For years, identifying a strange plant in your garden or figuring out the breed of a dog required downloading third-party apps or uploading photos to search engines. With modern versions of iOS, Apple has built this capability directly into the native Photos app using an AI feature called Visual Look Up.
Visual Look Up uses on-device machine learning to scan your photos and identify popular landmarks, statues, art, plants, pets (dogs and cats), birds, and insects. It provides Wikipedia links and similar web images right inside the Photos app, acting as a personal, pocket-sized encyclopaedia.
Requirements
Because Visual Look Up relies heavily on Apple’s Neural Engine for on-device processing, it is not available on older hardware. You need:
- An iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or newer (essentially any iPhone with the A12 Bionic chip or later).
- iOS 15 or later installed (iOS 16 is required for identifying birds and insects; iOS 17 expanded this to laundry care symbols and car dashboard symbols).
- An active internet connection to retrieve the results.
How to Use Visual Look Up
The feature works entirely automatically in the background. You do not need to manually scan or crop images.
- Open the native Photos app on your iPhone.
- Find a photo containing a clear subject (e.g., a flower, a dog, or a famous monument) and tap it to view it full screen.
- Look at the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Locate the Info (i) button.
- If iOS has successfully identified a subject in the photo, the “i” icon will change. It will display a small sparkle overlay, and the icon itself might change to match the subject (e.g., a leaf icon for a plant, or a paw print for a pet).
- Tap the Info (sparkle) button, or simply swipe up on the photo.
Understanding the Results
When you swipe up to view the photo’s metadata (where you usually see the location and camera settings), a new banner will appear at the top of the information panel.
- It will say something like Look Up – Plant or Look Up – Dog.
- Tap this banner.
A Siri Knowledge card will pop up from the bottom of the screen. This card typically includes:
- The Identification: The most likely species, breed, or name of the subject.
- Wikipedia Snippet: A short paragraph explaining what the object is, pulled directly from Wikipedia.
- Similar Web Images: A grid of visually similar images from the web to help you confirm the identification manually.
If the AI is unsure, it will often provide a few different possibilities (e.g., “This could be a Golden Retriever or a Yellow Labrador”) and let you compare the reference images.
What Else Can Visual Look Up Identify?
While plants and pets are the most popular uses, Apple has continuously expanded the capabilities of Visual Look Up in recent iOS updates. You can now use it to identify:
- Laundry Care Symbols: Take a photo of the tag on a shirt, and Visual Look Up will tell you exactly what the confusing wash symbols mean (e.g., “Machine Wash Cold, Do Not Tumble Dry”).
- Car Dashboard Warning Lights: If a strange symbol lights up on your dashboard, snap a photo. The AI can identify the symbol (e.g., “Tyre Pressure Warning” or “Check Engine”).
- Food Recipes: If you take a photo of a plated dish at a restaurant, Visual Look Up can often suggest similar recipes from the web.
Visual Look Up transforms your iPhone’s camera from a simple recording device into a powerful tool for interacting with and understanding the world around you.