Lens is one of the best and most useful features that Google has ever developed. Therefore, it is not surprising that direct competitors try to launch worthy alternatives. Apple, as one of the largest companies in the world, is capable of such a task. Today, the company announced Visual Intelligence as part of its Apple Intelligence suite.
iPhone users to get Visual Intelligence as Apple’s approach to Google Lens
If you are a Google Lens user, then the capabilities of Visual Intelligence will be familiar to you. According to Apple, Visual Intelligence is capable of giving you contextual information about practically anything you point the camera of your compatible iPhone at. This includes identifying objects, animals, historical and popular figures, and so on. Visual Intelligence will offer you useful related information such as menus and ratings from a restaurant. It also allows you to directly add flyer events to your calendar.
According to Apple, everything you search through Visual Intelligence is private. So, the company does not keep a history of your activity related to the service. Apple cites this as a plus over Lens, which runs on Google Search engine and uses your searches for better ads. Apple says Visual Intelligence works through a “combination of on-device intelligence and Apple services that never store your images.” However, Visual Intelligence has some drawbacks compared to Lens.
Less features and reach; more privacy
For example, it seems that Apple’s alternative will be available on far fewer devices than Lens. The company says the feature is “coming to Camera Control later this year.” Camera Control is the new physical button on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro series, so only users of the latest Apple smartphones will be able to enjoy it. Another drawback is the number of functions and possibilities. The Google Search engine has been evolving for a long time and opens many doors for Lens. For example, you can translate text in other languages in real time.