(Credit: René Ramos; Apple)
My wife and I like to travel, which means we run into a lot of interesting landmarks, restaurants, and artwork. Often we want to know more about the things we encounter on our trips, so Visual Intelligence on my iPhone has come in handy. With it, I just aim my phone's camera at a mysterious object, then ask AI to identify and teach me about it; it can also summarize or translate text. Here's how I use Visual Intelligence.
How to Enable and Activate Visual Intelligence
In order to use Visual Intelligence, you’ll need any iPhone 16 model, an iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18.2 or higher. I have an iPhone 16 Pro, so I'm in the clear there. I had to update my phone, which I did under Settings > General > Software Update. There, you'll either be told that the OS is up to date or prompted to install the latest update.
To use the feature, I also needed Apple Intelligence to be enabled. It's turned on by default as of iOS 18.3, but if you turned it off previously, you'll need to open Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn on the switch next to Apple Intelligence.
Visual Intelligence also needs to be enabled, which I was able to check under Settings > Camera > Camera Control. Swipe down to the Launch Visual Intelligence section and enable Press and Hold if it’s not already enabled.
Activating Visual Intelligence works differently based on your model iPhone. On my iPhone 16 Pro, I trigger the feature by pressing the Camera Control button. This is how you use it on an iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro Max, as well. If you have an iPhone 16e, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max—which lack Camera Control—you can customize the Action button to start up Visual Intelligence, add it to the Lock screen, or place it in Control Center.
How I've Been Using Visual Intelligence
(Credit: Lance Whitney / Apple)Identify Landmarks
I like to learn about landmarks as I travel, both those familiar to me and those I can’t already identify. When we went to see the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan, I aimed my phone at the landmark and pressed the Camera Control. For this one, I tapped the Search icon to run a Google search on it, and it showed me a variety of photos with weblinks I can click to learn more.
Identify Artwork
Another way I like to use Visual Intelligence is to learn about paintings, statues, and other works of art. This time, though, I’m going to ask ChatGPT to answer a specific question about the item. When I came across a self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh, I pointed my phone at the painting and pressed Camera Control. I tapped the Ask icon, and typed my question at the prompt.
(Credit: Lance Whitney / Apple)You can also use your voice. For that, I'd tap the prompt, select the microphone icon, and then speak the question. In response, ChatGPT serves up its answer.
Identify an Animal or Plant
If I’m out and about in nature and stumble upon an unknown animal (hopefully not a dangerous one) or a mysterious plant, I sometimes like to find out what it is. Here, I’ll point my phone at the object and press the Camera Control button. The AI may identify the animal or plant right off the bat. I can then either run a Google search or ask a specific question about it.
(Credit: Lance Whitney / Apple)Analyze Text
Visual Intelligence is also able to analyze text, which is a useful skill if I want to summarize an article, hear the text read aloud, or get a translation in another language. I can point my phone at the text and press Camera Control to see a few options. If I want to hear the text, I tap the Read Aloud button. If I want the text summarized, I tap the Summarize button. If I’m pointing at text in a different language, the Translate button should pop up, which I can hit to translate the text into English.
(Credit: Lance Whitney / Apple)Learn About a Business
It's also a great way to dig up information on a restaurant, supermarket, or department store to find the hours of operation, services offered, contact details, and reviews. Certain places even let me make reservations, order items, and request deliveries. Here, I aim my phone at the building and press the Camera Control, making sure the name of the business is in the frame. I can tap the text at the top of the screen to view a card with the name, hours, and other information, including contact info or website.
(Credit: Lance Whitney / Apple)Create a Calendar Event
Sometimes I’ll see a poster or pamphlet for an event that interests me and that I want to attend. Instead of manually creating a calendar event for it, I can use Visual Intelligence to do that for me. I aim my phone at the date listed and press the Camera Control. The AI should display a Create event button at the top. Tapping that opens a calendar prompt, which I can then edit or directly schedule.
(Credit: Lance Whitney / Apple)Get Directions
Visual Intelligence can also help me get to a specific place. I can aim the phone at an invitation, sign, or anything else that contains an address, then press the Camera Control. When I tap the white button, the address should appear at the bottom of the screen. Tapping that address then opens Apple Maps with directions to the location.
(Credit: Lance Whitney / Apple)Simple and Convenient
All of these Visual Intelligence features and skills generally work well for me, especially since I have to count on them at a moment's notice. Though AI can make mistakes, I typically find Visual Intelligence to be fairly reliable. But as my wife and I travel, I tend to rely on certain capabilities above others. I particularly appreciate the ability to learn about a landmark or museum piece and translate text from a menu or sign. And no matter how and why I use Visual Intelligence, I'm also glad that it's always available at the mere press of a button.