhone 15 Pro (released in 2023) features a dramatic advance in iPhone hardware performance. First, the core chip was upgraded from the A14 Bionic in the iPhone 12 Pro to the A17 Pro chip. With the processor performance significantly improved, the large point-cloud data captured by LiDAR and the complex calculations required for AR can be processed more smoothly. Memory was also increased from 6GB to 8GB, enabling stable operation for large-scale 3D scans and advanced AR apps.

The camera has also evolved significantly. While the main camera on the iPhone 12 Pro was 12MP, the 15 Pro is equipped with a high-resolution 48MP sensor. This dramatically improves photo detail and, combined with depth data captured by LiDAR, makes it possible to create highly detailed 3D models. The ultra-wide and telephoto cameras have also been improved, and low-light performance and image stabilization have been enhanced. In particular, when shooting in dark environments, autofocus in Night mode is faster and more accurate with the help of LiDAR.

Furthermore, on the iPhone 15 Pro, the chassis material has changed from stainless steel to a titanium alloy. This preserves strength while slightly reducing the weight from 189 g (12 Pro) to 187 g (15 Pro), which also slightly lessens the burden when holding the phone aloft to scan for extended periods. The newly added Action Button also allows users to assign specific functions (for example, launching a 3D scanning app) with a single press. These hardware advances greatly contribute to improved usability for 3D scanning and AR.

LiDAR scanner performance comparison: iPhone 12 Pro vs 15 Pro

So, what differences are there in LiDAR scanner performance between the iPhone 12 Pro and 15 Pro? Fundamentally, both models use a rear-mounted LiDAR sensor and operate on the same principle, but the iPhone 15 Pro’s LiDAR has been upgraded to a new-generation sensor. Apple says the 15 Pro’s LiDAR achieves lower power consumption and improved performance. Specifically, by redesigning the laser (VCSEL) module for the 15 Pro’s LiDAR, it emits more light for the same power, allowing it to detect more distant objects. As a result, depth measurement via LiDAR on the 15 Pro is faster and more accurate, and has been improved to perform stable 3D scanning even in dark environments and outdoors.

In actual 3D scanning experiences, the iPhone 15 Pro shows improved scan detail and stability compared with the 12 Pro. For example, when scanning an entire room indoors, the 12 Pro can produce point cloud data that captures the positions of furniture and walls, but the 15 Pro more readily captures finer details and yields 3D models with less noise. Although the LiDAR sensor's nominal resolution hasn't changed, the 15 Pro's increased processing power allows it to display higher-density point clouds in real time, making scans less likely to drop out even when moving smoothly through a large space. Also, the LiDAR ranging distance, which was about 5 m (16.4 ft) on the 12 Pro, is increasingly capable of reaching somewhat farther in practice on the 15 Pro due to sensor improvements and enhanced signal processing. For example, even in a larger room it becomes easier to scan the far wall all at once, allowing more efficient capture of 3D data for the entire space.

Thanks to these LiDAR performance improvements, the practicality of AR applications has increased dramatically. 3D scanning, which was experimental on the 12 Pro, can be performed on the 15 Pro with practical-level accuracy for measuring room dimensions and simulating interior layouts. By leveraging the API, you can also automatically generate a 3D model of a room's floor plan. Because the iPhone 15 Pro can acquire highly accurate 3D data in a short time, using it for site surveys in architecture and design or for recording existing conditions during renovations has become realistic.

Differences in GPS positioning accuracy: What changes with dual-frequency GPS?

Alongside 3D scanning performance, the improvement in positioning (GPS) accuracy is also worth noting. The iPhone 12 Pro supported multiple satellite positioning systems, but the frequency band it used remained only the traditional L1 band. By contrast, the iPhone 15 Pro supports high-precision dual-frequency GPS and can receive the new L5 band signal in addition to the L1 band. The L5 signal is an advanced positioning signal that is transmitted at higher power and is more resistant to blockage from buildings and trees than previous signals. By combining the two frequencies, errors in signal propagation delay can be corrected, improving positioning accuracy especially in urban canyons and forests.

In practice, the iPhone 15 Pro displays your location in map apps and the like more stably compared to the 12 Pro. On the 12 Pro, GPS signals could reflect in the canyons between tall buildings and cause large position errors, but on the 15 Pro the use of L5 suppresses those errors, reducing incidents where the icon mistakenly jumps to the opposite side of the road. In terms of positioning accuracy, under ideal conditions the 12 Pro had errors of roughly 5 m (16.4 ft), whereas the 15 Pro sometimes reduces that to around 2-3 m (6.6-9.8 ft). Of course, because of the phone's built-in antenna and the surrounding environment, it cannot achieve centimeter-level accuracy (half-inch accuracy) on its own, but even so the reliability of location information for everyday use has definitely improved.

