TikTok introduced a new augmented reality (AR) effect celebrating the New Year, the first one to use the LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 Pro variants. The revolutionary iPhone sensor will allow the users to play around with AR golden balloons and confetti through the TikTok app. The company made the announcement through its official Twitter account.
The LiDAR scanner initially debuted on the 2020 iPad Pro and later featured on the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The technology enables the mobile device to create a precise 3D map of the environment by emitting infrared light to measure the distance of various elements.
TikTok is one of the few developers to put the APIs that allow for the integration of the LiDAR scanner with third-party apps to use. These new AR effects are an exciting application of the sensor’s capabilities.
The effect uses the LiDAR scanner to recreate an environment similar to that of New Year’s Eve in Times Square. It features an AR ball and fills the room with confetti and glossy ‘2021’ balloons at the completion of the New Year countdown. The level of accuracy that the sensor presents is exceptional with the positioning of the confetti looking much more realistic around the environment, as showcased by TikTok in a demonstration video.
Apart from a few countries, TikTok users around the world can enjoy and start being creative with the new filter. The company has got a lot of similar filters to launch over the course of 2021 but they will be compatible with select variants of the iPhone and iPad only.
However, Snapchat was the first social networking app to put the LiDAR scanner to use when it launched the special AR lenses exclusively for iPhone 12 Pro users.
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