iPhone Floor Plan App: How to Get Accurate Floor Plans from Your Phone

Your iPhone Pro is already a floor plan machine. If you have an iPhone 12 Pro or newer, the LiDAR sensor built into your phone can scan a room and generate a dimensioned floor plan in about 60 seconds. No extra hardware, no specialist, no waiting.

Here’s what you need to know about using your iPhone as a floor plan tool for construction work.

How iPhone floor plan scanning works

The LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor in iPhone Pro models emits laser pulses and measures how long they take to return, building a precise point cloud of the surrounding space. Apple’s RoomPlan technology then processes this point cloud using machine learning to identify walls, doors, windows, and surfaces — and outputs a clean, parametric floor plan.

The whole capture process takes 60–90 seconds for a typical room. Walk slowly around the perimeter, point your phone at the walls and floor, and the app handles the rest.

What you get from a phone-based floor plan

• 2D floor plan — a clean, dimensioned drawing showing walls, doors, and windows
• 3D model — a measurable 3D representation of the space
• Remote measurement — take accurate measurements from the model without going back to site
• Shareable link — send an interactive 3D walkthrough to clients, engineers, or architects

Accuracy

Phone-based LiDAR scanning is accurate to approximately half an inch on most standard surfaces. This is more than sufficient for renovation planning, as-built documentation, material takeoffs, and client handoffs. It is not a replacement for survey-grade precision required for structural engineering or legal boundary surveys.

Which iPhones support LiDAR scanning?

LiDAR is available on iPhone 12 Pro, 13 Pro, 14 Pro, 15 Pro, and 16 Pro (and their Max variants). It is NOT available on standard iPhone models (iPhone 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 without the Pro suffix). iPad Pro models from 2020 onwards also include LiDAR.

Use cases for contractors

• Documenting existing conditions before starting renovation work
• Creating as-built records for project handover
• Taking remote measurements after a site visit
• Sharing interactive floor plan views with clients for pre-construction sign-off
• Coordinating with MEP trades who need accurate spatial reference

Using Manifold for iPhone floor plans

Manifold’s Orbit Measure feature is designed specifically for construction field teams who need floor plans that integrate with the rest of their project documentation. Scans are automatically GPS-tagged and added to the project timeline alongside photos and checklists. The resulting floor plan and 3D walkthrough can be shared with anyone via a link — no account or app download required to view.

Available on the Photo+Scan plan at $24/user/month. No credit card required to start.

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