According to Daring Fireball, iPhone 15 Pro users are about to receive some good news: Apple's Visual Intelligence feature will be available on the Pro series flagship models released in 2023. This means there is one less reason for iPhone 15 Pro users to upgrade to the iPhone 16 series.
Visual Intelligence is similar to Google's Google Lens and is part of Apple's suite of AI features called Apple Intelligence. Users can point their camera at objects for real-time analysis using AI. It can perform some tasks independently, but more useful information comes from its screen shortcuts—such as ChatGPT or Google Image Search.
iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro users can trigger Visual Intelligence by long-pressing a dedicated camera button. However, since the iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, and the recently released iPhone 16e (which also supports this feature) do not have a physical camera button, these three models will need to assign this function to the "Action" button or use the "Control Center" shortcut (which will be available in an upcoming software update).
Cherlynn Low from Engadget explained that, for example, if a user finds a uniquely patterned towel in their closet and wants to buy more but forgets where to purchase it, they can activate Visual Intelligence, select the Google Search shortcut, and see if the desired product appears in the search results. Alternatively, they can also use ChatGPT to ask for information about the product and where to order it.
Visual Intelligence can also operate independently without the help of Google or OpenAI. Users can interact with text for translation, reading aloud, and summarizing. They can also learn about businesses pointed to by their phone: checking hours of operation, menus, services, or directly purchasing products.
Apple has not yet disclosed which iOS version will bring the Apple Intelligence visual search feature to the iPhone 15 Pro series. However, Daring Fireball's John Gruber speculates that this feature will appear in iOS 18.4 and could show up "at any time" in beta testing.
Therefore, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max users are expected to experience this convenient feature soon. For those willing to try beta software, the experience may come even earlier.
