Have you ever spotted a great pair of shoes in a video and wondered where to buy them?
asserted
you → spot → them
Maybe someone sent you a photo of a restaurant, plant or gadget and you wanted to know more without typing a description into Google.
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you → send → Google
Apple's newly released iOS 27 gives iPhone owners an easier way to do that.
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iOS → release → that
Visual Intelligence can now understand what's already displayed on your screen, so you can search an object, ask a question about it or take action based on what your iPhone sees.
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iPhone → understand → what
Apple says you can even turn information from a flyer or invitation into a calendar event.
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you → say → event
Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel owners have a similar tool through Google's Circle to Search.
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owners → have → Search
Instead of switching apps, you can select something directly on your screen and immediately search for more information.
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you → switch → information
Here's how all three work and where you'll find the controls on the latest software.
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you → work → software
Watch the replay and discover 5 ways AI can help you get better healthcare.
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you → watch → healthcare
Our free CyberGuy LIVE class Get Better Healthcare with AI has ended, but you can still watch the full replay.
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you → get → replay
Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson walks you through five practical ways AI can help you prepare for appointments, remember important details, understand complicated medical information, research prescription questions and organize your next steps.
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you → walk → steps
No technical experience is needed.
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experience → need → ?
Plus, recordings of all our past classes are available, including How to Stop Spam, Phone Security and Financial Protection, each with a free downloadable checklist.
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recordings → include → checklist
Watch the free replays and get your checklists at CyberGuyLive.com
What's new with Visual Intelligence in iOS 27?
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What → watch → iOS
Visual Intelligence previously focused heavily on things around you.
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Intelligence → focus → you
You could point your iPhone camera at something and use Apple Intelligence to identify it or search for more information.
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You → point → information
iOS 27 expands that experience to content already displayed on your iPhone.
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iOS → expand → iPhone
Take a screenshot and Visual Intelligence can offer tools based on what it recognizes.
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it → take → what
Apple says those options can include visual search, questions about the screen, text summaries, Read Aloud and actions such as adding an event to Calendar.
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options → say → Calendar
That opens up some useful possibilities.
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That → open → possibilities
Say you're watching a video and notice a lamp you like in the background.
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you → say → background
You can pause the video, take a screenshot and search for something similar instead of trying to describe the lamp yourself.
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You → pause → lamp
You could also receive a digital event flyer in Messages.
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You → receive → Messages
Rather than switching to Calendar and manually entering the details, Visual Intelligence may recognize the event information and give you an option to add it.
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Intelligence → switch → it
That's the big reason we're looking at this feature now.
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we → look → feature
iOS 27 brings Apple's visual search much deeper into what you're already doing on the iPhone.
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you → bring → iPhone
If you recently installed Apple's latest update, you'll also want to check out our article on 10 iOS 27 features you'll want to try now.
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you → instal → features
Which iPhones can use Visual Intelligence?
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iPhones → use → Intelligence
One thing to keep straight is that an iPhone can support iOS 27 without supporting Visual Intelligence.
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iPhone → keep → Intelligence
Apple Intelligence on iOS 27 requires an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or iPhone 16 model or later.
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Intelligence → require → model
Availability can also vary by language and region.
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Availability → vary → language
Meanwhile, iOS 27 itself works on many older iPhones.
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iOS → work → iPhones
So, if you installed iOS 27 on an older supported iPhone and don't see these Visual Intelligence tools, your phone may simply lack the hardware needed for Apple Intelligence.
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phone → instal → Intelligence
How to use Visual Intelligence on your iPhone screen in iOS 27
This is the new part I think many iPhone owners will want to try first.
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owners → use → iOS
- Open the app or screen containing what you want to search.
- Quickly press and release the side button and volume up button at the same time to take a screenshot.
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you → open → screenshot
- Swipe over a specific object if you want to narrow the search to that item.
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you → swipe → item
- Tap Ask if you want to ask a question about what's on the screen.
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what → tap → screen
- Depending on the content, you may also see Add to Calendar, Summarize, Read Aloud or a link to a relevant website.
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you → depend → website
- When you're finished, tap the X to delete the screenshot or the check mark to save it.
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you → finish → it
The available buttons change based on what's inside the screenshot, so don't expect every option to appear each time.
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option → change → screenshot
…and 91 more, not listed.
The Aporia
