Visual Intelligence combines Apple Intelligence's on-device models with Apple's Private Cloud Compute to recognize what a camera is pointed at in real time — identifying plants, animals, and landmarks, pulling business details for storefronts, translating text, and routing images to ChatGPT ("Ask") or Google Image Search ("Search") for further lookup. It launched with iOS 18.2 on iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, triggered by holding the Camera Control button, and expanded at WWDC 2026 alongside Apple's broader Siri AI overhaul. Leaked 2026 reporting describes Apple extending the same feature to a camera embedded in AirPods, replacing the button trigger with a Siri voice command.