Your iPhone has a built-in measuring tool few people know about

Apple's iPhone has had a built-in Measure app since 2018. It uses the camera, and on Pro models a LiDAR sensor, to work out the size of objects. Apple has barely promoted it, so many users are unaware it exists in the Utilities folder. Android users, meanwhile, will soon have no direct first-party equivalent, according to technology site Engadget.

Which phones support it

The app comes preinstalled on every model from the iPhone 6s and first-generation iPhone SE onward. If it was deleted, it can be downloaded again from the App Store. Pro models starting with the 2020 iPhone 12 Pro also have a LiDAR scanner, which uses invisible lasers to judge depth. That enables instant height measurements of people, guide lines that snap to edges, a ruler with tick marks at close range and a list of measurements from the current session.

How to use it

After opening the app, the phone must be moved slowly around so it can map the surroundings. Then the user aims the dot at one end of an object, taps +, moves the view to the other end and taps + again. The length appears on screen, and a screenshot can be saved to Photos. The app can also detect rectangles automatically and show their dimensions.

Pro models keep the measurement list only until the app is closed. A Level tab lets users lay the phone on a surface to see how many degrees it is off, and compare the slopes of two surfaces.

Limitations

Apple says the app works best on objects with clear edges roughly 2 to 10 feet away. It should be treated as a quick check rather than a definitive result, and a real tape measure is advised for expensive or potentially dangerous projects.

The Android situation

Google abandoned its own measuring app in 2021. Samsung's Quick Measure app, preinstalled on some Galaxy phones, is shutting down at the end of 2026, though Samsung says it should keep working afterward and that it will return at an unspecified date with improved services. Otherwise Android users rely on third-party apps. No mainstream Android phone has a LiDAR scanner, and reviews suggest Play Store options are often full of ads and aggressive subscription prompts.