Ear Sonar
Hear the space around you
Only for iPhone
Free · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
iPhone
Ear Sonar is an accessibility app that helps people who are blind or have low vision sense nearby space. It uses the iPhone’s rear LiDAR to scan what’s ahead, then turns that depth into spatial audio—or haptics—so you can “hear” the environment.
What you can hear
• Distance: nearer sounds arrive sooner, denser, or higher in pitch; farther sounds are sparser and lower
• Direction: binaural spatial audio places objects to your left or right
• Shape cues: flat walls, slopes, and gaps create distinct sonic rhythms
Four sensing modes
• Echolocation: row-by-row pings outline space like sonar returns
• Pitch sonar: a rising scan line encodes distance as pitch in real time
• Continuous sonar: a fixed center line for a live depth profile while you walk
• Haptic sonar: vibration timing encodes distance—no headphones required
Semantic markers
Optionally detect people, vehicles, dogs, chairs, tables, doors, and more, then announce them in stereo from their real-world direction. All processing stays on device; nothing is uploaded.
Tips
• Stereo headphones are recommended (Apple headphones with head tracking and spatial audio work best); haptic mode can be used without headphones
• Full VoiceOver support, including gestures and the rotor
• Requires an iPhone with LiDAR (iPhone 12 Pro and later Pro models)
• This is an assistive tool—not a replacement for a cane, guide dog, or your own judgment when traveling
Open the app and start hearing space. Camera preview is on by default so sighted helpers can see what’s being scanned.
To keep the experience focused, the app intentionally avoids UI that isn’t essential to core sensing. Questions or suggestions: ninerwong@outlook.com
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
The developer, 乃君 黄, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- 乃君 黄
- Size
- 19.2 MB
- Category
- Utilities
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 17.0 or later.
• iPhone 6S
• iPhone 6S Plus
• iPhone SE (1st generation)
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone X
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2nd generation)
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13
• iPhone SE (3rd generation)
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPhone 16
• iPhone 16 Plus
• iPhone 16 Pro
• iPhone 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 17 Pro
• iPhone 17 Pro Max
• iPhone 17
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 17e
• iPhone 18 Pro
• iPhone 18 Pro Max
• iPhone Duo - Mac
Requires macOS 14.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
English and 19 more
- English, Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Age Rating
4+
- 4+
- Copyright
- © 黄乃君