In addition, the iPhone 15 Pro is equipped with a second-generation ultra-wideband (UWB) chip, further enhancing its precise short-range positioning capabilities. UWB is a technology that can measure the distance and direction to other devices with accuracy on the order of tens of centimeters (tens of inches), and on the 15 Pro the usable communication range has increased to about three times that of previous models. This makes features like "Find My Exact Location," which lets friends show each other where they are with directional cues, usable even when they are farther apart. Although its purpose differs from GPS, with UWB for short ranges and dual-frequency GPS for wide areas, the iPhone 15 Pro can be said to offer an overall upgrade in location-related technologies.

Other improved points (display, battery, etc.)

The iPhone 15 Pro has received various improvements over the iPhone 12 Pro beyond 3D scanning and positioning. The display has evolved from the 12 Pro's 60 Hz to the 15 Pro's ProMotion display with up to 120 Hz, making animations smoother when moving AR objects. Outdoor peak brightness has also increased from 800 nits to 2000 nits, more than doubling and making the screen easier to see when doing AR work in bright outdoor conditions.

Battery life has also improved significantly. While the iPhone 12 Pro's video playback lasted up to 17 hours, the 15 Pro is rated for up to 23 hours. Actual capacity has also increased from about 2815 mAh in the 12 Pro to about 3274 mAh in the 15 Pro. Combined with the processor's improved power efficiency, there is less worry about running out of battery during long 3D scans or outdoor surveying work.

Furthermore, the 15 Pro's charging port has been changed from Lightning to USB-C (USB 3.2 compatible), dramatically increasing data transfer speeds. This greatly reduces the time needed to transfer high-resolution scanned 3D model data and large numbers of photos and videos to a computer. For professional use when handling large volumes of measurement data, this high-speed data transfer is a major advantage.

Overall, compared with the iPhone 12 Pro, the iPhone 15 Pro is enhanced in every way, and it has made especially dramatic advances in 3D scanning performance and positioning accuracy.

Can the iPhone 15 Pro be used for surveying?

As we've seen so far, the iPhone 15 Pro, with its 3D scanning performance from the LiDAR scanner and positioning accuracy from dual-frequency GPS, now has capabilities that approach those of some professional fields. So, can this smartphone be used in earnest in the field for surveying?

To conclude, the iPhone 15 Pro by itself can be useful for simple surveying and on-site documentation. For example, when measuring room dimensions or recording equipment placement at a construction site, the 3D point clouds and measurements captured by the 15 Pro’s LiDAR provide plenty of useful reference. In fact, there are cases where some tasks that were traditionally done with tape measures or laser distance meters—such as calculating floor area or measuring distances to structures—can be replaced by an iPhone. The 15 Pro’s AR features, in particular, are beginning to be used effectively for small-scale renovation meetings and interior coordination simulations.

However, when it comes to professional civil surveying or precision layout work, the iPhone alone can sometimes be insufficient. LiDAR ranging accuracy is said to be on the order of a few cm (a few in), and GPS positional errors can still remain on the order of a few m (a few ft). Accurate measurement of building heights or land boundaries, or rigorous surveying for mapmaking, requires much higher precision — centimeter-level (cm level accuracy, half-inch accuracy). The iPhone 15 Pro is, after all, a smartphone, and obtaining that level of accuracy reliably requires dedicated equipment and additional corrections.

Simple Smartphone Surveying Enabled by LRTK

This is where a new surveying solution that leverages smartphones, "LRTK", comes in. LRTK is a system composed of a small, high-precision GNSS receiver that attaches to a smartphone and a dedicated app, enabling real-time centimeter-level (half-inch-level) positioning on devices such as the iPhone. It is designed to make the high-precision positioning technology RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) easy to use, and the fact that you can obtain accurate location information without carrying complex equipment—just a smartphone—is revolutionary.

For example, if you combine LRTK with an iPhone 15 Pro, you can attach absolute coordinates (real-world coordinates such as latitude and longitude) to point cloud data scanned with LiDAR. This allows you to overlay 3D models captured with a smartphone onto the precise locations on maps or CAD drawings. You can scan terrain while walking around a large outdoor site and immediately save point cloud data—with geodetic coordinates assigned to each point—to the cloud. It is a remarkable advance that work which used to require specialized laser scanners or surveying instruments can now be replaced by the combination of an iPhone and LRTK.

