Scanstead needs a LiDAR sensor, which means an iPhone 12 Pro or newer Pro model, or an iPad Pro from 2020 on. If you own both, the question is which one to carry.
Scan with the phone
For the actual walkthrough, the phone wins and it is not close:
- One hand — you can open a door, move a chair, or hold a flashlight with the other
- Tight spaces — a utility closet or a crawlspace hatch does not accommodate an iPad
- It is already in your pocket — the scan that happens is the one you did not need to plan for
- Faster above your head — holding a tablet up to capture a vaulted wall gets old in about two rooms
Review and present on the iPad
The tablet earns its place after the capture. Scanstead runs full screen on iPad, and a floor plan at that size is a different object — something you can set on a tailgate and turn toward a homeowner. Spinning a 3D model of someone's own house on a large screen does more selling than any PDF.
The non-LiDAR iPad case
If your office iPad is a standard iPad without LiDAR, it cannot capture — but it can still receive. Scans sent from the field download and open for viewing and measurement, which covers the estimator who never leaves the desk.
Battery is the real variable
A long capture session is sustained sensor and screen work. The iPad has more battery to spend; the phone is easier to top up from a truck charger between houses. For a whole-house day, carry the cable either way.
The practical answer
Scan with the phone, present with the iPad, and let the office view on whatever it has.
The best scanner is the one that is in your hand when you notice you should have measured something.