One of the surprising elements of Apple’s iPhone 16e announcement this week was the inclusion of the AI-based Visual Intelligence feature.
The phone doesn’t have the Camera Control button within the mainline iPhone 16 range, but instead it can be accessed via the customisable Action Button on the iPhone 16e.
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That announcement gave iPhone 15 Pro owners a good reason to collectively raise an eyebrow and as well as state ‘if the iPhone 16e can have that, why can’t we?’
The good news is Apple is planning to bring the feature to its Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in a future update. That’s according to Daring Fireball, which spoke to an Apple rep on the matter.
Jon Gruber wrote: “Apple representatives also told me today that owners of the iPhone 15 Pro will soon be able to bind their Action Button to visual intelligence, “in a future software update”.”
That could be the forthcoming iOS 18.4 update, which is due in the coming weeks, but it may be farther down the line.
Interestingly, Visual Intelligence is also getting its own shortcut in the Control Centre quick settings menu according to the same source, so you won’t need an Action Button or Camera control at all.
Visual Intelligence arrived on the iPhone with iOS 18.2 and it’s Apple’s version of the intelligent Google Lens or Circle to Search technologies. Opening the feature, currently with a long press of the Camera Control button, can surface information about what the lens sees.
It’ll use AI to scan the image depicted to perform tasks like showing opening hours and reservations for a restaurant you might be stood outside, add event details to a calendar just by scanning the poster, or determine which breed the cute pupper you photographed on your travels may be. Furthermore, you can ask ChatGPT for more information, or perform a Google Search from the image.
Get it sorted, Apple
Visual Intelligence is one of the standout AI features Apple has at its disposal, so it’s only fair that iPhone 15 Pro users get a fair crack at it too. We were led to believe owners of those phones wouldn’t miss out on any of the features from the original wave of Apple Intelligence tools. So, while this delay is somewhat understandable as Apple figures out the intricacies of enabling the feature without Camera Control, the wait shouldn’t go on much longer.
