Augmented Reality Measurement App for IOS and Android: Which Is More Accurate?
iOS / Android: When everyone started talking about this crazy new smartphone feature called augmented reality, I thought of two things: most augmented reality apps and games will be AF gimmicks, and I really hope someone makes a great app for measurements because I am constantly losing my tape measure.
Apple and Google have their own measurement apps for iOS and Android, respectively. The first appeared thanks to the public beta of iOS 12 , and the second was launched for all ARCore-compatible devices about a week ago. Of course, most people probably only have one smartphone, so the choice was made for you, but I was still curious: what is each app like?
I own both an iPhone 8 Plus and a Pixel 2, so I decided to take a little trip around the house to see how accurate they are when measuring everyday objects. While I’m not going to toss the tape measure in the basket just yet, there are definitely times when it’s more convenient to use an app to measure an item – or at least get a decent idea of how large it can be.
Update (30/6): Small clarification. I’m trying to get as close to each dimension as possible, knowing full well that each application can be a little finicky with endpoints. Apple can snag on the “edge” of something that isn’t actually an edge, while the Google measurement points you drag have this weird flickering effect beneath them that makes it hard to be incredibly accurate. Not to mention, each application detects the plane differently, which can throw everything off.
Generally speaking, both apps do a good job of estimating measurements, and the Apple app is slightly more accurate, if only because it’s easier to aim and click on measurement points than dragging the awkward sliders that I discuss at the end of the article.
Round 1: drinking glass
Every writer needs a good drinking glass on his desk – whether you prefer water or something more fun, to keep up with your 2,000 word daily quota. I’m not going to go into the details of how each application uses ARCore or ARKit to analyze the real world and determine how big or small things are, because we’ll be here all day. Instead, let’s go straight to measurements:
Not bad! Both Apple and Google were accurate with the height of the drinking glass. I thought they might have a few issues considering the reflective surface the glass is on and the transparency of the glass itself, but they both nailed it. Ten points to each house.
Round 2: Roulette
If the app can’t measure the tape measure correctly – specifically a five-inch tape measure – we have a problem.
Another tie! We’re on the go, Apple and Google. Ten more points for both houses as I begin to ponder how long it might take to create the second Triwizard Cup.
Round 3: Pig Pua
While I’m not sure how often I will need specific measurements of Pua, the loving pig from the Moana movie, it never hurts to have this information in your back pocket. This time we’re looking at length and height (not width, since Pua is sensitive to that kind of thing).
The Apple Measure app was generally closer in its dimensions than the Google app, due to the rather large number of Google apps tied to Pua length. However, the Google app showed the height perfectly, while the Apple app never had any measurements on the nose. While Pua is neither a horse nor a hand grenade, I could go with Apple for this simple one, because half an inch is a far more excusable distance than an inch and a half.
Round 4: Bathroom Mirror
So this is a bit unfair because I had a pretty strong suspicion that the way ARCore tracks planes would make it impossible to get readings from a mirror attached to the wall. Apple wins this by default just because it can measure (as much as in a mess), but how accurate was its digital guess?
While the Apple Measure app doesn’t quite match the mirror’s height, the 1.5-inch difference is at least enough to “roughly compare” to an object of this size – just five percent of its total height. While I may not use Dimension if you need to accurately fit your new home decor, it is at least good enough to give you a rough idea of how large a large object is.
Round 5: Giant Image of Me
Do not ask. Okay, you can ask. It hung in the lobby when I was filming one of the best musicals ever, Forever Plaid . It sits on my floor outside my door, rather than hanging on the wall, because a giant photograph of me looking at me would be a little weird. Is not it?
Both applications were within two inches of the actual horizontal and vertical dimensions of this large photo. Apple’s app was slightly more accurate due to the stronger horizontal measurement (per inch). Again, I would use any application to get a general idea of how large an object is, but not to measure the ideal image to fit exactly into that space.
Round 6: banana
Because all these dimensions made me hungry.
I mean, I wouldn’t mind an extra half inch of banana to eat, but Apple nailed that size.
Update (6/30): As pointed out in the comments below, the points the Google app measures are slightly different from the points the Apple app measures. That might well explain the half-inch difference, but generally speaking, the banana’s length is much closer to seven inches (when measured) than 7.5 inches, so I think Apple still wins. (Anyway, Apple’s size is slightly shorter compared to what I actually measured with a tape measure.)
However, an inch and a half is half an inch, and Google’s app makes a note of half an inch of variance possible, so that you go. Generally speaking, both apps came close enough to the banana contest so that it didn’t affect my overall conclusion. I just wanted to make sure that any app wasn’t going crazy saying I had a foot-long banana or something.
Round 7: Pretend “IKEA Furniture”
Assuming you want to ignore my advice and use your smartphone instead of a ruler or tape measure for important purchases like furniture that needs to fit a specific location, how accurate is each app? Can you even get your FÄRLÖV through the front door?
Again, none of the apps were perfectly sized: Apple was two inches longer and one inch tall, while Google was three inches longer and one inch tall.
This test also reminded me of the importance of keeping your measurement application sane. When I first tried to measure the shoe rack, the Apple app indicated a height of over four feet – slightly above normal.
However, I realized that I was using the app by shooting a shoe rack at an angle, which is not an ideal position if you want the height of an object. Augmented reality apps are smart, but even they get confused sometimes. When I moved my smartphone to shoot straight into the shoe rack, the Apple numbers became much more accurate (but certainly not perfect).
Winner: Apple Measure App
Overall, I had a better experience with the Apple Measure app than with Google’s Measure app because of the slightly greater accuracy of the former and, more importantly, the ease of use. By swinging the smartphone a little, the Apple app was able to pick up “planes” pretty quickly, and the interface became much faster: just aim the target at what you want to measure, tap and move your smartphone until the target is at the end point, then tap. Boom. Measurement. The Google app requires you to drag and drop the markers, which takes too long. Apple also did a better job of automatically snapping your target to objects / corners / the like.
However, both apps are likely to have a lot of improvements in the future, so we’ll see how each of them evolves over the next year or so. After all, these measurement apps are perfect for augmented reality – apps that anyone with a smartphone will use on a regular basis. At the very least, I think the virtual ruler will be of much more benefit to me than a dinosaur yelling at me in the bathroom, or an augmented reality board game that I could just play in real life.