Lidar On The iPhone 12 Pro: It’s Cool Now, But It’s Going To Be So Much Cooler

APPLE is going bullish on lidar, a technology that’s brand-new to the iPhone 12 family, specifically to the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Peer closely at one of the new iPhone 12 Pro models, or the most recent iPad Pro, and you’ll see a little black dot near the camera lenses, about the same size as the flash.

That’s the lidar sensor, and it’s a new type of depth-sensing that could make a difference in a number of interesting ways.

If Apple has its way, lidar is a term you’ll start hearing a lot now, so let’s break down what we know, what Apple is going to use it for and where the technology could go next. And if you’re curious what it does right now, I spent some hands-on time with the tech, too.

What does lidar mean?

Lidar stands for light detection and ranging, and has