If you take a picture of a beautiful flower but do not know its name, or snap a photo of a strange dog breed in the park, you no longer need to download a third-party identification app. Your iPhone can automatically analyse your photographs and tell you exactly what is in them.
This built-in AI tool is called Visual Look Up. It uses machine learning to identify plants, pets, landmarks, art, and even laundry care symbols found on clothing tags, providing instant Wikipedia summaries and related web links directly inside your Photos app.
How to Access Visual Look Up
Visual Look Up happens entirely in the background. You do not need to press a special button when taking the photo; you simply take pictures as normal, and the iPhone analyses them later when you view them.
- Open the Photos app on your iPhone.
- Tap to open any photograph containing a clear subject (like a dog, a houseplant, or a famous monument).
- Look at the bottom of the screen. You will see the standard “Info” icon (a lowercase “i” inside a circle).
- If the iPhone’s AI has successfully identified the subject in the photo, that standard “i” icon will transform. It will gain two small sparkle stars next to it (✨i✨).
How to Identify Objects
If you see the sparkle icon, the iPhone is ready to give you information.
- Tap the ✨i✨ icon.
- A panel will slide up from the bottom of the screen displaying the date, time, and camera metadata.
- At the very top of this panel, you will see a banner that says Look Up, followed by the category (e.g., “Look Up – Dog” or “Look Up – Plant”).
- Tap the Look Up banner.
A detailed card will appear on your screen. If you photographed a dog, it will display the specific breed (e.g., “Golden Retriever”) along with a short summary and a link to Siri Knowledge or Wikipedia to read more. If you photographed a laundry tag, it will translate the confusing washing symbols into plain text instructions (e.g., “Machine Wash, Cold”, “Do Not Bleach”).
What Can Visual Look Up Identify?
Apple regularly updates the capabilities of the Visual Look Up AI with new iOS versions. Currently, it is highly accurate at identifying:
- Pets: Specific breeds of dogs and cats.
- Nature: Houseplants, outdoor flowers, trees, and some insects.
- Landmarks: Famous statues, buildings, and monuments worldwide.
- Art: Famous paintings and sculptures.
- Symbols: Laundry care tags and automotive dashboard warning lights.
- Food: It can occasionally identify dishes and suggest similar recipes from the web.
Troubleshooting Visual Look Up
If the sparkles do not appear on the info icon, it usually means one of three things:
- The subject is unclear: The photo might be too blurry, too dark, or the subject might be too small for the AI to confidently identify it. Try zooming in and cropping the photo to make the subject more prominent.
- You lack an internet connection: While the initial scanning happens on-device, the iPhone needs to connect to Apple’s servers to pull the Wikipedia data and confirm the match. Ensure you are connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data.
- Your region is unsupported: Visual Look Up is not available in every language or geographical region. If your phone’s primary language is not supported by the feature, the sparkles will never appear.