October 14, 2020

Apple Takes a Leap in Tech with 5G and Lidar

Author: Stockpile Reports

Another year, another iPhone. By now you probably have an iPhone that does everything you could ever hope for. Spending several hundred dollars on another iPhone sounds like a tough proposition. However, Apple took a major leap this year with completely new features that are not your typical “we have a slightly better camera” upgrade. We broke down the features we believe will make a major difference for Stockpile Reports users.

5G Speeds Makes Uploads Faster Than Ever

You may feel like your data connection is fast. However, 5G is NASCAR speed fast! Especially when comparing upload speeds. Current iPhones work on LTE, the new iPhone 12’s 5G connection is over 20 times faster! Why does this matter? Our user data shows it takes a user 15 minutes per measurement to upload. With 5G, you can upload a measurement in 6 seconds!

It’s also important to note that we recently announced that we slashed upload speeds in half. This paired with the 5G speeds on the new Apple iPhone 12 means you could upload inventory measurements from an entire site from the iPhone in just a few minutes.

For users who fly their own drone, uploading on the office internet is usually a slow process. A flight with around 150 photos (an average flight with our service) takes 42 minutes to upload. Using your iPhone 12 as a hotspot will speed up the upload time to a 1 minute! You could upload the images to our website while still in the field and easily get the results that same day.

Lidar Not Just a Photography Boosting Tool

Apple positioned the new lidar sensor as a tool to improve your photography, but we see this as a great measurement sensor. We have already been experimenting with the lidar sensor on the iPad Pro and achieved impressive results! Here are a few reasons why the lidar will be a big deal for Stockpile Reports:

• Improved accuracy on complex and hard to measure stockpiles
• Lidar captures surfaces in the dark, no more failed measurements because it’s too dark outside
• The iPhone better understands the world in real-time which leads to potential augmented reality (AR) features such as virtual training

HDR Video, The Core of Our Solution

At the core of Stockpile Report’s measurement app is the video. The iPhone XS made a huge leap in video quality with extended dynamic range which essentially made the shadows brighter and super bright areas darker…no more videos of dark silhouetted stockpiles with sun beaming over the top. However, in the most extreme conditions, the video still couldn’t compensate for the sun directly in the camera or measuring in dark indoor conditions. HDR Video will solve this problem. Say goodbye to failed measurements due to sun flare or dark rooms. The mix of HDR Video and the Lidar sensor will make the iPhone the perfect measurement tool that fits in your pocket.

Wrapping Up

Next week, we will discuss other features that we are excited about but didn’t make our top 3 list of game-changers. If you’re interested in learning more about Stockpile Reports and our solutions, please contact us.