While a comprehensive Siri overhaul didn’t materialize at WWDC 2025, Apple is focusing on othre areas of artificial intelligence. Instead, the company is enhancing visual Intelligence, a feature that will be available on the iPhone 16 family, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. This upgrade brings on-screen awareness and a new search functionality, all accessible through screenshots.

Visual Intelligence builds upon existing capabilities, such as the Camera Control button (or Action Button on the 15 Pro), which allows users to quickly access the camera and search for what the iPhone sees. This is similar to Google Lens, enabling users to identify objects like plants and pets through visual search. With iOS 26, this functionality extends to screenshots, offering a more actionable experience.

Making Screenshots Actionable

The primary goal of Visual Intelligence is to transform static screenshots into interactive tools, potentially freeing up storage space on iPhones. The update introduces on-screen awareness, allowing the iPhone to recognize and interact with elements within a screenshot.

During a demo at WWDC 2025, a screenshot of a Messages chat containing a movie night invitation showcased the new interface. The familiar screenshot interface now includes “Ask” and “Search” buttons, along with an Apple Intelligence suggestion in the middle. In the demo, the suggestion was “Add to Calendar,” which instantly created a calendar invite with the movie night details, date, time, and location. This feature intelligently extracts relevant information from the screenshot,streamlining the process of creating events and reminders.

Visual Intelligence: An Explainer

Visual Intelligence is Apple’s suite of AI-powered features designed to understand and interact with the visual content on your iPhone. It leverages machine learning to identify objects,text,and scenes in photos and screenshots,providing users with relevant information and actions.

Imagine scrolling through TikTok or Instagram Reels and spotting a product you like. With Visual Intelligence, you can take a screenshot and then scrub over the desired item to initiate a search. This action is similar to the object removal tool in Photos, but rather of removing the object, it allows you to search for it using Google, ChatGPT, or other compatible apps.Apple is providing an API for other apps to integrate this functionality.

This feature provides access to various search platforms, including Etsy and Amazon. While it might not be the sole reason to upgrade to a Visual Intelligence-compatible iPhone, it’s expected to be a popular addition.

For broader searches, the “Ask” and “Search” buttons allow users to analyze the entire screenshot using Google or ChatGPT. Beyond object recognition,Visual Intelligence is expanding its capabilities to identify books,landmarks,and artwork.

Apple is actively developing Visual Intelligence to enhance Apple Intelligence. The feature offers a glimpse into on-screen awareness, making it an exciting development for iPhone users.