Did You Know Your iPhone Can Identify Plants and Animals?

Your iPhone is smart (hence, smartphone) and is capable of many intelligent tasks. In fact, later this year, Apple will add some generative AI-powered features to certain iPhone models, as well. But you don’t need an iPhone compatible with “Apple Intelligence” to take advantage of smart features. One such feature? The ability to identify plants and animals.

It does sound like something out of science fiction: Pointing your “mobile computer” at a dog on the street or a plant you see in the park, and having the device read back an analysis of the subject. In 2024, however, iOS has a feature that isn’t too far off from this vision.

While your iPhone might not be capable of delivering you an extensive report on any plant or animal you scan, you can identity certain species of each by simply taking a photo of the subject. Let’s say you want to know what species your friend’s dog is: Take a photo of the dog, then open that photo. If iOS recognizes the plant or animal, you’ll see two star icons attached to the (i) button. Tap that, then tap “Look Up XYZ.” If the photo is of a dog, for example, it will say “Look Up Dog.”

A pop-up called “Results” will appear. After your iPhone loads for a moment, you’ll see possible breed or species matches here. (If iOS is confident in its analysis, you may only see one result.) You’ll also receive a list of similar images your iPhone found from across the internet.

If you want to know more about the species or breed, tap on it. This will take you to a largely abridged Wikipedia article for the species, where you can read a brief summary, see any notable facts, and check out similar images once again. If you want to read up on the full Wikipedia page, tap the Wikipedia link at the bottom.

Again, the feature won’t give you a detailed read-out on the plant on animal you’re looking up, but it will give you a general sense of the subject. If you like a plant or a cat you see out and about, you can know a little more about it.