iPhone 15 Pro owners will soon have an exciting new feature that narrows the gap between their devices and the forthcoming iPhone 16 series. Visual Intelligence, Apple's answer to Google Lens, is set to debut on the 2023 Pro-series flagships, as reported by Daring Fireball.
iPhone 16 and 16 Pro users can activate Visual Intelligence with a long press of their dedicated camera button. However, the newly announced iPhone 16e, alongside the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, lack a physical camera button. Consequently, users will need to assign this functionality to the Action button or utilize a Control Center shortcut, which will be introduced in an upcoming software update.
Apple has yet to confirm which iOS version will include the Visual Intelligence feature for the iPhone 15 Pro series. Nevertheless, John Gruber of Daring Fireball speculates that it will be available in iOS 18.4, which could be released to beta testers at any moment.
Visual Intelligence is part of the Apple Intelligence suite of AI features. It allows users to point their camera at an object and utilize AI to analyze it in real time. While the feature performs several tasks independently, it becomes even more powerful when paired with its persistent onscreen shortcuts to ChatGPT or Google Image Search.
For example, if you come across a unique set of towels in your closet and wish to purchase more, you can activate Visual Intelligence. By selecting the Google search shortcut, you can see if those towels appear in the web results. Alternatively, ChatGPT can provide information on the product and possible ordering options.
Even without the assistance of Google or OpenAI, Visual Intelligence offers several standalone features. Users can interact with text to translate, read aloud, or summarize it. Additionally, you can learn about a business simply by pointing your phone at it, accessing details such as its hours, menu, and services, or even making a purchase.
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max users can look forward to experiencing these features in the near future, with an even earlier preview available for those who opt to test the beta software.
