Visual Intelligence is getting a big upgrade in iOS 27 . It's now easier to find than it was before, and there are new ‌Visual Intelligence‌ capabilities. Apple also expanded it to the iPad and the Mac, so you can use the same features across devices. Camera App Apple moved ‌Visual Intelligence‌ to the Camera app in ‌iOS 27‌, and it's accessible through a new Siri Mode that lives with the Photo, Video, and other camera mode options. You can swipe over to ‌Siri‌ Mode and take a picture so ‌Siri‌ can see what you see. ‌Siri‌ will give you details about whatever you're looking at when you swipe down, and you can ask follow-up questions. ‌Siri‌ Mode replaces Camera Control as the primary method for accessing ‌Visual Intelligence‌, but you can still get to it by holding down the Camera Control button. Smart Suggestions ‌Siri‌ Mode will suggest relevant actions based on what you're taking a photo of. If you take a photo of a plant, ‌Siri‌ will offer to identify it. If you take a photo of a plate of food, ‌Siri‌ can give you the nutritional information. Siri Integration ‌Visual Intelligence‌ is integrated with ‌Siri‌ AI, and ‌Siri‌ can answer questions about what you're looking at. Complex questions were previously handed off to ChatGPT, but that's no longer necessary. The smarter, more capable version of ‌Siri‌ can do much of what ChatGPT can do, pulling information from the web to answer questions. New iOS 27 Visual Intelligence Features Nutritional Insights - You can take a picture of a meal or a food item to check its nutritional value. ‌Siri‌ doesn't tell you specific calories in an item, but it can tell you if what you're eating has nutritional value and what's good or bad about it. Bill Splitting (U.S. only) - If you take a photo of a restaurant bill, you can split out what you ate and then send money via Apple Cash. Or calculate what everyone owes and request money. Import Multiple Events - You can import multiple events into the Calendar or Reminders app at one time from a schedule or list. Import Contacts - You can import contacts from a photo of a business card. Wallet Passes - You can turn a photo of a barcode from a membership or pass into a Wallet pass. ‌Visual Intelligence‌ is much more powerful than before because of ‌Siri‌'s ability to search the web for answers. It can read laundry labels and give you clear instructions, look up items and find reviews on the web, identify odd devices or cables and tell you what they're for, scale recipes, read ingredient lists for you to check for allergens, transcribe messy written notes or lists into text, decipher confusing parking signs, offer plant care advice, solve math problems on a worksheet, and whatever else you can think to ask AI to do. Other Visual Intelligence Capabilities ‌Visual Intelligence‌ has a long list of things it can be used for, and these options have been available in earlier versions of iOS. Identify plants, animals, insects, landmarks, art, sculptures, books, and more. Add items to your calendar from a piece of paper like an event poster or flyer. Use Google Image Search to find similar images. Search Etsy, Amazon, Anthropologie, and other apps for an item that you capture with the camera. Provide details about a business in front of you, like hours of operation. Translate, summarize, and read text aloud. Siri App Integration All of your ‌Visual Intelligence‌ ‌Siri‌ requests are saved in the ‌Siri‌ app so you can revisit them later. The ‌Siri‌ app can be set to retain conversations for a month, a year, or forever. Visual Intelligence on Other Platforms Apple expanded ‌Visual Intelligence‌ to iPadOS 27 , macOS Golden Gate , and visionOS 27. On Mac, you can use a Command-Shift-Space keyboard shortcut to access ‌Visual Intelligence‌ and select a part of your display to ask a question about. On ‌iPad‌, you can access ‌Visual Intelligence‌ by taking a screenshot or swiping up from the lower left corner with Apple Pencil . On Vision Pro, you can use ‌Visual Intelligence‌ just by looking at something, including physical items around you. Device Requirements ‌Visual Intelligence‌ in ‌iOS 27‌ requires an iPhone 15 Pro or later. For Mac, you need an Apple silicon chip, and on the ‌iPad‌, you need an Apple silicon chip or the A17 Pro iPad mini . Related Roundups: iOS 27 , iPadOS 27 Tag: Visual Intelligence This article, " Here's What's New With Visual Intelligence in iOS 27 " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Nimble this week debuted the SharePower, a USB-C power bank that can be used as a single charger or split into two chargers so it can be shared with a friend. SharePower is a 10,000mAh power bank, with 5,000mAh available through each side of the device. The two halves attach together magnetically for charging a single smartphone, or come apart to charge two. We were able to test the SharePower before launch to see how it works. Each side has an included USB-C cable. The left half has a 7-inch braided cable that doubles as a lanyard and it can tuck into the interior when the two halves are connected and the cable isn't in use. The right half of the power bank has a short pop-out USB-C cable. The side with the pop-out cable is nice because it attaches to the bottom of the iPhone and it's compact in size. The longer cable is useful if you need a bit more length when charging. In our testing, both modules charged at the advertised speeds, but there was a faint electronic sound when charging, regardless of whether one module was in use or both modules were paired. 5,000mAh isn't enough to charge an iPhone 17 Pro Max to full, but the combined 10,000mAh can do so. When paired, the two halves deliver up to 35W power to fast charge an iPhone, and when separated, each half offers 20W charging. There are two additional USB-C ports, one on each side, so up to four devices can be charged at one time when the power bank is separated, and three when it's combined. 20W is a little slow because the ‌iPhone 17 Pro‌ models need a higher watt charger to fast charge, but it's nice to have the option for splitting the charger if two people need power at once. There's an LCD display that lets you know the remaining charge when the two halves come together and when they're separated, and it's a clever design. The left half has indicator lights so you can see the battery level when it's separated, and the right half has a percent reading. When the two halves are reunited, the percent reading changes to the combined total instead of just the battery level of the right half. When your device is fast charging, there's a green PD light. There are smaller 10,000mAh power banks out there, but the dual design of the SharePower stands out. It measures 2.8 inches by 3.1 inches, and it is an inch thick. It weighs 7.6 ounces, and comes with an extra USB-C cable so you can charge it. Nimble's SharePower is useful for anyone who has run into a situation where multiple people need to charge their iPhones at one time. With hundreds of power banks on the market, it manages to distinguish itself with added flexibility. SharePower is available in white, blue, and pink. It can be purchased from the SharePower website or from Apple.com for $80. This article, " Nimble's SharePower Is a 10,000mAh Power Bank That Splits in Two " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
