Measure almost anything

It may be unheralded, but the humble Measure app can be very useful

- Kenny Hemphill

Of all the built-in apps on iPhone, Measure is the one that gets the least attention. And yet, it's also one of the most impressive. It's also a good illustration of how augmented reality (AR) can be put to practical use on a mobile device.

IT WILL TAKE

30 minutes

YOU WILL LEARN

How to measure real-life objects in the Measure app

YOU’LL NEED

iPhone or iPad

Genius tip!

On devices with a LiDAR scanner, tap the three lines at the top of the screen to see measurements you’ve taken in the current session, including photos taken.

The Measure app enables you to measure real-life objects around you using the iPhone or iPad's camera sensors to detect edges and corners and then do some clever maths to determine the distance between them. On more recent iPads and iPhones, Measure also uses the built-in LiDAR scanner to more quickly and accurately determine distances.

As well as measuring the distance between two points, Measure can take multiple measurements and even calculate the area of a rectangle. You can use it to work out someone's height and save photos of the measurements to your Photos Library. It even has a built-in spirit level which, while no substitute for a real one, can come in handy for, say, hanging a picture.