iPhone 16 series launched with a big focus on ‘Visual Intelligence’ and other AI features—All you need to know

As good as the hardware seems to be, the real upgrade with the iPhone 16 series has to be the Apple Intelligence AI features, including Visual Intelligence.

iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max—all the iPhone 16 series phones are here—sporting all-new finishes and several hardware upgrades. However, this year, the real upgrade lies in the software, specifically the Apple Intelligence AI features. Apple claims that the iPhone 16 series has been built for AI from the ground up and offers a multitude of new AI features, including Image Playground, Visual Intelligence, and more. Here's a quick look at the Apple Intelligence features coming to the iPhone 16 series.

Apple Camera Control makes it convenient to access Visual Intelligence.(Apple)

Visual Intelligence, Thanks To The Camera Control Button

Remember Google Lens and the 'Circle to Search' feature? Visual Intelligence seems like an amalgamation of the two and is triggered using the Camera Control Button. You can scan your immediate surroundings and receive quick information about them. For instance, you can point at a billboard for a particular product and quickly get information about it, or simply point it towards a restaurant to get details such as opening times, the menu, etc. It is a simple way to retrieve information, and now with the iPhone 16 series, it’s just a tap away! That said, this feature will be available later this year, and not at launch.

Image Playground

We’ve been generating images using AI for quite a while now, and Apple has now joined the action with its own standalone feature called Image Playground. It will be available both as a system app and integrated within other Apple apps for quick access to AI-generated images. This can be handy when you want to personalise messages and communication on a larger scale.

Writing Tools Make It Easier To Communicate

With iOS 18.1 and Apple Intelligence, Apple is also debuting new writing tools to help you write better. These include paraphrasing, rewriting, correcting grammar, and even summarising a text. This can be helpful for people who write frequently and will also save time.

Siri Gets A Big Boost

Siri now comes with on-screen awareness and can do much more compared to iOS 17. For instance, if you receive a text message from a friend detailing an event, you can simply ask Siri to add it to your calendar—saving time and effort. Additionally, you can ask Siri relevant questions, and it is now more deeply integrated into the OS, with a growing edge around the screen.

ChatGPT Is Coming For iPhone

Siri can also use OpenAI's ChatGPT to answer your queries, and ChatGPT can assist with writing and generating original content. Plus, Apple says you will have control over when ChatGPT is used and will be asked before any of your information is shared.