Yes — Pointscape is a point cloud viewer for iPad and iPhone. Download it free from the App Store and open E57, LAS, LAZ, PLY, COPC, or XYZ scans. It renders them in 3D entirely on-device, with no desktop, no file conversion, and no internet connection required.
Point clouds on iOS
A point cloud is a set of millions or billions of 3D points captured by a laser scanner, LiDAR sensor, or photogrammetry pipeline. Each point stores a position, and usually color and intensity, which together reconstruct a real space or object in three dimensions. Reviewing one traditionally meant a powerful desktop workstation and specialized software.
Pointscape brings that capability to iPad and iPhone. It renders point clouds on-device with advanced lighting, multiple coloring and quality modes, and adaptive level of detail — so you can inspect a scan in the field, walk a client through it on site, or review a capture anywhere, no laptop and no internet connection required.
Because processing happens locally, your scans never have to leave the device to be viewed. That keeps sensitive site data private and means a viewer works even with no signal — on a rooftop, in a basement, or deep inside a structure. When you do need more horsepower, Pointscape can stream very large clouds from the cloud and offload heavy conversion to cloud processing, then bring the result back to your iPad.
Typical users are surveyors checking a capture before leaving site, BIM and VDC coordinators reviewing scan-to-BIM data, architects and engineers presenting reality-capture to clients, and heritage and inspection teams documenting structures. If you can put an iPad in front of someone, you can show them the scan.
Step by step
Download Pointscape free from the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
Open Pointscape and import an E57, LAS, LAZ, PLY, COPC, or XYZ file from the Files app, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box.
Pointscape renders the point cloud on-device. Pan, zoom, rotate, measure, and fine-tune coloring and quality modes to inspect every detail.
See it in action
Compatible captures
Pointscape is hardware-neutral: it opens the standard files your capture tools already export, so it works with point clouds from virtually any scanner, sensor, or photogrammetry pipeline. It opens the exported file — it does not connect to or control the scanner itself.
Terrestrial laser scanners. Export E57 or LAS/LAZ from Leica (BLK360, RTC360), FARO (Focus), Trimble (X7), NavVis, or Riegl, then open the file directly on your iPad.
iPhone & iPad LiDAR. Capture with apps such as Polycam, Scaniverse, or 3D Scanner App, export PLY, LAS, or E57, and review it in Pointscape with full 3D controls.
Drone & aerial LiDAR. Bring in LAS/LAZ or COPC from DJI Zenmuse L1/L2 and other aerial sensors, and stream large COPC tiles without downloading everything first.
Photogrammetry. Export dense point clouds as PLY or E57 from Agisoft Metashape, RealityCapture, or Pix4D.
Formats
All of these open in Pointscape on iPad and iPhone. Here is how they compare and when each is the right choice.
| Format | Extension | Typical source | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| E57 | .e57 | Terrestrial laser scanners | Vendor-neutral exchange with color and intensity |
| LAS | .las | Aerial and mobile LiDAR | Open ASPRS standard with point classification |
| LAZ | .laz | Compressed LiDAR | The same data as LAS at a fraction of the size |
| COPC | .copc.laz | Large cloud-hosted datasets | Streaming billions of points without a full download |
| PLY | .ply | Photogrammetry and 3D scanning | Per-point color and normals from reconstruction |
| XYZ | .xyz | Simple or custom exports | Plain-text point lists that are easy to generate |
Formats
Pointscape opens every major point cloud format on iPad and iPhone. See the dedicated guide for yours:
Open .e57 laser-scanner point clouds on iPad and iPhone.
View .las and .laz LiDAR scans on iPad and iPhone.
Open .ply photogrammetry point clouds on iPad and iPhone.
Stream .copc.laz cloud-optimized point clouds on iPad and iPhone.
Open .xyz plain-text point clouds on iPad and iPhone.
New to the formats? Read point cloud formats explained. Comparing tools? See the best point cloud viewer for iPhone and the CloudCompare alternative for iPad.
FAQ
Yes. Pointscape is a point cloud viewer for iPad and iPhone that renders 3D scans entirely on-device. Download it free on the App Store, import an E57, LAS, LAZ, PLY, COPC, or XYZ file, and explore it in 3D.
Yes. Pointscape processes and renders point clouds entirely on-device, so it works completely offline — no internet connection and no cloud account required. Your scans stay on your iPhone or iPad, which makes it well suited to secure, on-premise work. Cloud streaming and upload are optional, not required.
Pointscape opens E57, PLY, COPC, LAS, LAZ, and XYZ point clouds on iPhone and iPad, imported from Files, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box.
Pointscape uses adaptive level of detail to render large scans smoothly on-device, and can stream massive point clouds from the cloud so you can explore billions of points without downloading the full file.
Pointscape is a free download on the App Store. Pro and Cloud plans unlock larger files, advanced visualization, cloud streaming, and team workspaces.
