Best 3D scanner apps for iPhone

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Previously, in order to make a 3D scan, it was necessary to have complex devices with special sensors. However, technology is moving forward and now many phones already have the necessary mechanisms.

Today we will consider a very interesting problem that many people would like to solve — how to get a high-quality model of your head or body using your own phone.

I did a lot of research and decided to describe it so that everyone can know where to start. I will show my personal top of best 3D scanner apps for iPhone (in my case I’m using iPhone XS), how I launched them and what I got in the end. Please note that I will not consider applications where you have to pay for the result right away (after all, I want to do a test first, then pay) and applications where unrealistic/cartoonish avatars are created.

Let’s rock!

14 September 2021

Note: It has a free 3-day trial, then a subscription model.

Let’s start with the app I personally worked on. The scanning process is 2-step. Firstly, you scan the head. Secondly, you scan the body. AI assistant helps you throughout the process so you won’t be lost. One thing you need to keep in mind — is the lighting. In other words, you need to face the light source while scanning to ensure the best quality.

You can export the 3D model as a file or you can play around with it in the app. There are animations, export to several games, and virtual try-on. I can dress myself in different clothes, it is my favourite feature.

Result quality: 5/5 (FULL BODY)

App UI: 5/5 (everything is clear and looks good)

Scanning experience: 5/5 (AI Assistant tells you what you have to do)

A beautiful app, you know how to get started right away. However, you need to be careful while scanning and sit still. Otherwise, the scan will be noisy. The result is quite good for the head, but it’s a point cloud so you need to post-process it if you want to work with a triangle mesh. I tried to scan my body, but the tracking algorithm is very fragile and cannot track human motions.

Result quality: 3/5 (bad shoulders and overall quality)

App UI: 4/5

Scanning experience: 3/5 (impossible to scan body)

I asked my assistant to take 20 photos of my head from different angles, this process took about 3 minutes. The app sends photos to the cloud and returns a mesh. Maybe we were doing something wrong but I did not manage to get a nice result on the first try. We were also unable to scan the body because our room was too small.

Result quality: 2/5 (I didn’t manage to scan myself, but managed to scan my girlfriend — she said to never ever show it to anyone)

App UI: 5/5 (everything is clear)

Scanning experience: 2/5 (you have to make at least 20 photos and you have to stand still)

This is a great app, the easiest to use — it creates your 3D model from a single photo. However, the model is a little unrealistic and here is mine. Nevertheless, the application seems to be under active development because there are lots of features that haven’t been released yet, so it will definitely get better someday.

Result quality: 3/5 (It is good, really good, but it is not actually me)

App UI: 5/5 (everything is clear and looks good)

Scanning experience: 5/5 (you have to have only one photo)

The scanning process is straightforward, you just have to follow their guide. The result is excellent, I like it — good scan quality, fast results, and a good level of detail. While there are not many features in the application, you can change light and put a mask on your face.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it will become easier for you to solve such problems. Each of the ratings is my subjective opinion!

Check out my new video review of the best scanning apps: