I finally found a good use for iPhone Visual Intelligence — and it saved me from having to call a plumber

While AI might be the next step in smartphones, I have to admit that I don't tend to use my iPhone's Apple Intelligence. However, a recent bit of very necessary home DIY saw me sink some time into Apple's Visual Intelligence.

On paper, I can see the advantages of Apple's Visual Intelligence, as it gives you the means to quickly search for more information on what your phone's camera is seeing. It's an intriguing concept that we've seen on some of the best phones, such as the Google Lens.

The issue I have with the feature is two-fold, with the first being primarily focused on hardware. I used to have an iPhone 15 Pro Max, which can make use of Visual Intelligence but doesn't have a dedicated button for it. However, I recently upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro Max, which has the camera control button that allows instant access to the feature.

The more pressing problem was that I simply never found a use for it, as there are so many means of finding out information, all of which I am more used to. However, I recently had to change a sink in my house, which included a plumbing connection that I simply didn't recognize.

Usually, I would simply search for the specific part to find out how to unclasp it, or just test it out to find out how it worked. However, I was on a tight schedule to get the work done and didn't have time to mess around. So, I decided it was time to give Visual Intelligence a try.

How was using Apple Visual Intelligence?

The part in question was, essentially, a very simple push valve that connected the sink to the pipes. However, it was an ancient connection that simply would not disconnect, no matter what I tried. So, while at the end of my admittedly short rope, I decided to use Visual Intelligence to identify and indicate if I was pushing it in the right manner.

Initially, I had some problems getting my iPhone's Camera Control button to work, although that was more due to my own incompetence. See, the Camera button on an iPhone pulls double duty depending on how you press it. If you simply click it then it will open the camera app. If you want to activate Visual Intelligence, you need to press and hold the button, but if you do that while in the camera app, it switches from photo to video.

If I had been in the right frame of mind, then I could have probably figured that out, but after having been stuck under the sink for 20 minutes, complete with numerous water bursts and more than a few swear words, I wasn't in the best mood. So having a feature that's just a little bit more complicated than it needs to be was anything but helpful.

However, once I got it working, it was a breeze to have it scan the offending connection and have a solution offered when I asked it how to remove it. Admittedly, actually disconnecting the valve turned out to be much more challenging, but that's not the fault of the phone.

Visual Intelligence served a purpose, but it's still lacking

So, Visual Intelligence helped me to solve my issue and all my problems with it are a thing of the past, right?

Well, not exactly, and there are still a few issues that turn me off to the feature. On the plus side, I can certainly see its use when it comes to performing DIY, as it does seem to be very good at spotting certain components. However, there are times when you need to take a photo and then search for that instead.

I'm not going to beat around the bush here; this facet simply doesn't work. In concept, there is a way to use Visual Intelligence with a photo you have taken, but not in the way you'd think. In an ideal world, you would be able to press a button in the gallery and activate the feature. However, to actually get it to work, you need to take a screenshot of the photo and then ask about it. It feels inane to use.

There's also the issue that, instead of all that mess, I could just put the image directly into ChatGPT myself and get a much more detailed answer. It creates the situation where, rather than being a shortcut, Visual Intelligence feels like an annoying middleman that really doesn't need to be there.

Still, I can see the advantage of Visual Intelligence — especially when you have a Camera Control button. If you don’t, for instance, if you have the iPhone 15 Pro Max, then I think you’ll likely go directly to ChatGPT.

Let me know if you've been using Visual Intelligence and if so what for in the comments.

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