Which Smartphones Can Scan Rooms in 3D?

Which smartphones have LiDAR?

LiDAR is available on two product lines: iPhone Pro and iPad Pro. Every other iPhone and iPad model — including the standard iPhone and iPhone Plus — uses a standard camera array without LiDAR. No Android smartphone currently ships with a LiDAR sensor capable of room-scale scanning.

The rule is straightforward: if the device name includes "Pro," it has LiDAR from the iPhone 12 generation onwards — including the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, released in September 2025. The iPhone 17 Air, despite being a new model, does not include LiDAR. iPad Pro models from 2020 onwards all include LiDAR. Standard iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini do not.

What LiDAR does that a standard camera cannot

A standard smartphone camera measures distance indirectly — it infers depth from image data using photogrammetry algorithms. A LiDAR sensor measures distance directly by firing invisible laser pulses and timing their return. For room scanning, this difference is significant.

A standard camera produces geometry that is estimated, not measured. Walls bow. Corners distort. Accuracy across a room degrades with distance. LiDAR produces geometry from direct measurement. The result is a 3D model where every surface point is a real distance reading — typically accurate to within 1% of actual dimensions, or about 1–2 cm per wall.

This matters for professional use. A floor plan that will be used for renovation planning, energy assessments, or CAD import needs to be dimensionally reliable. LiDAR provides that. Standard camera scanning does not.

Can Android or standard iPhones scan rooms in 3D?

Android smartphones and standard iPhones (non-Pro models) cannot produce accurate 3D room scans with automatic floor plan output. Several apps attempt room scanning on these devices using photogrammetry — estimating geometry from multiple photos — but the results are not reliable enough for professional documentation work.

For the majority of professional documentation tasks — renovation planning, energy audits, as-built surveys, lighting planning — iPhone Pro or iPad Pro LiDAR scanning delivers sufficient accuracy at a fraction of the cost and time of dedicated hardware.

iPhone Pro or iPad Pro — which is better for room scanning?

Both iPhone Pro and iPad Pro produce equivalent LiDAR scan quality. The hardware sensor is the same generation across the lineup. The practical difference is in handling and use case.

Most professionals use iPhone Pro because they already own one. If you're buying a device specifically for room scanning, either works — choose based on how you prefer to work on-site.

Why does Metaroom require iPhone Pro or iPad Pro?

Metaroom requires iPhone Pro or iPad Pro because the app uses the LiDAR sensor to measure room geometry directly. Without LiDAR, the app cannot produce the automatic 2D floor plan that is the core output of a Metaroom scan. This is not a software limitation — it is a hardware requirement. The sensor has to be physically present in the device.

This is sometimes perceived as a restriction, but it is more accurately understood as a precision requirement. The LiDAR sensor is what makes a scan accurate to within 1% — the accuracy that makes the resulting floor plan usable in AutoCAD, Revit, DIALux, or any other professional tool. A floor plan generated from camera estimation on a standard phone is not the same product.

iPhone 17 Pro starts at $1,099 / around €1,099 new, or significantly less used. For professionals who scan regularly, the time saved — from 2–4 hours per apartment with a tape measure to 10–20 minutes with Metaroom — means the device pays for itself within weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)