That new tool is called SHARP, and it\u2019s just been unveiled in a research paper<\/a> published by Apple. Titled \u201cSharp Monocular View Synthesis in Less Than a Second,\u201d the paper outlines a new tool that can turn 2D images into 3D spatial scenes in under one second.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n SHARP uses a neural network \u2013 artificial intelligence (AI)<\/a>, in other words \u2013 to quickly generate a 3D map of your image. That\u2019s the part that is performed in less than a second. Once that\u2019s complete, the image can be rendered in real time.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Apple says it trained the model on around eight million synthetic images created in-house and 2.65 million licensed photographs, with the result that SHARP could learn to discern depth and scale and apply that knowledge to input images.<\/p>\n It does this while maintaining consistency when it comes to aspects like scale and distance, meaning you shouldn\u2019t see the sorts of stretching and warping that can come about when performing a 2D-to-3D conversion. That\u2019s key to maintaining immersion and producing a 3D image that users actually want to keep.<\/p>\n An evolution of spatial photos<\/p>\n Apple’s SHARP model generates photorealistic 3D Gaussian reps from a single img in secs.GitHub: https:\/\/t.co\/wU6yTWRdClPaper: https:\/\/t.co\/xUtr40pEJ9SHARP enables photorealistic NVS from one photo by regressing 3D Gaussian params via single NN fwd pass (<1s on std GPU).\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Wo6EyZIPvLDecember 17, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Right now, SHARP is more a proof-of-concept than a prime-time feature, and there\u2019s no indication of when \u2013 or if \u2013 it will come to Apple\u2019s devices. While it\u2019s available to download on GitHub<\/a>, it\u2019s not yet baked into the likes of iOS 26<\/a> or macOS Tahoe<\/a>.<\/p>\n That said, it seems like a natural evolution of the spatial photos feature that Apple has already released. If the Photos app on your iPhone will let you explore your images in this way, it could be an attractive selling point for a lot of people. Add it to the Vision Pro headset<\/a> and it\u2019ll be even more immersive.<\/p>\n (Image credit: Apple)<\/p>\n All that said, SHARP does have some drawbacks. For one thing, it\u2019s focused on rendering nearby scenes, meaning you can\u2019t stray too far from the original viewpoint before fidelity starts to suffer.<\/p>\n But as a starting point, it\u2019s certainly promising, especially when you consider how quickly it can operate. Don\u2019t be surprised to see it roll out in Apple\u2019s operating systems<\/a> at some point in the future.<\/p>\n Follow TechRadar on Google News<\/a> and add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!<\/p>\n And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok<\/a> for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp<\/a> too.<\/p>\n![\"Appl](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SC5jj3hTMT5FyWrRfZmgqZ.gif\")
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