Measuring with the iPhone is a very ethereal thing, itself. As ethereal as it really is, many things can really be measured: past time, height, weight, distance traveled… there are so many things that can be measured that one might think that you need several tools to do it.
Fortunately, from your phone you can do a lot of different measurements. Do you want to learn how to measure different things with the iPhone? We show you the most useful functions so that you can get more out of your device.
I want to measure distances with my iPhone
Starting with the iPhone 12 Pro, Apple introduced a new feature to its phones: the sensor LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).
This technology works with the emission of short but very fast pulses of laser light in the direction of the environment to be scanned, which when they reach a target what they do is reflect light from it.
Using this “bounce” of light, the LiDAR calculates the time it took for the light to travel from the device to the object in question and back. And from that estimated time, a distance is taken between the device and the object and thus we would have our measurement of the distance made with the iPhone.
To measure, you simply have an application developed by Apple and integrated into the phone called Measure.
Simply open the app, point the camera at the object you want to measure, and tap on the screen to set a start point and end point. The application will show the distance between the two points and, in the case of heights, it will provide you with the estimated height of the object.
Addendum: I want to 3D scan objects using my iPhone
Since we are talking about LiDAR, I think it is necessary to talk about another functionality that we can make of it and it can be very useful for 3D printing developers: thanks to its ability to assess light refractions, we can use it as 3d scanner.
With the appropriate applications, since Apple does not natively have an app for this, a vector file can be created based on the analysis of a certain object and be able to digitize it to be printed in 3D, for example.
If you want to see how it’s done, in this video they use an application called 3D Scanner Appwhich allows you to scan in 3D with your iPhone:
Measure your heart rate with your iPhone
Some iPhone models have a heart rate sensor on the back of the device, near the camera.
To use it, you can use the integrated application of Health on the phone, as well as third-party applications such as heart rate measurementwhich is available on the App Store.
The way to use it is very simple: once the application is open, place your finger on the heart rate sensor and wait a few seconds while the iPhone registers your pulsations.
The application it will show you the heart rate in real time and, in some cases, it will also allow you to track your measurements over time.
How to measure the noise level from the iPhone
Another very useful measurement function that we can do from the iPhone is the possibility to measure the level of environmental noisesince our iPhone incorporates multiple microphones that can be used for this task.
To measure sound with the iPhone you can download applications such as Decibel X either sound level meter from the App Store. Both of these two applications are very easy to use and will show you the readings of what is captured in decibels (dB) and will allow you to monitor the noise levels in your environment.
Know the air quality with your phone
Although iPhones as such do not have air quality detectors, which are usually expensive devices that would not make any sense to be integrated into a phone, thanks to applications built into the iPhone or downloadable from the AppStore you can know the air quality from your area.
To know the air quality of the area where we are, we can use the app Time of the iPhone. Once we are inside the app, in the final part we will see what Air Quality indicates. In addition to seeing today’s rating, the application will allow us to review a history of several days so that we can see the evolution.
If this option does not convince us, we can take advantage of other applications that you can find in the AppStore such as Air Matters either Plume Air Report for information about air quality in your location. These alternatives will show you air quality indices, particle concentrations and other relevant data in an even more accurate and complete way.
Speed and distance traveled: let’s see two examples
And the last measurement that we can carry out from the iPhone is closely linked to the GPS integrated into the phone itself, which allows us to know the speed and the distance traveled what we are doing when we make a journey.
Although traveling by car is not the same as running or walking on foot, the operation of all applications is similar. Based on our movement, the program that manages the GPS takes our position and the time it takes to move from one point to another. Calculating that time, we can get the speed at which we are doing it.
In the case that we want to calculate the speed and distance traveled, we can use the pre-installed maps from Apple, which works very well and has a very good accuracy rate as a map and GPS program.
If this does not convince you, we advise you to try google maps either Here We Go Mapswhich we have talked about in this other article and with excellent options if you want to measure the speed and distance traveled in a car, motorcycle or bicycle with the iPhone.
On the other hand, if what you are looking for is focus more on physical activitiesyou have the native Health application or some available in the AppStore such as Nike Run Clubwhich allows you to measure the speed and distance you do during activities such as running, walking or cycling.
In addition to taking measurements, Nike Run Club allows you to have a running coach on your phone, who will keep track of your running sessions, give you guidelines and guides, as well as establish a personalized training program so that you can improve in this sport.
Well, with this we would conclude in all the different things that can be measured from the iPhone. We hope you have enjoyed the article and we suggest that if you have been left wanting more, take a look at this other one about 3 interesting options on golf games.
