How to use Apple's improved Visual Look Up on iOS 18

Ever wondered what kind of plants are growing in your backyard? Or how many photos you’ve taken near the Washington Monument? Apple’s Visual Look Up feature for iPhone can help you add layers of context to your own photos while learning about your surroundings in real life. 

Asurion is tech’s best friend. From repairs to advice, we’ve got your back every step of the way. Here’s how to make the most of Visual Look Up. 

Why you should use Visual Look Up

Visual Look Up is an iOS feature that helps identify objects in your iPhone’s photos, videos, and camera lens. You should use Visual Look Up if you’re curious about your surroundings or if you simply want to figure out where a photo was taken. 

For example, Visual Look Up is very helpful for:

• Discovering the world around you. Visual Look Up can provide in-the-moment answers to questions about your current environment. Just hold up your camera lens to a famous landmark, plant, or even a laundry symbol and Apple Intelligence will help identify them.
• Recognizing text. Extract text from objects in photos or screenshots via Live Text. This makes text easy to copy, paste, and send. 
• Identifying dog breeds. Learn more about your own dog (or a dog in the background of a snapshot) by using Visual Look Up.

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How to activate Visual Look Up

Visual Look Up is a feature available on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 15 or later. To activate Visual Look Up:

1. Open photo or video in full screen. 
2. Check the Info button (i) at the bottom of the screen. If it has a star symbol around it, Visual Look Up is available. If not, try a photo that has more natural light and a distinguishing landmark or item.
3. Tap Info > Look Up to access the feature. 

How to search by image with Visual Lookup

If you’re wondering how to search by image on your iPhone, look no further than Visual Look Up. Here’s how to search by image:

1. Open a photo or video in full screen. 
2. Check the Info button at the bottom of the screen. If it has a star symbol around it, Visual Look Up is available. If not, there may not be anything in the image to look up. Try another photo.
3. The feature will automatically pull out items of interest, including related photos, information about landmarks, and identifications of flora or fauna. 

Visual Look Up tips and tricks

To make the most out of iPhone image search via Visual Look Up, be sure to try the following:

• Use good lighting. Lighting is everything in photography and Visual Look Up is no exception. A photo or video that is very well-lit makes it easier for the technology to identify all aspects of the photo.
• Zoom in. If the object you’d like to identify is very small, zooming in will help Visual Look Up capture it. 
• Use it in the kitchen. If you come across a photo of a meal that looks delicious, use Visual Look Up to pull the names, ingredients, and recipe.
• Be aware of limitations. Like all generative AI features, Visual Look Up is a work in progress. Always use discretion when receiving information.