An apparatus detects an object using an optoelectronic apparatus. Light beams generated by a light source are scattered back and/or reflected by an object and are detected by a receiver arrangement in accordance with the triangulation principle. An object detection signal is output by an evaluation unit and the light beams in the receiver arrangement act via an optical receiver system and a microlens array on a pixel array comprising photodetectors. A macropixel has a plurality of subpixels associated with each microlens. The evaluation unit comprises a unit for determining the received signal distribution over the subpixels. Methods for operating the apparatus are also provided.