Recent leaks suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max may soon gain support for visual intelligence. This feature, part of Apple Intelligence, involves computer vision tasks that are currently limited to the iPhone 16 series. Although the iPhone 15 Pro models already incorporate on-device artificial intelligence (AI) processing, the integration of visual intelligence was delayed. According to sources, Apple managed to implement these AI enhancements into the newly launched iPhone 16e, even without the Camera Control button.
iPhone 15 Pro Models Could Get Visual Intelligence Features
John Gruber, who co-created the Markdown markup language, mentioned in a recent blog post that iPhone 15 Pro users might see these visual intelligence features introduced as early as April. According to unnamed sources within Apple, users will have the option to link the feature to the Action Button. This update is expected to be part of the iOS 18.4 rollout.
Visual intelligence allows users of the iPhone 16 series to utilize the camera’s viewfinder to quickly gather information about various subjects, including businesses, and can also perform functions like text translation, summarization, or vocalization, as well as identifying plants and animals. Previously, access to these features was solely through the Camera Control button, making it exclusive to the latest iPhone models.
With the introduction of the iPhone 16e, Apple expanded visual intelligence accessibility by including it in the Control Center and enabling users to bind the function through the Action Button. This recent update hints that similar capabilities will be made available for the iPhone 15 Pro models.
Interestingly, visual intelligence was the only feature from Apple Intelligence not made available during the iOS 18.2 update for last year’s Pro models. Speculation suggested this was a deliberate effort to differentiate between the two generations, but Gruber theorizes that Apple was likely waiting for the iPhone 16e’s launch before extending the feature to older devices.
Additionally, Apple has integrated visual intelligence with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, allowing users to access the chatbot for real-time inquiries about their surroundings.
