TikTok Wants To Use LiDAR On IPhone 12 For AR Effects

Illustration (Image Credit: Solen Feyissa / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - TikTok wants to maximize LiDAR technology on the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max. One of them is by presenting an augmented reality (AR) effect that looks more realistic.

Reporting from 9to5Mac, Friday January 8, this AR effect will maximize the LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max. Later, LiDAR technology will scan a specific room or object and allow the iPhone device to map it an accurate 3D map.

"To celebrate 2021, we are releasing our first AR effect on the new iPhone 12 Pro that uses LiDAR technology which will allow us to create even more innovative effects in 2021 !," TikTok tweeted.

To ring in 2021 we released our first AR effect on the new iPhone 12 Pro, using LiDAR technology which allows us to create effects that interact with your environment - visually bridging the digital and physical worlds. We're excited to develop more innovative effects in 2021! pic.twitter.com/6yFD2FfHta

- TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) January 6, 2021

This is possible, because TikTok developers can access the API to integrate LiDAR sensors with third-party applications. So that it makes TikTok can create a more real AR effect.

You can see in the demo video uploaded by TikTok, the confetti flakes can be scattered very clearly. The visuals that are displayed are more realistic even from different shooting angles.

According to TikTok, this new filter will still be tested in several countries before being rolled out globally. It is planned that TikTok will also feature more AR effects using the LiDAR feature in 2021.

Unfortunately, TikTok is not the first application to adopt LiDAR technology. In fact, it was Snapchat that was the first to provide LiDAR scanner support on AR lenses for iPhone 12 Pro users.