Apple’s iPhone 16 line is getting an exclusive and powerful new feature later this year—likely in iOS 18.2. It uses the A18 chip, Camera Control, and smarts from Apple, ChatGPT, and Google to unlock a fresh way of interacting with the world. Here’s everything you should know about visual intelligence.
New camera feature will be exclusive to iPhone 16 line
Every year when a new iPhone is unveiled, Apple puts a major spotlight on camera upgrades.
With the iPhone 16, a big part of the camera pitch had to do with Camera Control. All iPhone 16 models feature a new physical button with touch controls for controlling the Camera app.
Camera Control does a lot already, but soon it will gain even more power thanks to the addition of visual intelligence.
Here’s how Apple describes what’s coming:
Later this year, Camera Control will unlock visual intelligence to help users learn about objects and places faster than ever before. Users can click and hold Camera Control to pull up the hours or ratings for a restaurant they pass, add an event from a flyer to their calendar, quickly identify a dog by breed, and more. Camera Control will also serve as a gateway into third-party tools with specific domain expertise, like when users want to search on Google to find where they can buy an item, or to benefit from ChatGPT’s problem-solving skills. Users are in control of when third-party tools are used and what information is shared.
How Visual Intelligence features will work
After visual intelligence arrives, you’ll be able to long-press Camera Control to load the Camera app in a special mode.
In this mode, similar to Google Lens, your iPhone 16’s camera will be able to recognize objects in the world, and provide information and actions related to them.
So to summarize what Apple shared above, here’s what visual intelligence will make possible.
Three main examples so far include pointing the camera at:
- a restaurant to view its Maps listing
- an event flyer to add it to your calendar
- a dog to identify its breed
But there’s more.
The above examples are using Apple’s own resources to power visual intelligence. But the company is also partnering with OpenAI and Google to enable even more capabilities.
So if you’re shopping somewhere and want to pull up an item online, Google might get involved. Or if your subject necessitates problem-solving powers, ChatGPT can come to assistance.
Similar to when ChatGPT gets fully integrated with Siri, it appears these third-party data sources may prompt a permission request before Apple gets them involved. That way, you know exactly what info is being shared at any given time, and with who.
There’s also, of course, potential for Apple to expand visual intelligence to offer more capabilities over time. But what the company has shared so far should all be available at launch.
When to expect Visual Intelligence to release
So far, Apple has only said that visual intelligence is coming to the iPhone 16 “later this year.”
However, all signs point to iOS 18.2 as the update that will bring the feature.
Apple is close to shipping iOS 18.1 already, and there’s been no trace of visual intelligence in the betas so far. Additionally, the ChatGPT integration required for visual intelligence works a lot like what’s expected for Siri in iOS 18.2. Finally, assuming Apple follows its normal release pattern, iOS 18.2 will be the last big software update of the year. So it’s the last chance, beyond iOS 18.1, for the company to hit its stated target.
It’s always possible the feature will get delayed into 2025, but right now an iOS 18.2 arrival in December seems a safe bet.
Visual Intelligence wrap-up
The iPhone’s camera is about to get more powerful than ever. By building visual intelligence into Camera Control, Apple is elevating the importance of the feature and providing another compelling reason to upgrade to the iPhone 16. It’s unfortunate it wasn’t able to ship last month alongside the iPhone, but I’m excited to try it out soon—hopefully in an iOS 18.2 beta later this month.
Are you looking forward to visual intelligence? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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