The iPhone 15 Pro is getting one of the best iPhone 16 Pro features for free soon

The initial splash screen that displays when opening up Apple Visual Intelligence for the first time. It reads "Visual Intelligence with Camera Control - Learn about the objects and places around you and get even more information about what you see. Images from your camera are not stored on iPhone or shared with Apple."

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

For the most part, owners of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max have had access to all the same Apple Intelligence features that launched or are rolling out to the iPhone 16 lineup.

However, one massive AI tool, Visual Intelligence, has not been available to iPhone 15 Pro models. There was speculation that this was due to the Camera Control button which the iPhone 15 lacks. With the release of the iPhone 16e though, which also doesn't have this button, that's changed and this new budget Apple phone will support Visual Intelligence.

According to MacMagazine, an Apple spokesperson told Daring Fireball that an iOS update will enable Visual Intelligence on iPhone 15 Pro phones via the Action button. This is similar to the recently announced 16e which also features the Action button that debuted on the iPhone 15.

On the iPhone 16 series, you can open Visual Intelligence by pressing and holding Camera Control. With the 16e, it's available via the Action button or a new Control center toggle. This will also be how it will work on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

As a reminder, Visual Intelligence is Apple's version of Google Lens, letting you use your iPhone camera to learn about objects and places around you. The feature is supposed to detect text and provide translations and summaries. It can also read text aloud. Additionally, it allows you to search for more information via Google or ChatGPT.

When will Apple add Visual Intelligence?

With Apple struggling to get Siri 2.0 off the ground and the iOS 18.4 developer beta possibly launching before the end of February, it might mean we won't see this update until iOS 18.5, which may not launch until May. Though, if Apple does have Visual Intelligence ready for the 16e and iPhone 15 Pro models, we could see that materialize in mid-March or early April when iOS 18.4 might release.

Beyond Siri, iOS 18.4 should have new emojis and other languages, but without Siri 2.0 it's looking like it might be a slightly less meaty update. Visual Intelligence could beef up that update a bit, at least for iPhone 15 Pro owners.

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Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him.