How to use the Measure app with an iPhone Pro, iPad Pro model

iOS and iPadOS come with a Measure app that allows you to draw (virtual) straight lines to measure objects and surfaces both vertically and horizontally using your iPhone or iPad camera.

Apple’s pro devices use their LiDAR Scanner to help you measure objects more quickly and accurately with the Measure app. Supported models are: iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) and later; iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation) and later; iPhone 12 Pro and later; iPhone 12 Pro Max and later; iPhone 13 Pro; iPhone 13 Pro Max; and iPhone 14 Pro.

How to measure a person’s height:

When the Measure app detects a person in the viewfinder, it automatically measures their height from the ground to the top of their head, hat, or hair. You can tap the Shutter button to take a photo of the person with their height measurement. Then you can use Markup on the photo, save it, and share it.

Use vertical and edge guides

On iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation), iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max, guide lines help you measure the height and straight edges of furniture, countertops, and other objects easily and precisely. Guide lines appear automatically along edges and when making a vertical measurement.

Snap your starting and ending points to the yellow guide line, then tap a measurement to see the expanded information that iPad Pro provides. You can view the measurement’s elevation, distance away, angle, and more.

See more granular measurements with Ruler View

The Measure app on iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation), iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max adds a ruler overlay to line measurements, showing you the object’s dimension in granular increments. Move your iPad Pro close to a line measurement to see the Ruler View appear, then tap the shutter button to take a photo so you can use the increments for planning projects.

See your measurement history

Tap the List button to view all the measurements that you’ve taken during the current session, including screenshots that you took. This helps you keep track of dimensions as you measure a space or series of objects. You can copy the dimensions into Notes, Mail, or any app you want to save your list in, or clear them to start over.

(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple’s support pages — where the images sometimes come from.)