Apple designed the iPhone 16 (Plus) and iPhone 16 Pro (Max) specifically for Apple Intelligence, and there’s one feature that’s exclusive to the latest iPhone. Here’s what you need to know.
iPhone 16 with Apple Intelligence
On Monday, September 9, Apple presented the iPhone 16. We will see four iPhones again this year, because in addition to the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will also be released. According to Apple, these are the first iPhones that are fully equipped for Apple Intelligence, the company’s new technology that works with artificial intelligence. All new iPhones work with Apple Intelligence.
That is one of the main reasons why Apple has equipped both the iPhone 16 (Plus) and the iPhone 16 Pro (Max) with a new processor. The regular iPhones run on the A18 chip, for the Pro models it is the A18 Pro chip. In addition, all iPhones have a camera controller for the first time this year. It is therefore not surprising that one camera function of Apple Intelligence is exclusive to the iPhone 16.
Visual Intelligence only on iPhone 16
The camera slider is a new button on the iPhone 16 that gives you access to almost all camera functions. One of the features is Visual Intelligence, a part of Apple Intelligence that is unique to the iPhone 16 (Plus) and iPhone 16 Pro (Max). With Visual Intelligence, you can look up information via the camera app. All you have to do is take a photo of an object and information will appear via Apple Intelligence.
For example, you can take a photo of a cafe or restaurant. Based on this photo, the iPhone 16 uses Visual Intelligence to look up the opening hours and menu of the business. Or you take a photo of a concert poster, with Visual Intelligence it is then possible to add the event to your calendar. In addition, you can look up data about plants by simply taking a photo of them. With Apple Intelligence, the camera of the iPhone 16 becomes much smarter.
Apple Intelligence coming (much) later
Visual Intelligence will be available for all iPhone 16 models, with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max missing the feature. It’s not yet known when Visual Intelligence will be rolled out in Europe. You won’t be able to use the feature with the release of the iPhone 16 (Plus) and iPhone 16 Pro (Max). The phones will hit stores on September 20, but Apple Intelligence won’t be available until much later.
You can try out some of the Apple Intelligence features starting with iOS 18.1, but you’ll need to adjust your iPhone’s settings to do so. For now, the AI features can only be used on devices set to English. Even then, you won’t get all the features, because Apple is rolling out Apple Intelligence gradually. That means we’ll have to wait a while for features like Genmoji and the improved version of Siri.
Apple Intelligence may not be released in Dutch until 2025 or even 2026. So keep that in mind when buying the iPhone 16 (Plus) or iPhone 16 Pro (Max), because not all devices have the Dutch version of Apple Intelligence for the time being. Want to know which features are available directly with iOS 18 on the latest iPhones? Then read our iOS 18 guide here!
Want to make sure your new phone supports Apple Intelligence? Check out the best prices for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro here:
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