FLIR ONE

Two 'FLIR ONE' stories June 2015 - January 2018

Hands-on: ‘Flir One Pro’ turns your iPhone into a thermal imaging camera that’s helpful for homeowners [Video]

The human eye is amazing, but it’s limited as to what it can see. That’s where imaging tools like thermal cameras can come in handy, allowing you to see and diagnose problems that are normally invisible to the eye. This thermal, or infrared energy, is present in all matter, but because its wavelength is beyond the scope of what the human eye can discern, it’s invisible to us without the necessary tools.

Thanks to modern-day smartphones like the iPhone, these tools are now a lot more accessible to the everyday person. One such example is the Flir One Pro — a portable thermal camera attachment that connects directly to an iPhone’s Lightning port.

If you’re a homeowner, or just someone who’s curious about the type of technology that allows you to see through walls and identify heat signatures like you’re in the movie Predator, then Flir’s One Pro is a mighty-impressive, if not tiny, piece of kit. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough inside for a look at how it works.
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FLIR releases 2nd-gen FLIR ONE, iOS-ready thermal camera, dropping 1st-gen’s price

FLIR, maker of standalone and accessory thermal imaging cameras, has officially released FLIR ONE for iOS ($250), the improved sequel to FLIR ONE for iPhone 5/5s. A victim of unfortunate timing, the original FLIR ONE hit stores just before Apple released the iPhone 6, but only fit the iPhone 5/5s, limiting its appeal to users in need of thermal imaging capabilities. Redesigned as a dongle rather than a case, the new FLIR ONE works across multiple iOS devices, plugging into their bottoms with a Lightning connector. It has a 350mAh battery to power its twin cameras, requiring no energy from the connected iOS device.

FLIR’s advantage over key rival Seek Thermal (reviewed here) is its use of twin cameras that collectively provide what looks like a more detailed image: a Lepton thermal camera has a relatively low (160×120) pixel count, but FLIR combines its output with a 640×480 “standard camera” to create stills and videos with finer detail. Seek Thermal attempted to offer a similar feature by using both its 206×156-resolution thermal camera and the connected iOS device’s camera at the same time, but the varying distances between the accessory and iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch lenses prevents the images from lining up properly.

The original FLIR ONE for iPhone 5/5s has been radically reduced in price from its original $349 starting point. At $250, FLIR ONE for iOS now matches the price of the entry-level Seek Thermal camera for iOS.