Today I learned you can identify plants and flowers using just your iPhone camera - The Verge
Visual Look Up is like Google Lens for iOS — and it’s incredibly useful. You can quickly identify plants, flowers, art, landmarks and more, straight from the camera app on your iPhone. Here’s how to do it.
Sometimes, even as a tech reporter, you can be caught out by how quickly technology improves. Case in point: it was only today that I learned that my iPhone has been offering a feature I’ve long desired — the ability to identify plants and flowers from just a photo.
It’s true that various third-party apps have offered this function for years, but last time I tried them I was disappointed by their speed and accuracy. And, yes, there’s Google Lens and Snapchat Scan, but it’s always less convenient to open up an app I wouldn’t otherwise use.
But, since the introduction of iOS 15 last September, Apple has offered its own version of this visual search feature. It’s called Visual Look Up, and it’s pretty damn good.
It works very simply. Just open up a photo or screenshot in the Photos app and look for the blue “i” icon underneath. If it has a little sparkly ring around it, then iOS has found something in the photo it can identify using machine learning. Tap the icon, then click “Look Up” and it’ll try and dredge up some useful information.
Tapping the “i” icon usually gives you more information about when you took the photo and your camera settings. If the ring sparkles, though, there’s Visual Look Up data to see, too.
After you hit the “i” icon you’ll have the option to look up more information based on a few select categories.
It doesn’t just work for plants and flowers, either, but for landmarks, art, pets, and “other objects.” It’s not perfect, of course, but it’s surprised me more times than it’s let me down. Here are some more examples just from my camera roll:
Rating: 5