LRTK also leverages satellite signals with robust positioning capability, allowing it to receive stable correction information within Japan. It also provides guidance on how to use a starter kit for measuring reference points when mounted on a tripod (three-legged stand), and features for adding high-precision location tags to photos, making it notable as a versatile surveying tool that anyone can use. These capabilities enable even those who are not veteran surveyors to carry out simple surveys with a smartphone. The surveying world, which until now has relied on expensive specialized equipment, is beginning to be significantly transformed by consumer devices like the iPhone 15 Pro and innovative devices like LRTK.

Summary

The evolution from the iPhone 12 Pro to the iPhone 15 Pro is remarkable in both 3D scanning capabilities and positioning accuracy. The smartphone-based spatial measurement that began with the introduction of the LiDAR scanner has seen dramatic improvements in both accuracy and speed over the past three years. In addition, support for dual-frequency GPS has increased the reliability of location information, and the quality of data smartphones can handle has risen markedly. These technological advances make it clear that our everyday iPhones are stepping into professional territory. The iPhone 15 Pro holds potential not only for everyday use but also for business applications, depending on the idea.

If you get the latest iPhone, be sure to take advantage of its enhanced LiDAR and GPS. If you require full-fledged surveying and precise positioning, combining smartphone-compatible high-precision positioning solutions like LRTK can make the previously impossible "surveying anyone can do" a reality. With advances in technology, the boundaries of what can be done with a smartphone have greatly expanded.

For more details about LRTK, please visit the [LRTK official website](https://www.lrtk.lefixea.com/).

FAQ

Q: What is LiDAR and what can it do on a smartphone? A: LiDAR (pronounced "rider") is a technology that uses laser light to measure the distance to a target. Infrared lasers emitted from a LiDAR scanner built into a smartphone hit objects, and the sensor detects the reflections to calculate distance. On an iPhone, this depth information can be used to place furniture in a room with AR or to measure the dimensions of people and objects. For example, iPhone LiDAR makes it easy to quickly create 3D models of real-world spaces and to measure lengths and areas without needing a tape measure.

Q: What has improved in the iPhone 15 Pro's LiDAR compared to the iPhone 12 Pro? A: The main differences are improved measurement performance and a better scanning experience thanks to sensor enhancements. The iPhone 15 Pro's LiDAR delivers higher output per unit of power consumption, making it easier to measure in low-light conditions and for subjects at greater distances. As a result, scanning on the 15 Pro tends to be faster and more stable than on the 12 Pro, and the resulting point clouds are generally denser. In practical terms, 3D models that appeared coarse in detail on the 12 Pro will be smoother on the 15 Pro, and the time required to scan an entire room will be reduced. However, the basic principles and use cases of LiDAR are the same, and the 12 Pro still offers a fully usable AR experience with its LiDAR.

Q: How much improvement in positioning accuracy does dual-frequency GPS provide? A: It depends on the environment, but in general errors tend to be reduced to about half of their previous magnitude. In environments where single-frequency GPS often has large errors—such as urban canyons or mountainous areas—using both L1 and L5 signals improves reception. For example, in situations where the iPhone 12 Pro was off by about 10 m (32.8 ft), you will increasingly find the iPhone 15 Pro falling within a few meters. However, smartphone GPS is constrained by antenna size, so even with dual-frequency support, standalone accuracy is limited to a few meters. If centimeter-level accuracy is required, you need to use a receiver that supports RTK corrections (such as LRTK).

Q: How accurate are distances measured with the iPhone's LiDAR? A: The iPhone's LiDAR can measure distances very quickly, but accuracy is generally ± a few centimeters (± a few inches). This doesn't match dedicated industrial laser surveying equipment, but it's sufficiently accurate for everyday length measurements. In practice, users report that at distances around 1 m (3.3 ft) measurements were almost within an error of 1 cm (0.4 in). However, as measurement distance increases the error also tends to grow, and at 5 m (16.4 ft) away there may be an offset of a few centimeters (a few inches). Therefore, it's not suitable when millimeter-level precision is required (millimeter-level accuracy (0.04 in)), such as for wall thickness or component dimensions, but it's perfectly practical for measuring room size or furniture dimensions.

Q: If you combine the iPhone 15 Pro and LRTK, can it really replace surveying instruments? A: Under certain conditions, there are situations where it can substitute for limited surveying tasks. By scanning the surroundings with the iPhone 15 Pro’s LiDAR and obtaining the coordinates of each point with LRTK, you can immediately collect, albeit in a simplified way, three-dimensional positional coordinate data on site. This means it can take on part of the work performed by conventional surveying instruments (total stations and laser scanners). However, in terms of accuracy and reliability, it does not fully replace conventional surveying equipment. When delivering official survey results, measurements with dedicated instruments are still required. That said, for preliminary surveys, simple terrain assessment, and post-construction checks, the ease of iPhone+LRTK is a major advantage. Using each according to the application can lead to greater surveying efficiency and reduced labor.