Apple unveiled its latest flagship iPhone models, iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, at its iPhone event on Tuesday. Among other things, the devices sport a new LiDAR scanner designed to enable more immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences. Snapchat today confirms that it will be among the first to use the new technology in its iOS app for a LiDAR-powered lens.
As Apple explained at the event, the LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) scanner measures the time it takes for light to reach an object and reflect it.
Together with the machine learning capabilities and development frameworks of the iPhone, LiDAR helps the iPhone understand the world around you.
Apple has adapted this technology for its iPhone 12 Pro models, where it helps improve low-light photography thanks to its ability to "see in the dark".
The technology can also be used by app developers to create an accurate map of the depth of the scene and help accelerate AR so it's more instantaneous, while allowing for new app experiences that use AR.
In practice, what this means for app developers is the ability to use LiDAR to enable things like object and room scanning, such as better AR shopping apps, home design tools, or AR games.
It can also enable photo and video effects and more precise positioning of AR objects, as the iPhone is actually able to "see" a depth map of the room.
This can lead to new AR experiences like what Snapchat is poised to introduce. Already known for some top-notch AR photo filters, the company says it will soon launch a LiDAR-powered lens specific to iPhone 12 Pro models.
Apple took a brief look at Snapchat's LiDAR feature during the LiDAR portion of the iPhone event today.
Here you can see an AR lens in the Snapchat app where flowers and herbs cover the table and floor and birds fly towards the user's face. The grass towards the back of the room seemed to be further away than those closest to the user, and the vegetation was even climbing up and around the kitchen cabinets, an indication that he could see where those objects were in physical space.
The birds in the Snapchat lens disappear as they move behind the person, out of sight, and even land precisely in the person's hand.
It's unclear if this is exactly the goal Snapchat has in the works, as the company is holding the details for the time being. But it shows what a LiDAR-enabled Snapchat experience would look like.
You can see the Snapchat filter in action at 59:41 in the Apple iPhone event video.