In iOS 12, Apple added a new app to its built-in app lineup called — Measure.

What is the iOS 12 Measure app? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like, plus a whole lot more.

The Measure app uses Apple’s augmented reality (AR) technology to turn your iOS device (iPad and iPhone) into a digital tape measure. You can quickly gauge the size of objects, automatically detect the dimensions of rectangular objects, and save a photo of the measurement for later.

How Accurate is it? 
It is a really cool tool, but does have some limitations. When using the Measure feature, I found it to be not a perfect replacement for a regular measuring tape, but good if you need a quick estimate when you’re in a bind and don’t have a real tape measure.

Also, you are limited to measuring objects nearby. Your device will only measure objects within a certain distance—no further than about 8 to 10 feet, depending on lighting—so if you see a prompt that says “find a nearby surface to measure” you should step closer to your object.

That being said, the most I found it’s measurement to be off, compared to an actual tape measure, is a few millimeters or an quarter of an inch.

I do want to point out some of the inaccurate measurements could be a result of my on-screen start and stop mark placement (see below).

Measure App Requirements?

According to Apple, you will need to be running iOS 12 on iPhone SE, iPhone 6s or later, iPad (5th Generation or later), or iPad Pro. Also make sure that you’re in a place with good lighting.

How to take a single measurement

As of right now, the Measure app can only measure straight lines, and since it uses the back camera, the more light you have, the better results you’ll likely have.

1. Open the Measure app, then follow the on-screen instructions that ask you to move your iPhone or iPad around. This gives your device a frame of reference for the object you’re measuring and the surface it’s on. Keep moving your device until a circle with a dot in the center appears.
2. Move your device so that the dot is over the starting point of your measurement, then tap the plusicon.
3. Slowly move your device until the dot is over the ending point of your measurement, then tap the plus icon again

After you take a measurement, you can adjust its starting and ending points. Touch and hold one of the points, then drag it where you want it to go. The measurement changes as you move the point.

How I recently used the Measure app

I recently needed to replace a worn out gas igniter pipe in my fireplace. I wasn’t sure what size pipe was currently installed, so I decided to give the Measure app a try.

The screenshot below shows two measurements, which I was able to do together. The first measurement was the length of the pipe before it connected to the air/gas mixing chamber (16″). The second measurement included the air/gas mixing chamber (19″).

I was able to save the photo and measurements overlay by tapping the shutter button shown in the top right corner. You then have the option to crop, annotate, share or save the photo directly to my camera roll — similar to taking a screenshot.

I was pleasantly surprised I was able to find a perfect replacement pipe based on the measurements taken by the Measure app.

Moving on, you can copy the measurement (will paste the number only) or view the measurement in either inches or centimeters by tapping the arrow icon just to the right of the numbers. Here is what tapping the arrow reveals.

To learn how to take multiple measurements and measure a rectangle, please see Apple’s Measure app help page.

Finally, the Measure app also has a level feature that you can use to straighten a vertical object, such as a picture frame, or level a flat surface, such as a table. Just tap the Level tab displayed in the Measure app to access the level feature.

If you have any questions on how to use the Measure app in iOS 12 or want to share how you used the Measure app, feel free to reach out to me on my Facebook page or by replying to this message.