Apple’s latest announcement brings a fresh twist to visual recognition with a new feature called Visual Intelligence, set to land with iOS 18’s suite of AI tools “later this year.”

So, what’s Visual Intelligence all about? Essentially, it’s designed to help you learn more about whatever you’re looking at, almost instantly. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior VP, showcased the feature during the company’s September event, and it sounds pretty intriguing.

Here’s how it works: Visual Intelligence is part of Apple’s Camera Control system, which introduces a new capacitive camera button on the side of the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro. To use it, you simply click and hold the button while pointing your phone’s camera at whatever piques your curiosity. It’s like having a personal assistant right in your pocket, ready to fetch details about anything you snap a shot of.

For instance, if you’re at a restaurant and want to know its hours, just take a picture, and Visual Intelligence will provide the info. Snap a flyer, and it’ll automatically capture key details like the title, date, and location. And if you’re in the middle of a study session and need to grasp a concept from your notes, Visual Intelligence can help with that too.

What’s cool is that this feature isn’t just limited to Apple’s own services. Federighi mentioned that it’s also a gateway to third-party models. This means you could use it to search for a bike you spot or even get help with academic material by taking a picture of your study notes.

As for when you can start using Visual Intelligence, Apple is keeping things a bit vague. All we know is that it’s “coming to Camera Control later this year.” So, stay tuned for more updates as the feature makes its debut!