I just gave my iPhone night vision with this USB-C thermal camera — and now I can see in the dark

Tom's Guide

2 days ago

I've tested more than a handful of thermal cameras the past year alone. From using them to uncover potential dangers around my home, to seeing how much a phone overheats, there's plenty of practical applications for them. The only problem is that none of them supported the iPhone; they only worked on Android phones.
Well, that's until I got my hands on the Thermal Master P3. It's the first one the company has released that supports iPhone, in addition to ongoing Android support to add night vision to just about any phone. Similar to all the other thermal cameras I've tested, the Thermal Master P3 attaches via USB-C — and doesn't require its own power source.
Since I always carry an iPhone with me, having this accessory means I'm finally able to give my iPhone night vision. Right now, you can get the Thermal Master P3 with a $50 off discount that brings its price down to $299. Here's all the ways I've been using it.
Give any phone night vision with the Thermal Master P3, which now supports iPhone. This portable thermal camera attaches via USB-C to give you thermal vision to see heat signatures. It can be used for all sorts of things from around the home projects, to detailed benchmark testing.
Price check: $349 @ Amazon
While there are phones with integrated thermal cameras, the actual cameras that come with them are usually bad. I'm talking about super grainy photos that are soft, and they're just garbage under low light conditions. I would much rather have any of the best camera phones around, like my iPhone 16 Pro Max, and then add on a night vision camera to it.
That's exactly the premise behind the Thermal Master P3, which connects via USB-C to my iPhone or Android phone. In addition to its support for iPhones, I really like how I can adjust the focus of the P3 to image stuff very close or far away. Other thermal cameras I've tested have a fixed focus, which means the image could get fuzzy if I'm not at the right distance.
With this tool, however, I can put the thermal camera very close for macro-quality imaging — like how I used it to find out how much heat is being expelled from the laptop above. It's like having Predator vision, but on my iPhone. I even tested to see how accurate it is at reading temperatures by pointing an infrared thermometer at that spot, which recorded it to be about 98-degrees. The Thermal Master P3 was a bit higher at 101-degrees.
Around my home, I used the Thermal Master P3 to see if a recent water line I had installed was leaky and spilling water to the surrounding area. When I go outside in my backyard for a night of astrophotography, I keep the Thermal Master P3 on my iPhone to make sure there are no critters out there before I approach my telescope.
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I've even used it on myself this one time to sniff out a bug bite I got while doing some yard work over the weekend. I'm not sure what bit me, but I could tell there was a bump around that area — so I pointed the thermal camera right over it. What it revealed was a noticeable hotspot on the surface of my skin, which I suspect was a battleground for my immune system responding to the threat.
I also pointed the camera at my two cats because I was curious what it'd show. What's interesting is that it showed me how their fur coats help to regulate their body temperature. I always thought they'd be hot to the touch because of their coats, but quite the contrary.
These are just a few of many ways I've been using the Thermal Master P3. I just love how an attachable device like this has so many uses.
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