TECHNOLOGY

IOS Photos Image Recognition: Is That a Lion or a Maple Tree?

I’m pretty sure, but just in case

Photo by Zach Key on Unsplash

Have you noticed noticed the new image recognition feature in IOS, iPad0S, and macOS? It’s called Visual Look Up; Apple says it can identify “popular art and landmarks around the world, plants and flowers out in nature, books, and breeds of pets.”

I was quite excited when Apple announced this because I’m a curious sort: I like to know what things are called. I had already tried apps that offered this ability; all of them disappointed me. I hoped Apple’s system would be better. It isn’t.

Our mystery tree

I first tried it on a tree in our front yard we have wanted to identify since we moved here in 2005. People have guessed, but no one was sure. After installing IOS 15, I whipped out my iPhone and snapped a not very exciting picture:

As it looks in my Photos app (All Photos by Author)

Those two stars decorating the “Information” icon tells you identification is available. If it’s not decorated , all you can get is the usual camera related meta data.