I am creating a globe and have a height map image as well as a satellite image for the displacement and textures respectively. I have created an SCNSphere and can apply the texture without issue, however I am unable to use the height map. 

SCNMaterial supports normal maps via its normal property (not what I'm after though), and appears to support displacement maps via its displacement property. However, the displacement property has a blank documentation page, and appears to do nothing.

While it is possible to "convert" a height map to a normal map, this results in a normal map and therefore does not create new geometry and so is not a solution. That is, viewing a subset of the globe and turning the camera would not show the side of the mountain but instead a smooth sphere.

Currently, I can create an object using the height map in Cinema 4D, which adds a step and while it works, I'm hoping to use SceneKit directly. 

Update: This video from WWDC 2017 indicates the feature should in fact work (24:00 into the video):

<https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2017/604/>