CONCLUSION

3D scanning on devices such as phones and tablets has been available for a while. It has only gained the traction it has in recent years because it now not only delivers on the level of quality required, but also fits into a broader ecosystem of tools that are suited towards both traditional workflows and the emerging game engine market.

Advances in mobile tech, including camera capabilities and LIDAR, has meant that what you hold in your hand has enough hardware and processing power to deliver incredible results.

In this conclusion we’ll place the four apps side-by-side to get a feel for how they stack up against each other. We’ll break the conclusion down into sections so we can clearly see how they each perform.

USABILITY

The app I found the most usable was Realityscan, closely followed by Widar. Realityscan was intuitive and the workflow through the various steps seemed simple and understandable.

There are simpler apps that, in one sense, would be easier to use, but Realityscan contained some proper professional and advanced tools, and yet it was simple to use. The implementation of Widar is well thought through. Each section of functionality contains its own set of dedicated tools, and so the interface never manages to become too cluttered. CORE FUNCTIONALITY

Interestingly, out of the apps we reviewed, Realityscan was the only one that didn’t contain the video-style functionality for capturing the photos. All three of the other apps used this type of capture technology, and Magiscan opted for providing the most comprehensive set of options for photo capture, video capture, and even photo uploads from external sources. In that regard, Magiscan is probably the best option if you want all that functionality in one place.

I was highly impressed by Realityscan’s additional guiding tools, which helped me to get all the necessary photos, and correct issues with any unsuitable ones. Meanwhile, I was probably least impressed with Widar, which felt like it was forcing me to be quicker than I wanted and lacked any intelligent functionality to determine when a photo should or shouldn’t be taken.

EXPORTING

All of the apps export to the major formats, so you’re unlikely to have any problems with getting the model into a format that you can use beyond the scanning app. It’s with the exporting that most of these apps sting you financially though.

Qlone has decided to charge per export, which is perfect for light usage, but the subscription model of Sketchfab with Realityscan might be better for more models, alongside the additional functionality that Sketchfab will provide you through its subscription.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

To try and set themselves apart, each app provides complementary features that go alongside the core scanning app functionality. Realityscan offered next to nothing in terms of additional features, while Qlone and Widar provide additional editing tools. For serious users, these are far too rudimentary for anything particularly meaningful, but if you’d like the ability to make changes to your scanned models and their textures then those apps are good options.

SUMMARY

I think my favourite app was Realityscan but, to be fair, all the apps we’ve looked at in this group review will serve you well. Each app performs its core functionality solidly, but the implementation of the tools varies quite considerably.

The way they ‘behave’ goes a long way to determining how enjoyable they are and whether they’ll fit into your workflow. Take a couple of hours and give them all a spin, that’ll be the best way to get a feel for them.

“THE WAY THEY ‘BEHAVE’ GOES A LONG WAY TO DETERMINING HOW ENJOYABLE THEY ARE”