Technologies

Is Your iPhone Good Enough to Be a 3D Scanner?

For creating 3D printer files, your options include smartphone apps or expensive standalone scanners.

Most 3D scanners are handheld devices that scan small to medium-sized objects with a high degree of accuracy. The resulting files are used for 3D modeling or 3D printing and they can produce fantastic results — if you’re patient and willing to learn how to use them.

These scanners, like the popular Revopoint Pop 2, can cost $700 and have a steep learning curve. Alternatively, if you own an iPhone 12 Pro or higher you can almost recreate what a fancy 3D scanner does. It isn’t quite as accurate, especially for 3D printing, but if you spend some time tweaking, the output can be just about as good.

Read more: Best 3D Printer

Creating 3D prints from files uploaded to communities like Thingiverse or Printables is fine, but once you can scan and recreate real-world objects, there’s no limit to what you can create. For example, you could replicate a collectible figure or scan a broken mechanical part to recreate it.

Revopoint Pop 2 3D Scanner $699 at Amazon

Using a 3D scanner

Pros:

Can capture detail down to 0.1mm
Dimensional accuracy is excellent
Very little clean-up when you succeed

Cons:

Often costs more than a 3D printer
Software is often very hard to use
Creating a usable model is painfully difficult

3D scanners use reflected light — sometimes in the form of lasers — to map the surface of an object. The scanner uses two cameras to judge depth and create a “point cloud” that can be fused together to make a solid object. That solid model is often incredibly accurate down to the smallest crack or imperfection.

But scanning an object can be difficult. The scanner needs to be the right distance from the object you’re scanning at all times, and the object has to be the right color and reflectivity as well. Often, you will need a 3D scanning spray to coat your model in a white, evaporative coating to make scanning easier. This is not possible with human subjects, but does help with inanimate ones. Or at least it should.

I’ve spent hours using 3D scanners and struggle every time to produce a model that could be 3D printed. Often a scan will lose connection, then restart in the wrong place, causing severe disruption. After a lot of trial and error, I’ve managed to get several usable models, but the amount of work it took just didn’t seem cost-effective.

iPhone 12 Pro (renewed) $528 at Amazon

Using your iPhone

Pros:

Incredibly fast scanning
Models are instantly usable as online resources
You likely already own one

Cons:

Lower detail and quality
Can need a lot of clean-up to make it 3D print-ready

polycam shoe scan — James Bricknell/CNET

iPhones have a lot of cool technology that makes them excellent 3D scanners, including good cameras for photogrammetry and lidar technology for larger objects like cars or the inside of your home.

Photogrammetry is the best way to create a fully realized 3D model if you want that model to only exist digitally. It uses multiple pictures — the more pictures the better — to create a realistic facsimile of an object. The depth mapping is far rougher than a 3D scanner, but the textures and photo imagery make the model look extremely detailed. As you can see, the shoe in the image above looks identical to the real thing when the textures are shown, but the model I 3D-printed from it has lost a lot of its details.

A purple 3D-printed shoe — James Bricknell/CNET

The coolest thing about photogrammetry, especially on an app like Polycam, is that it can be used with any camera you have, including DSLR cameras and even drones. You simply upload as many images as you want to the Polycam app and it will spit out a 3D rendering of the object you took, whether that’s a shoe or the Grand Canyon. It even works with Android phones, though none of those have the lidar technology like the iPhone.

A 3D rendered mailbox using Polycam — James Bricknell/CNET

Lidar only works if you have an iPhone 12 Pro or later, but it’s excellent for scanning larger objects like mailboxes, pool tables and even cars. It works a lot like an expensive 3D scanner — by bouncing light off an object and measuring the distance the light travels — but it has a much lower resolution. This makes it excellent at scanning large, simple objects, especially if you’re keeping them as digital models.

Both photogrammetry and lidar imagery are extremely easy to use on your iPhone and require very little technical know-how to get right. They both need an app though, and after using several different ones, I found Polycam is the best choice.

Polcam for iPhone and Android $80 at Polycam

Polycam costs $80 a year and offers both lidar and photogrammetry. More than that, it uses those systems in some really fun ways. Not only can you scan objects to create 3D models, but you can scan the walls inside your house and build a 3D floor plan. You can even 3D print that floor plan complete with walls, stairs and window and door openings.

When scanning an object on Polycam for 3D printing I was able to get good quality, low-resolution scans for organic shapes and much better scans of simple objects. Using Polycam to scan a broken sliding door handle was quick and simple and allowed me to accurately replicate a replacement. In fact, if you’re used to using programs like Blender — a free 3D sculpting tool on the PC and Mac — or Nomad Sculpt on the iPad or iPhone, you can import the Polycam file and spruce it up before printing.

Should you buy a 3D scanner if you own an iPhone?

I’ve spent a lot of time with several different 3D scanners and they all have the same inherent flaw: They’re just too picky to work for consumers. In a commercial setting, where everything can be controlled and your day is dedicated to getting this machine to work perfectly, then sure, a 3D scanner makes sense. If you’re a hobbyist though, with a life that requires more from you than endless hours of slow scanning, an iPhone is a better option.

Even if you don’t own an iPhone, you can pick up an iPhone 12 Pro — the first with lidar — for around $550, several hundred dollars cheaper than a 3D scanner. And once you’re done 3D scanning shoes, mailboxes, cars and houses, you still have an iPhone that can do a hundred other things too.

More on 3D printing

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”