iOS 27 puts Visual Intelligence inside the Camera app through a new Siri mode. Point the iPhone at a plant, a meal or a restaurant check, and Siri can identify it, answer a question about it or offer an action.
Siri mode needs an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, which means the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or any iPhone 16 model or later, with Siri AI turned on. Apple lists the same steps in its Siri mode instructions. Siri AI is available in English, and it is not available in the EU at launch.
How to Open Siri Mode in the Camera App
- Open the Camera app and swipe across the mode selector at the bottom to Siri.
- Point the iPhone at the object, document or scene you want to know more about.
- Tap the Siri button, which replaces the shutter button, for a quick answer. Tap Ask to type a specific question, or Search to find similar images.
- Tap a suggested action if one appears.
Siri suggests actions based on what is in the frame. A plant brings up an option to identify it, a plate of food can show nutrition information, and a check can offer Split Bill with Apple Cash. Apple also moved the flash, Live Photo and Night mode shortcuts to the top center of the Camera app, with the full set of tools at the bottom right.
Four Other Ways to Start Visual Intelligence
Siri mode is now the main route, but the older shortcuts still work.
- Camera Control: click and hold the button on iPhones that have one
- Action button: go to Settings, Action Button and choose Visual Intelligence
- Lock Screen: touch and hold the screen, tap Customize and add the Visual Intelligence button
- Control Center: swipe down from the upper-right corner and tap the Visual Intelligence button
What Siri Can Do With What the Camera Sees
The examples below are the ones Apple and early testers have pointed to most often.
- Identify a plant or an animal
- Show the nutritional value of a meal or food item
- Split a bill from a photo of a check with Apple Cash
- Turn a membership card or a printed barcode into a Wallet pass
- Read a laundry label and explain the washing instructions
Visual Intelligence is tied into Siri AI, so follow-up questions work in the same conversation. Complex questions used to be handed off to ChatGPT, and Siri AI now pulls answers from the web without that step. Every Visual Intelligence request is saved in the Siri app, and you can choose how long the history is kept, from one month to indefinitely.
Visual Intelligence Also Works on iPad and Mac
The iPad has no Siri mode in its Camera app. On iPadOS 27 you can start Visual Intelligence by taking a screenshot or by swiping up from the bottom-left corner with Apple Pencil. On a Mac running macOS 27 Golden Gate, press Command, Shift and Space, select an area of the screen and ask Siri about it.
Code found in iOS 27 also suggests Apple is considering ads inside Visual Intelligence, but nothing official has been announced yet.
Siri mode is the easiest way into Visual Intelligence so far, because it sits next to Photo and Video where people already look. The receipt and Wallet card tricks are the ones that seem really useful, and the older shortcuts are still there for anyone who likes Camera Control.
